BUFFALO, N.Y. — Anger on behalf of her young son is what caused Rahwa Ghirmatzion to file a lawsuit against Buffalo officials for failing to fluoridate in its water supply since 2015.
“I just assumed that he was getting enough fluoride, that his teeth were protected,” Ghirmatzion said.
Ghirmatzion was angered again last week when she viewed the results of a 2 On Your Side investigation into Buffalo Water Board Chair and Buffalo Sewer Authority CEO Oluwole “O.J.” McFoy.
Using public records, 2 On Your Side Investigates found that since 2015, McFoy spent 297 weekdays traveling to water conferences in 23 states. He took a total of 55 work trips at an estimated cost of $161,000, according to sewer authority meeting minutes.
The travel occurred during a period of nearly nine years in which the city repeatedly missed its own deadlines to re-fluoridate its water for dental health.
“I am now a little more angry, if I’m being honest with you, that that was taxpayer dollars going to the Buffalo Sewer Authority that is paying for these trips,” Ghirmatzion said.
McFoy declined an interview request for this story but noted in an email that he has attended every Buffalo Water Board meeting during the last nine years.
2 On Your Side also tried to speak with McFoy at a monthly Buffalo Water Board meeting on Wednesday at the Col. Francis G. Ward Pumping Station. The water board’s website said the meeting was scheduled for Sept. 18, but 2 On Your Side was denied entry by a security guard.
Mayoral spokesman Michael DeGeorge said the meeting was rescheduled to Sept. 26. The date on the water board website was changed after 2 On Your Side inquired about the meeting.
Buffalo Common Council Finance Chair Mitch Nowakowski also questioned the amount of McFoy’s travel.
“When you’re traveling that much, what are you learning that you’re bringing back to actually implement in real-time and real-life for our water and our sewers?” Nowakowski said.
McFoy said last week that the trips – which spanned from across the U.S. to places as far as Germany – have helped secure $250 million in grant money for the city.
Asked whether McFoy should cut back on travel until Buffalo restores fluoride to its water – the city just missed another deadline to do so – Nowakowski said, “Yes, and ultimately, just cut back on travel. Travel at a normal pace. Why are we traveling so much? If you’re traveling, what are you doing in your real job every single day? And I think that’s oftentimes what people are outraged with.”
McFoy was appointed to the water board post by Mayor Byron W. Brown in 2007.
Ghirmatzion previously was the executive director of People United for Sustainable Housing, or PUSH Buffalo, where she said she worked on a sewer project with McFoy.
“I think that what we see with O.J. is that he’s a very nice man. He’s a very smart man. He’s incredibly charismatic. He’s also incredibly arrogant,” she said.
Public records show McFoy’s travel actually increased after the fluoride controversy became public. Last year, he was gone from City Hall on trips for 69 weekdays. So far in 2024, McFoy has traveled for 41 weekdays.
The city missed its most recent deadline, which was the end of August, for re-fluoridating its drinking water.
Ghirmatzion said McFoy is avoiding an issue that is paramount to the dental health of Buffalo’s kids.
“Maybe he’s looking to get another job like the mayor,” Ghirmatzion said, referring to Brown, who plans to resign soon and take a job with a gambling agency. “I don’t know. But I do know that I think he’s just avoiding the issue.”
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