Anthony M. Masiello (born April 28, 1947) is an American politician and former basketball player who served as Mayor of Buffalo, New York from 1994 to 2005. Prior to being mayor, he served as a member of the

New York State Senate The New York State Senate is the upper house of the New York State Legislature, while the New York State Assembly is its lower house. Established in 1777 by the Constitution of New York, its members are elected to two-year terms with no term l ...

. He is currently president of Masiello, Martucci and Associates, a Buffalo-based lobbying firm.

Early life and education

A Buffalo native, Masiello is the oldest of seven children born to Bridget and Dan Masiello. Masiello graduated from

Canisius College Canisius University is a private Jesuit university in Buffalo, New York. It was founded in 1870 by Jesuits from Germany and is named after St. Peter Canisius. Canisius offers more than 100 undergraduate majors and minors, and around 34 ma ...

in 1969, where he played as a member of the Canisius Golden Griffins men's basketball team. He was then drafted by the

Indiana Pacers The Indiana Pacers are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis. The Pacers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Ea ...

in the 1969 ABA draft, but was cut from the roster before the season.

Career

In 1971, Masiello began his career in politics when he was elected to represent North District on the

Buffalo Common Council The Buffalo Common Council is the legislative branch of the city of Buffalo, New York government. It is a representative assembly, with one elected member from each of nine districts: Niagara, Delaware, Masten, Ellicott, Lovejoy, Fillmore, North ...

. He was subsequently elected to an at-large seat on the council and served as Democratic Majority leader in 1976. He also served as Chairman of the Council Finance Committee. Masiello was a member of the

from 1981 to 1993, sitting in the 184th, 185th, 186th, 187th, 188th, 189th and 190th New York State Legislatures. Masiello's Senate district originally comprised mainly Buffalo and other parts of

Erie County, New York Erie County is a county along the shore of Lake Erie in western New York (state), New York State. As of the United States Census 2020, 2020 census, the population was 954,236. However, in the 2023 census, the Erie County population was 946,147 ...

. During the final year of his Senate service, his district encompassed part of Buffalo, as well as Grand Island,

Niagara Falls Niagara Falls is a group of three waterfalls at the southern end of Niagara Gorge, spanning the Canada–United States border, border between the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario in Canada and the state of New York (s ...

and Tonawanda. In the State Senate, Masiello ascended to Minority Whip and served as Chair of the Democratic Conference. As a senator, Masiello served as the Ranking Minority Member of various committees, including the Child Care Committee and the Energy Committee.

Mayor of Buffalo

Masiello was sworn in as the 61st Mayor Buffalo on January 1, 1994. Masiello received 65% of the Democratic Primary vote and 67% of the General Election vote in 1993. He was re-elected to second term in 1997 and again to a third term in 2001 with the joint endorsement of the Democratic and Republican parties. As mayor, he focused on economic development, governmental restructuring, and education. He cut over 1,000 jobs from the city payroll by restructuring management and the police department. He successfully sought approval from the state to create a joint construction fund for the city schools, which has been used to renovate and build city schools. He unsuccessfully sought to take control of the Buffalo

Board of Education A board of education, school committee or school board is the board of directors or board of trustees of a school, local school district or an equivalent institution. The elected council determines the educational policy in a small regional area, ...

and install his own appointees. In 1997, Masiello's office, and under the direction of

Buffalo State College The State University of New York Buffalo State University (colloquially referred to as Buffalo State University, SUNY Buffalo State, Buffalo State, or simply Buff State) is a public college, public university in Buffalo, New York. It is part of ...

's Center for Applied Research in Interactive Technologies, launched CityNet, an advanced telecommunications network that links 14 educational and community sites in Buffalo.Fiber-optic network links 14 educational, community sites
''Buffalo News'', Buffalo, NY: Berkshire Hathaway, November 25, 1997, Brady, K., Retrieved February 6, 2014. In 2005, he announced that he would not run for re-election. He was succeeded by

Byron Brown Byron William Brown II (born September 24, 1958) is an American politician who served as the 62nd mayor of Buffalo, New York from 2006 until his resignation in 2024. He was the city's first African-American mayor and the longest-serving mayo ...

on December 31, 2005. Following his service as mayor, Masiello joined Masiello, Martucci and Associates as president.

Personal life

He is married to Kathleen Masiello (née McCue) of

Washingtonville, New York Washingtonville is a Administrative divisions of New York#Village, village in the town of Blooming Grove, New York, Blooming Grove, Orange County, New York, United States. The population was 5,657 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Kiryas Joe ...

. Anthony has three daughters, Kimberly, Ariel, and Madeline Rose.

References

External links

Biography
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Masiello, Anthony 1947 births Living people 20th-century mayors of places in New York (state) 21st-century mayors of places in New York (state) Mayors of Buffalo, New York Democratic Party New York (state) state senators American people of Italian descent Canisius Golden Griffins men's basketball players American athlete-politicians Buffalo Common Council members American men's basketball players 20th-century American sportsmen 20th-century members of the New York State Legislature