Former Mayor James D. Griffin dies in Orchard Park nursing home

This was the headline in today's Buffalo News.

It really came as shock to me, and immediately brought tears to my eyes, as I didn't even know he was sick.

Jimmy Griffin was Buffalo Mayor from 1977 - 1994, one of the longest tenured. Shockingly, in a heavily Democratic city, he won on the Conservative ticket, but he was no stereotypical Conservative.

While the city sank economically and lost thousands in population, due to the decline of the industrial era, Jimmy Griffin never wavered.

As a lifelong resident of South Buffalo, he was often seen in his favorite local bar. He instrumented construction of the (now named) Adams Mark and Hyatt Hotels, downtown. He also, during the famous Blizzard of '85, advised people to stay home and drink a six-pack, earning the nickname 6 Pack Jimmy.

He also served over construction of the MetroRail, Buffalo's subway system, and construction of the (now named) 21,000 seat Dunn Tire Park, (which can be expanded to 40,000 seats over the third level mezanine) the Baseball Stadium downtown that the AAA Buffalo Bisons call home, and led the league in attendance for many years, drawing over 1 million people in it's first season!

But Jimmy Griffin was an enigmatic personality. A true "Buffalo" guy. Fiesty and proud. In 2005, he was elected to the Buffalo Common Council, and ran for Erie County Executive, unsuccessfully, 3 times, including this year. He also ran for President in 1996, but his real charisma was just his personality. He was tough, took no shit and stood by everything he said. He wasn't a typical politician, delivering the party line to the status quo. He talked straight from the heart.

I saw him once, in a Wilson Farms, a local convenience store chain, about 7 years ago in South Buffalo. I remember he had an ethereal "glow" that made him seem almost majestic looking, and here he was talking to the girl behind the counter about how he would talk to her boss about a problem she was having in the store.

I just can't believe he's gone. I didn't know him personally, but I'll miss him dearly.
A big Piece of Buffalo, NY is gone, but his memory will live on in each of us, that lived during his time with us. A memory of a proud, tough, fearless leader, who toiled endlessly to preserve Buffalo as not just a city in Western New York, but as an experience, as an emotion, a source of pride and inspiration, even with it's many imperfections, and as a place everyone who's ever lived there can always call home, and come home to.

Rest in Peace, Jimmy. You've earned it.