Mayor Anthony Masiello: Reflections
Title
Mayor Anthony Masiello: Reflections
Creator
Description
Anthony Masiello first made a name for himself as a star basketball player for the Canisius College Golden Griffins. His first shot in politics at age twenty-four netted him a seat on Buffalo's Common Council in 1971. He worked his way up to Majority Leader in 1976.
After spending ten years on the Council, Masiello was elected to the New York State Senate. Serving from 1981 to 1993, he advanced to the positions of Minority Whip and Chair of the Democratic Conference.
On January 1, 1994, Masiello was sworn in as Buffalo 61st mayor. He served three terms. In an interview with WIVB-TV Senior Correspondent Rich Newberg, Masiello looked back with pride on his accomplishments as mayor. He said his administration boosted Buffalo's image nationally by building up the city's medical corridor and changing Buffalo's "economic fabric."
In particular, he mentioned cultural tourism and the attraction of the city's developing Inner Harbor. He also said developers were converting old historic buildings into attractive places to live, providing an incentive for people to rent or buy property downtown. During the Masiello years, eighty year old school buildings were renovated with state-of-the-art "learning laboratories." It was a ten year, state funded, billion dollar project. Masiello said, when it came to education, his one regret was that he was unable to appoint three members to the Buffalo School Board.
Directly addressed the people of Buffalo, Masiello said, "I thoroughly enjoyed being your mayor." He added, "I know we've had some tough times but I never gave up on our city. I never gave up on its people, and I never gave up on its future." Because of his positive approach to governing, he said, "I think we're in a really good position to do great things as a city and as a people." Tony Masiello won twenty-three elections to public office during the span of his political career.
After spending ten years on the Council, Masiello was elected to the New York State Senate. Serving from 1981 to 1993, he advanced to the positions of Minority Whip and Chair of the Democratic Conference.
On January 1, 1994, Masiello was sworn in as Buffalo 61st mayor. He served three terms. In an interview with WIVB-TV Senior Correspondent Rich Newberg, Masiello looked back with pride on his accomplishments as mayor. He said his administration boosted Buffalo's image nationally by building up the city's medical corridor and changing Buffalo's "economic fabric."
In particular, he mentioned cultural tourism and the attraction of the city's developing Inner Harbor. He also said developers were converting old historic buildings into attractive places to live, providing an incentive for people to rent or buy property downtown. During the Masiello years, eighty year old school buildings were renovated with state-of-the-art "learning laboratories." It was a ten year, state funded, billion dollar project. Masiello said, when it came to education, his one regret was that he was unable to appoint three members to the Buffalo School Board.
Directly addressed the people of Buffalo, Masiello said, "I thoroughly enjoyed being your mayor." He added, "I know we've had some tough times but I never gave up on our city. I never gave up on its people, and I never gave up on its future." Because of his positive approach to governing, he said, "I think we're in a really good position to do great things as a city and as a people." Tony Masiello won twenty-three elections to public office during the span of his political career.
Date
2005-12-23
2005-12-24
Subject
Publisher
Buffalo & Erie County Public Library (publisher of digital)
WIVB (Television Station : Buffalo, N.Y.)
Rights
Copyright held by WIVB-TV. Access to this digital version provided by the Buffalo & Erie County Public Library. Videos or images in this collection are not to be used for any commercial purposes without the expressed written permission of WIVB-TV and the Buffalo & Erie County Public Library. Users of this website are free to utilize material from this collection for non-commercial and educational purposes.
Type
Moving Image
Format
video/mp4
Language
Collection
Citation
Newberg, Rich, “Mayor Anthony Masiello: Reflections,” B&ECPL Digital Collections, accessed December 5, 2025, https://digital.buffalolib.org/document/17428.