I’m trying to study the politics of the 3 above-named cities, and I need the board’s help. Does anyone on this board know when the last non-Democrats were elected to the City Councils of these cities, and who they were. If you know the answer, it would be a big help.
You might try going to the website of the THE NEW YORK REPUBLICAN STATE COMMITTEE and poke around, or else write to their e-mail address.
I’ve found that asking questions of that sort to politicians tends not to work. (I’m still waiting for replies in St. Louis.)
Albany? Probably the last non-Democrat elected was back in the before Dan O’Connell took over in 1920s. According to one place on the web, “All of the men and women on the Common Council during these years (i.e., 1930-1945) were Democrats.” I’m pretty sure there were no Republicans since then.
There is no Republican party in the city of Albany. The O’Connell/Corning machine made sure of that. Republicans in the area live in the suburbs.
You might find the definitive answer in the book Albany’s O’Connell Machine by Frank S. Robinson (alternate title: Machine Politics: A study of Albany’s O’Connells.
Then try Rochester City Historian Ruth Rosenberg-Naparsteck at rrosenbe@mcls.rochester.lib.ny.us
I’m sure she’ll reply and be of help with Rochester and can probably find info on the other cities as well. Rochester is almost unique in having an active City Historian’s office of this magnitude, and Ruth is great at her job.
The City of Buffalo technically has a Historian’s Office, but doesn’t give contact info for it that I can find, not even a name. The City of Syracuse doesn’t appear to have one.