BUFFALO NEWS INVESTIGATION
Brian Davis, downtown’s deadbeat Council member
Official is dogged by history of bad debt, state sanctions
Brian C. Davis is many things to many people. Common Council representative to downtown business interests and residents of portions of the east and lower west sides. A reliable vote for Mayor Byron W. Brown on a divided Council.
And, to many of the people he has done business with, a deadbeat.
A Buffalo News investigation, triggered by allegations that Davis wrote a bad check to cover the rent of a city-assisted restaurant, found that the Council member has a history of running afoul of state authorities and people to whom he owes money.
Since 2000, state officials have placed a lien against Davis to collect unpaid income taxes, suspended his driver’s license for lapsed auto insurance, and frozen his campaign account because of violations of election laws, according to public records and interviews. His license remains suspended and his campaign account frozen.
Davis has gone through personal bankruptcy and his Council wages have been garnisheed, according to public records. He and his wife also had their home built by a developer who does business before the Council, and their house is exempted from property taxes.
Creditors, including state tax officials, have filed five liens with the Erie County clerk and five lawsuits in Buffalo Small Claims Court in an effort to obtain payment of $22,456 in debts, public records show. Some $8,018 of that has yet to be paid, records show.
Davis, who failed to respond to repeated interview requests from The News, also has been under scrutiny for his involvement with One Sunset, a now-closed restaurant on Gates Circle that was launched with the help of city loans and grants.
Buffalo police investigated Davis in February after the restaurant’s landlord complained that the Council member wrote a $3,595 rent check that bounced. Police determined the bad check was a civil, not criminal matter. Meanwhile, the landlord still hasn’t been paid.
Council President David Franczyk termed Davis’ actions “troubling,” when briefed on The News’ findings.
“It’s a question of character, it’s a question of judgment,” Franczyk said. “You can make a mistake once or twice in your life and come clean and people understand. But a pattern over the years shows it’s avoidable, immature behavior.”
Liens and lawsuits
Davis, 39, grew up in the Perry Public Housing Projects and graduated from Burgard Vocational High School. He attended the University at Buffalo and graduated from Trinity College in Hartford, Conn., with a degree in political science.
Davis has been on the city payroll since March 1999, when he was hired as an aide to Ellicott Council Member Barbara Miller-Williams. He was elected in November 2001 to succeed her, after she stepped aside to run for Erie County sheriff. He earns $52,000 a year.
Davis has established tight relationships with restaurateur Mark Croce and other operators of downtown entertainment venues. He is aligned with the mayor on the Council and is president of the Community Action Organization, one of the county’s largest social service agencies, which has close ties to the Grassroots political organization that served as Brown’s springboard to public office.
Davis’ financial difficulties, according to public records, began in 1991, when he filed for personal bankruptcy. In 1999, he failed to pay state income taxes, which prompted the Department of Taxation and Finance to obtain a tax warrant and lien in 2001 to force the payment of $1,143, which Davis made four years later.
Most of Davis’ troubles began after he joined the Council in January 2002.
Before he was sworn in, he was sued in Buffalo Small Claims Court for failing to pay $2,715 for television campaign commercials produced for him and fellow Council Member Antoine Thompson.
Four other suits have followed, several involving his failure to pay for campaign-related activities, including $2,030 for radio advertisements and $500 for the cook at a pig roast.
A review of the actions brought against him in Small Claims Court found a common theme: Davis wrote checks that bounced and/or he ignored creditors when they sought payment until they took legal action against him.
Others he owed money to have filed liens, starting in 1992, when the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority sought payment of $105 that records show he still owes. The biggest lien, which is still outstanding, dates to 2007, when a company took action to recover $7,097 on a defaulted car loan.
Election law violations
Davis has been cited by elections officials for failure to file campaign disclosure reports since shortly after he gained public office.
During his first four years in office, the Erie County Board of Elections wrote him seven times about his failure to file disclosures for 14 reporting periods. In November 2004, a letter chided him for “severely delinquent” filings.
Election law requires candidates to identify those who contribute $100 or more, but the Davis campaign on seven occasions reported unitemized contributions that totaled $12,962.
Starting in 2006, candidates were required to submit disclosure reports to state election officials in Albany. Davis failed to submit reports that year but filed reports in 2007 and January 2008. According to records, he’s filed nothing since, including reports due July 2008 and January of this year.
What’s more, he no longer has a campaign treasurer, which is required by law.
“He’s been placed on administrative hold with us since February 2008, which means his bank account is frozen,” said John Conklin, spokesman for the state Board of Elections. “He’s not supposed to be doing anything until he tells us he’s got a new treasurer and the treasurer has updated the filings.”
Davis has not responded to several letters informing him of the problem, Conklin said.
“There could potentially be problems for him,” he added.
Davis also has run afoul of the state Department of Motor Vehicles, which suspended his driver’s license in March 2007 after his auto insurance lapsed. A department spokesman said last week his license remains suspended and DMV records show he has no cars registered to his name.
However, the city is paying about $150 a month for a reserved parking spot for Davis at the public parking ramp across from City Hall, and parking officials said he has an “active and used” account.
Tax-free house
Davis has been involved in several controversies during his time on the Council.
He drew the ire of the Masiello administration when, shortly after taking office, he proposed waiving all interest charges and late penalties for debtors who owed the city money for overdue taxes, user fees, parking fines and the like.
Police officials strongly criticized Davis in 2005 when he contacted them one evening on behalf of a lawyer representing a convicted drug dealer who had just been rearrested on drug charges and wanted to avoid spending the night in jail. Davis denied any impropriety.
Last year, Davis faced criticism when it was disclosed that he was paying no property taxes on his house on Hickory Street because it is located inside an Empire Zone. Houses in the zone can apply for a seven-year waiver on property taxes, which in this case, save Davis and his wife $2,800 a year.
Davis in 2004 voted to extend the life of the zone. Six months later, his fiancee bought a lot on Hickory from the city, then sold the vacant lot to Savarino Construction Services, which in turn constructed the house and then sold the house and lot back to her in August 2006 for $181,000. The Davises now reside in that house.
Davis has denied any conflict of interest.
Savarino, who did not return telephone calls seeking an interview, is one of the city’s most active developers and a major contributor to Brown’s 2005 mayoral campaign.
Police investigation
Davis more recently came under scrutiny because of his involvement in One Sunset, a restaurant at 1389 Delaware Ave. owned by former basketball star Leonard Stokes, who obtained a loan and grant from the city. The restaurant closed in December.
Police interviewed Davis in February after Kevin Brinkworth, the restaurant’s landlord, complained that a $3,595 check Davis had given him to pay the October rent bounced, and that the Council member refused to return calls seeking to rectify the situation.
In March, William Trezevant, an attorney who ran against Davis in 2002, wrote the Council asking for an investigation. He cited allegations that Davis has a history of writing bad checks to deli owners in his district, his involvement in One Sunset and his inaction as chairman of a police oversight committee in the face of accusations of police misconduct.
The Council declined to investigate, although Franczyk called on Davis to publicly address concerns raised about his conduct.
Davis has said little, although he did suggest the allegations against him were politically motivated.
Davis has missed numerous Council meetings in recent months and in February took a medical leave of absence. He has returned to the job, but his political future has been the source of speculation in recent weeks.
Davis told The News last week there is “absolutely no truth” to rumors he plans to resign.
Davis wouldn’t elaborate on his health issues, but he dismissed speculation the problems could spur him to quit. He said he is having surgery soon and expects to be “100 percent” recovered within two to four weeks.
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