David A. "Dave" Franczyk is a councilmember of the
Buffalo Common Council, which is the
representative legislative branch
A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country or city. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers of government.
Laws enacted by legislatures are usually known ...
of the government of
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from Sou ...
. He is also a former
Liberal Party and
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to:
*Democratic Party (United States)
Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to:
Active parties Africa
*Botswana Democratic Party
*Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea
*Gabonese Democratic Party
*Demo ...
nominee for the
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together the ...
.
History
In 1994, Franczyk was both the Liberal Party and the Democratic Party nominee in a closely watched United States House of Representatives race for
New York's 30th congressional district. He lost by a two to one margin to then one-term
incumbent
The incumbent is the current holder of an office or position, usually in relation to an election. In an election for president, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the office of president before the election, whether seeking re-el ...
Republican Jack Quinn. Prior to this race, as a city councilman, he was an adversary of
Mayor of Buffalo
The following is a list of people who have served as mayors of the city of Buffalo in the U.S. state of New York.
List of mayors
Number of mayors by party affiliation
History
In 1853, the charter of the city was amended to include the town ...
James D. Griffin. Franczyk is considered a notable
Western New York Polish-American politician
A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...
.
Common Council
In his present tenure in the Common Council, Franczyk is a member of the Finance and Civil Service Committees. Prior to his current term, Franczyk served as Fillmore District Councilmember, Chair of the City's Finance Committee, and President Pro-Tempore of the Common Council from 1986 through 2000. He has legislated on
crime prevention,
historic preservation
Historic preservation (US), built heritage preservation or built heritage conservation (UK), is an endeavor that seeks to preserve, conserve and protect buildings, objects, landscapes or other artifacts of historical significance. It is a philos ...
, housing,
economic development
In the economics study of the public sector, economic and social development is the process by which the economic well-being and quality of life of a nation, region, local community, or an individual are improved according to targeted goals a ...
, and constituent service.
[ He is an advocate of ]landmark
A landmark is a recognizable natural or artificial feature used for navigation, a feature that stands out from its near environment and is often visible from long distances.
In modern use, the term can also be applied to smaller structures or f ...
preservation, and has also been involved in environmental preservation battles. He proposed the legislation that reduced the Buffalo Common Council from thirteen members to nine. Franczyk was preceded as Fillmore District Councilman by Stephen J. Godzisz, who had served from 1984-1985 and as Common Council President by James Pitts who began his term in 1994 under Buffalo Mayor Anthony Masiello. Franczyk continued under Masiello until Masiello was succeeded by Byron Brown.
Franczyk, after 32 years of service announced in January 2019 he would not seek re-election. His successor, Legislative Staffer, Mitch Nowakowski won the June 25th democratic primary and November 5th general election to succeed him as Fillmore District Council Member.
Personal
Franczyk, a Western New York native, earned a Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...
degree in History from the State University of New York College at Buffalo and a Master of Arts
A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. ...
degree, also in History, from Niagara University. He also did graduate study at the City University of New York
The City University of New York ( CUNY; , ) is the public university system of New York City. It is the largest urban university system in the United States, comprising 25 campuses: eleven senior colleges, seven community colleges and seven pr ...
and at Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...
's Graduate School of Design as a Loeb Fellow. He has served as the editor-in-chief of the Polish-American Journal.
Notes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Franczyk, David
Buffalo State College alumni
Living people
Niagara University alumni
Buffalo Common Council members
New York (state) Democrats
American politicians of Polish descent
Year of birth missing (living people)