Frank A. Sedita

Who was Frank A. Sedita?

Frank Albert Sedita was Mayor of the City of Buffalo, New York, serving 1958–1961 and 1966–1973. He was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, on June 20, 1907. The family moved to Buffalo in 1911, and when he was 10, Sedita began work by hawking newspapers and shining shoes around the downtown area. He attended Hutchinson Central High School and spent his summers working in canning factories and on farms in Wilson and Lyndonville, New York. He received a B.A. from Canisius College, and in 1931 received his law degree from the University of Buffalo Law School. He married Sarah Vacanti on July 11, 1934.

In 1950, Sedita was elected as a City Court judge. He resigned from his job on the City Court bench on September 6, 1957 to pursue his mayoral bid. On November 5, 1957, he was elected mayor, defeating incumbent Steven Pankow. During this term, urban renewal was continued and the Ellicott District Project was completed. He lost his bid for re-election to mayor in the November 7, 1961 election, when Chester A. Kowal was elected mayor. In 1962, President John F. Kennedy nominated Sedita to the post of Federal Customs Collector for the Port of Buffalo; he held that post until May 7, 1965.