Mark Poloncarz
| Mark Poloncarz | |
|---|---|
| 8th Erie County Executive | |
|
Assumed office 2012 |
|
| Preceded by | Chris Collins |
| Comptroller of Erie County | |
|
In office 2006–2011 |
|
| Preceded by | James Hartmann |
| Succeeded by | David Shenk |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
November 7, 1967 Buffalo, New York |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Residence | Buffalo, New York |
| Alma mater |
University at Buffalo University of Toledo |
| Occupation | Politician |
| Website | http://www.markpoloncarz.com |
Mark C. Poloncarz (born November 7, 1967) is the county executive of Erie County, New York. Poloncarz, a Democrat, was elected county executive on November 8, 2011 after defeating the incumbent county executive Chris Collins a Republican by a 53 - 47 percentage point margin. Poloncarz was re-elected on November 3, 2015 with 66% of the vote when he easily defeated the Republican candidate Raymond Walter (33% of the vote) and Green Party candidate Eric Jones (1% of the vote). Poloncarz is only the 2nd Democrat to be elected to the position of county executive in the 51-year history of the position.
Entering 2015 Poloncarz was heavily favored to be re-elected county executive; however it was expected he would face a Republican challenge from one of three candidates: incumbent county clerk and former New York Secretary of State Christopher Jacobs, incumbent county comptroller Stefan Mychajliw, or legislator Ed Rath, the grandson of the first Erie County Executive Edward Rath. In the end, all three individuals decided not to run and Walter was chosen by the Republicans.
Unlike 2015, when Poloncarz entered the race in May 2011 he was a heavy underdog. However, by focusing on issues of providing efficient, yet cost-effective government, reducing waste, fraud and abuse of the public's tax dollars, supporting the "People's Mandates," and properly funding libraries and arts and cultural institutions, Poloncarz was able to chip away a sizable Collins lead until he won in surprisingly easy fashion. Poloncarz also capitalized on his "son of a steelworker" blue collar background against Collins self-proclaimed businessman style.
Since taking office as Erie County Executive, Poloncarz worked to change the culture of Erie County government and return it to its core mission: provide the programs and services that residents and taxpayers demand as effectively and efficiently as possible. And as such, he made it a priority to restore funding for what he calls the “People’s Mandates,” which include the rodent control program, parks improvements, road and bridge construction, libraries, summer youth programming and a renewed commitment to arts and cultural organizations. These programs were restored by Poloncarz in a fiscally responsible manner without raising taxes. As evidence of the fiscal stewardship, in 2014, Standard & Poor’s upgraded the county’s credit rating three steps to “AA-” and in 2015 Fitch Ratings upgraded the county's credit rating to "A+."
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