Mark C. Poloncarz is Erie County’s eighth County Executive. Serving in his fourth term, the only executive to have been elected to four terms, Poloncarz is the chief executive and budget officer for one of the largest county governments in New York. As executive, Poloncarz represents 954,236 (2020) residents who live in the City of Buffalo, two smaller cities, and 25 towns. Additionally, he prepares and administers an annual operating budget of more than $2 billion.
Under his guidance and throughout his tenure, Erie County has recorded balanced budgets, lower tax rates, and increased investments in health and human services, county economic development facilities, highway infrastructure, parks, libraries, and cultural organizations. He successfully negotiated two leases with the Buffalo Bills, including the most recent lease to construct a new $2.1 billion multi-use stadium, keeping the team in Erie County until 2055, he created the Erie County Health Mall through a public-private partnership to provide needed care to a health desert, formed the Erie County Opioid Task Force, which served as a model for the National Association of Counties (NACo) and National League of Cities’ Joint Opioid Task Force, and signed local laws covering public health, environmental protection, government ethics, fair and affordable housing, and a commitment to the Paris Climate Agreement.
Mark led Erie County’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the May 14, 2022, racially motivated mass shooting at a Tops Supermarket in Buffalo, New York, that claimed 10 lives, and multiple weather disasters, including the 3-day December 2022 Blizzard.
In 2020, Poloncarz testified before the House of Representatives Budget Committee on the impact, interplay, and importance of federal investments at the state and local levels. In 2022, he joined Vice President Kamala Harris, governors, and local leaders from across the country at a White House summit on how to rebuild our nation’s workforce utilizing the America Rescue Plan.
Poloncarz currently serves as a Vice Chair of the National Democratic County Officials (NDCO) and expects to become Chair in 2026. Poloncarz also currently serves on NACo’s Intergovernmental Disaster Reform Task Force and previously served as the elected northeast representative for NACo’s 8-person Executive Committee. In addition to serving on many other NACo committees and bodies, he previously served as the President of the New York State County Executives’ Association, on the Board of Directors of the New York State Association of Counties, and as a member of the Niagara 10, a binational advocacy group comprised of United States and Canadian elected officials.
In his role as executive, Poloncarz has been interviewed and appeared on news programs on ABC, CBS, NBC, PBS, BBC, CNN, MSNBC, FOX NEWS, NPR, and many other news media organizations.
Poloncarz, whose term expires at the end of 2027, has announced he will not seek reelection as executive. He resides in Buffalo, New York, with his partner, Lindsey Lauren Visser, and her (and now their) dogs, Eleanor and Abigail.