David A. "Dave" Franczyk is the President and a councilmember of the Buffalo Common Council

Buffalo Common Council

The Buffalo Common Council is the legislative branch of the Buffalo, New York City Government. It is a representative assembly, with one elected member from each of nine districts: Niagara, Delaware, Masten, Ellicott, Lovejoy, Fillmore, North, University, and South. In the past, the Common...

, which is the representative

Representative democracy

Representative democracy is a form of government founded on the principle of elected individuals representing the people, as opposed to autocracy and direct democracy...

 legislative branch of the government of Buffalo, New York

Buffalo, New York

Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...

. He is also a former Liberal Party

Liberal Party of New York

The Liberal Party of New York is a minor American political party that has been active only in the state of New York. Its platform supports a standard set of social liberal policies: it supports right to abortion, increased spending on education, and universal health care.As of 2007, the Liberal...

 and Democratic Party

Democratic Party (United States)

The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

 nominee for the United States House of Representatives

United States House of Representatives

The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...

.

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

New York's 30th congressional district

The 30th Congressional District of New York was a congressional district for the United States House of Representatives in New York. It was eliminated as a result of the 2000 Census...

. He lost by a two to one margin to then one-term incumbent

Incumbent

The incumbent, in politics, is the existing holder of a political office. This term is usually used in reference to elections, in which races can often be defined as being between an incumbent and non-incumbent. For example, in the 2004 United States presidential election, George W...

 Republican

Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

 Jack Quinn

Jack Quinn (politics)

John Francis "Jack" Quinn is the President of Erie Community College and a former politician from the State of New York. He was a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives....

. Prior to this race, as a city councilman, he was an adversary of Mayor of Buffalo James D. Griffin. Franczyk is considered a notable Western New York

Western New York

Western New York is the westernmost region of the state of New York. It includes the cities of Buffalo, Rochester, Niagara Falls, the surrounding suburbs, as well as the outlying rural areas of the Great Lakes lowlands, the Genesee Valley, and the Southern Tier. Some historians, scholars and others...

 Polish-American politician

Politician

A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...

.

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

Crime prevention

Crime prevention is the attempt to reduce victimization and to deter crime and criminals. It is applied specifically to efforts made by governments to reduce crime, enforce the law, and maintain criminal justice.-Studies:...

, historic preservation

Historic preservation

Historic preservation is an endeavor that seeks to preserve, conserve and protect buildings, objects, landscapes or other artifacts of historical significance...

, housing, economic development

Economic development

Economic development generally refers to the sustained, concerted actions of policymakers and communities that promote the standard of living and economic health of a specific area...

, and constituent service. He is an advocate of landmark

Landmark

This is a list of landmarks around the world.Landmarks may be split into two categories - natural phenomena and man-made features, like buildings, bridges, statues, public squares and so forth...

 preservation, and has also been involved in environmental preservation battles. He proposed the legislation that reduced the Buffalo Common Council

Buffalo Common Council

The Buffalo Common Council is the legislative branch of the Buffalo, New York City Government. It is a representative assembly, with one elected member from each of nine districts: Niagara, Delaware, Masten, Ellicott, Lovejoy, Fillmore, North, University, and South. In the past, the Common...

 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

Anthony Masiello

Anthony M. Masiello was mayor of Buffalo, New York from 1994 to 2005. Prior to being mayor, he served as a New York State Senator.-Personal and Educational Background:...

. Franczyk continued under Masiello until Masiello was succeeded by Byron Brown

Byron Brown

Byron William Brown II is the 58th and current mayor of Buffalo, New York, elected on November 8, 2005 and is the city's first African-American mayor. He previously served Western New York as a member of the New York State Senate and Buffalo Common Council...

.

Personal

Franczyk, a Western New York native, earned a Bachelor of Arts

Bachelor of Arts

A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...

 degree in History from the State University of New York College at Buffalo

Buffalo State College

The State University of New York College at Buffalo, referred to as Buffalo State College, often referred to colloquially as Buff State, is a public, liberal arts college in Buffalo, New York, United States and is part of the State University of New York. Buffalo State was founded in 1871 as the...

 and a Master of Arts

Master of Arts (postgraduate)

A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...

 degree, also in History, from Niagara University

Niagara University

Niagara University is a Catholic university in the Vincentian tradition, located in the Town of Lewiston in Niagara County, New York. Originally founded by the Congregation of the Mission in 1856 as Our Lady of Angels Seminary, it became Niagara University in 1883. The University is still run by...

. He also did graduate study at the City University of New York

City University of New York

The City University of New York is the public university system of New York City, with its administrative offices in Yorkville in Manhattan. It is the largest urban university in the United States, consisting of 23 institutions: 11 senior colleges, six community colleges, the William E...

 and at Harvard University

Harvard University

Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...

's Graduate School of Design

Harvard Graduate School of Design

The Harvard Graduate School of Design is a graduate school at Harvard University offering degrees in Architecture, Landscape Architecture, and Urban Planning and Design.-History:...

as a Loeb Fellow. He has served as the editor-in-chief of the Polish-American Journal.