Erie County Legislature Republicans blasted Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz’s State of the County address, saying it was neither inspirational nor aspirational, provided no great vision for the future of Erie County, and was focused on the federal government while he should be putting all his attention on the betterment of Erie County.
“Mark Poloncarz stood up there touting the strength of Erie County and how much it has improved since he has taken office, yet his county initiatives all focused on issues indicating clear signs our region is not doing well economically. While homelessness, affordable housing, mental health epidemics and defending criminals in a climate of rising crime are all issues the government must address, they are not signs that our community and county are getting stronger. It also must be mentioned that they are all problems that have gotten significantly worse since Mark Poloncarz took office fourteen years ago,” said Minority Leader and Erie County Legislator John Mills.
The County Executive spoke about building homeless shelters and providing legal assistance to the accused. He claimed Erie County was in great fiscal shape, but then tore into federal policies, the current Administration and its efforts to reduce the federal deficit, which is now more than $36 trillion.
“Spending in this country is completely out of control. Something had to be done. Yet Mark Poloncarz, who has never met a dollar he didn’t want to spend, is upset with our current president for trying to reduce that deficit. The County Executive should’ve been focused on how to make Erie County a better place to live, instead half of his address was devoted to slamming the federal government. Meanwhile, Erie County struggles on his watch, as he continues to add more jobs and programs and put those costs on the back of taxpayers,” said Erie County Legislator Frank Todaro.
“He provided no great plans, no great vision. The Administration touts the town hall meetings he is now holding. He is in his 14th year in office. Now he comes to meet with residents? Where has he been? Many towns and villages in Erie County have felt ignored for the past several years by this County Executive. They want to hear bigger plans to grow our region and economy. That’s not what they got. Instead, they got a County Executive who spent half his speech airing his political grievances with the federal government and shared no big picture ideas for the region” said Erie County Legislator Chris Greene.
The Administration presented several projects and proposals in the address that require Legislature approval, as we are a co-equal branch of government. To date he has given us no information on how he plans to fund these ideas, all of which need legislators okay before moving forward.
“Mark Poloncarz spent half his speech focused on issues he has little to no control over. People want to know what steps he is taking to make Erie County more business friendly. Taxpayers want to hear initiatives that will help grow our region and our economy. Instead, it was more of the same. Just like he blew through once-in-a-generation federal government money that could’ve been game-changing, Mark Poloncarz delivered a State of the County Address filled with small ideas, big spending, and taking shots at political opponents. It was so disappointing and not what we need,” said Legislator Lindsay Lorigo.
