Does Buffalo Need A Public Advocate Like In New York City?

The way a city operates and serves the people who give it power is an important thing to consider when you are looking to pick a place to call home. All over the Empire State, there are plenty of cities, towns, and villages that you can pick to live and often one of the most important factors to look at is how responsive local government officials are to the people.

Sometimes you have a mayor, town manager, and/or city/town council that are hyper-focused on making the lives of the people better, other times it seems that the people in elected office are more concerned with growing their power than helping their constituents.

Often, to help bridge the gap between the people and government, you will sometimes see someone in the position of Ombudsman: a person who investigates, reports on, and helps settle complaints. In New York City, residents have an elected Public Advocate, and considering that Buffalo is the second-largest city in the state, do we need one here?

Does Buffalo Need A Public Advocate Like In New York City?

Since 2001, the Public Advocate in the state's largest city has been essentially a citizen watchdog to ensure that the government is working for the people.

In the Office of the New York City Public Advocate, we work toward results that ensure that all New York City residents are treated with dignity: We fight for equitable access to quality housing, education, and economic opportunity in a healthy, safe environment, and advance equity in the distribution of resources by holding city agencies accountable, as well as by engaging and empowering community members in order to confront institutions, drive change and achieve justice.
-Mission of the New York City Public Advocate

Considering that Buffalo is dealing with major issues from its budget deficit to the effective delivery of public services, is it time for the people city a citywide watchdog to make sure that the people in power remember that government is supposed to serve the people?