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City Official Escorted out of City Hall by Police
Story Published: Mar 17, 2008 at 7:51 PM EDT
By Ginger Geoffery
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It was late Friday afternoon when Buffalo police officers escorted the City's technology chief Robert Leach out of City Hall. Mayor Byron Brown's spokesperson says that's standard procedure when a high-ranking official is terminated, but others are concerned about the message it sends.
"I think there was more to this than meets the eye and I'd like to hear Mr. Leach's side of the story," says Buffalo Common Councilmember Michael LoCurto, D-Delaware District. LoCurto wants Leach to come before the Common Council to tell his side. Leach apparently fell out of favor with the mayor. Leach was hired after a nationwide search a year ago, and was making $135,000 a year overseeing the city's technology upgrades including a new phone system and new police cameras. Then, on Friday Leach found himself terminated and escorted out of City Hall by police officers.
"What does this say? That if you don't get along with the mayor, if you question the mayor publicly cops are going to come and remove you from the building?," asks LoCurto, "I don't think it's a very professional way to run a city."
Mayor Brown's spokesman though says it's no different than someone in the private sector being terminated and escorted out by security, and he points out this firing was not done by the mayor alone. Brown needed approval from another member of a three person review board. Brown, City Comptroller Andrew SanFilippo, and Common Council President David Franczyk make up that review board. Brown got the second vote needed to fire Leach from SanFilippo. "SanFilippo urged them to come together and resolve their differences but it became more clear as time went on that that wasn't going to happen," says SanFilippo's executive assistant Tony Farina. He says once it became clear their differences were not going to be resolved, SanFilippo decided to support the termination.
The Brown administration isn't saying why the relationship between Leach and the mayor deteriorated to the point of no return, but some say Leach won't be easy to replace. "You need somebody and you need somebody extremely qualified for that position, and he was," says LoCurto,
"It's hard enough to attract and retain top level talent without escorting them from the building with police officers."
LoCurto is part of the Common Council majority that lately tends to clash with the Brown administration on a number of issues.
Leach could not be reached for comment on Monday, and so far there's no date set for him to appear before the Common Council.