Could Buffalo become a city without a mayor? (Rochester: live, vs)
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A city-manager vs strong mayor form of city government is irrelevant to how well or how poorly a city is governed. The city's political culture determines that.
If Buffalo went for a city-manager system, there would be nobody with real power representing the entire city. Currently, Buffalo Common Council members are all elected from districts as the at-large members were eliminated about 10 or more years ago. In a city that has long suffered from parochial divisions based on ethnicity, race, and wealth (or lack of wealth), I think having a city manager at the beck and call of a faction on the Common Council could become problematical.
So what would you say are the factors contributing to the city's culture? Definitely leans democrat. Why?
A city-manager vs strong mayor form of city government is irrelevant to how well or how poorly a city is governed. The city's political culture determines that.
If Buffalo went for a city-manager system, there would be nobody with real power representing the entire city. Currently, Buffalo Common Council members are all elected from districts as the at-large members were eliminated about 10 or more years ago. In a city that has long suffered from parochial divisions based on ethnicity, race, and wealth (or lack of wealth), I think having a city manager at the beck and call of a faction on the Common Council could become problematical.
A city-manager is far better than than a mayor form of city government because it ensures a professional is in charge of running the city and not a political hack. As those in office can be a revolving door based on the political winds the Manager ensures continuity as the administrations come and go.
Where I live we have a County Manager who runs the county and an elected Board of Supervisors who represent the residents and promote the county but it is up to the manager to implement the changes once approved. He is not at the "beck and call" of the Supervisors, they are all a team towards the common good.
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