Proposal Of 'Greater Buffalo' Through City-County Merger

Erie County Executive Joel Giambra will seek sweeping changes in local and state law to pave the way for what might be called ‘New Greater Buffalo.’ He and Buffalo Mayor Anthony Masiello both say their goal should be accomplished within a few years, with Giambra suggesting that Masiello could run for re-election in 2005 on a platform of being the last mayor of Buffalo. "We want to bring the two governments together by creating a new Greater Buffalo regional government, with neither government surviving in its current form," Giambra said. "'Where communities have chosen to change, situations have gotten progressively better,' he said. 'What you've got here is destined for failure. It cannot be fixed.' The alternative, he said, is the permanent economic and political decline of a region he claims is already 'unraveling.'"

Thanks to Sam Gold