Remembering Mayor Jimmy Griffin
Title
Remembering Mayor Jimmy Griffin
Creator
Description
Jimmy Griffin was a four term mayor of Buffalo, first elected in November 1977. He was a registered Democrat but conservative on social issues, once inviting the pro-life group Operation Rescue to come to Buffalo and stage major demonstrations against abortion. He won the Buffalo mayoral race in 1977, after running on the Conservative line.
His followers respected the fact that he always said what was on his mind, regardless of the consequences. He was often critical of the news media when his policies were challenged. At times he got physical with his opponents, once punching a former aide in the face, yanking the tie of a Buffalo councilman and challenging another city lawmaker to a fist fight. In an interview with WIVB-TV senior correspondent Rich Newberg, Griffin admitted he was "pugnacious," but added that he was always true to himself.
"Remembering Mayor Jimmy Griffin" begins with his obituary on November 6, 2003. He was raised in Buffalo's rough and tumble Irish Old First Ward and scooped grain out of Great Lakes freighters as a teenager. He fought in the Korean war and entered Buffalo politics in 1961, winning a seat on the city's Common Council. He was elected to the New York State Senate in 1966.
Griffin blamed the local news media for negative stories about his Parks commissioner Robert Delano, who ended up spending more than two years in federal prison for theft and extortion.
During his one-on-one interview with Rich Newberg, Griffin looks back on his accomplishments as mayor. A new downtown baseball stadium and housing and commercial buildings on the Erie Basin Marina are among them.
His followers respected the fact that he always said what was on his mind, regardless of the consequences. He was often critical of the news media when his policies were challenged. At times he got physical with his opponents, once punching a former aide in the face, yanking the tie of a Buffalo councilman and challenging another city lawmaker to a fist fight. In an interview with WIVB-TV senior correspondent Rich Newberg, Griffin admitted he was "pugnacious," but added that he was always true to himself.
"Remembering Mayor Jimmy Griffin" begins with his obituary on November 6, 2003. He was raised in Buffalo's rough and tumble Irish Old First Ward and scooped grain out of Great Lakes freighters as a teenager. He fought in the Korean war and entered Buffalo politics in 1961, winning a seat on the city's Common Council. He was elected to the New York State Senate in 1966.
Griffin blamed the local news media for negative stories about his Parks commissioner Robert Delano, who ended up spending more than two years in federal prison for theft and extortion.
During his one-on-one interview with Rich Newberg, Griffin looks back on his accomplishments as mayor. A new downtown baseball stadium and housing and commercial buildings on the Erie Basin Marina are among them.
Date
2003-11-06
2008-05-25
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, “Remembering Mayor Jimmy Griffin,” B&ECPL Digital Collections, accessed December 5, 2025, https://digital.buffalolib.org/document/17431.