By Mark C. Poloncarz
Recently I began a new term as County Executive, an honor granted to me by the people of Erie County. The inaugural ceremony provided an opportunity to review the achievements of the past, while also recognizing the challenges facing Erie County and America.
Our county today is vastly different from the one that existed when I took my initial oath of office as Executive in January 2012. If you remember, county government then had been run like a business, abandoning its true owners, the people, when they needed it most. The impact showed:
* For decades, Erie County lost population, and many thought our best days were behind us. Today, our population is growing and our economy is the strongest it has been in decades.
* Our debt load was stifling future investment and dragging down our credit rating. Today, that debt load has been reduced by nearly half, and our credit rating is stronger than ever.
* The Bills were playing regular-season games in Toronto and were in danger of leaving. We secured a fair lease extension, and today a new stadium is being built to keep the Bills here for another 30 years.
* When our poorest citizens needed access to quality, affordable health care, health clinics were closed and programs cut. Today, the Office of Health Equity and the Departments of Health and Mental Health are active participants in the lives of many, improving health outcomes countywide.
* The Bethlehem Steel site sat vacant because many believed revitalizing it “couldn’t be done." Today, hundreds of acres have been transformed to the Renaissance Commerce Park, the result of good government partnering with the private sector for the betterment of all.
As we embark on my final term as your County Executive, the work to create the best community possible continues.
We will build the stadium, finish Erie NET and continue to strengthen health and mental health programs for all residents, but we will not stop there.
We will continue to invest in our roads, parks and libraries, make our community more climate-resilient and our water cleaner.
However, our generation of citizens will be remembered for the legacy we leave behind – a legacy that encompasses not just the projects we build, but includes protecting the core principles of our democracy.
In November, Erie County residents overwhelmingly rejected empty extremism and voted for good governance. They rejected the loud rhetoric of a small contingent of residents that would undo the good work we’ve done.
The fight isn’t over.
That same extremism festers in our country. Just as cancer untreated will kill a person, there is a cancer metastasizing in America that is threatening our democratic republic.
Smart, stable governance is ridiculed and defamed to undermine trust in our public offices.
Science and law are dismissed, opinion and slander are considered equally with facts.
Social media belligerence and misinformation gets amplified, while truth is strangled.
We witnessed the culmination of this malignancy on January 6, 2021, when the institutions of democracy came under attack by our own fellow Americans.
On that terrible day, we watched as a traitorous mob beat police officers, erected gallows on the Capitol grounds, and smeared feces inside the building itself while searching for public servants to hang.
It is disturbing that Erie County residents were prominent at the insurrection. Sadly, only Franklin County, Ohio, had more residents arrested for participating.
Just because you call yourself a patriot, does not make you one. History will decide whether you are a patriot or a traitor.
Our nation has not always lived up to its ideals, but has persevered because good people have stepped up in times of crisis to work towards a better future. And the future before us holds much promise if we are brave and strong enough to claim it.
I urge you to stay involved, be active in your community or at your children’s school, get involved in voter registration efforts, take part in efforts to beautify our natural assets, help the poor, volunteer your time with a community group, even run for office yourself.
Don’t be afraid to call out bigotry, hatred and other forms of intolerance if you encounter them. They cannot win unless we stand idly by and do nothing.
Most importantly, VOTE.
Our time on this stage is passing. Let it not be a time of inaction, but rather a time of common purpose to strengthen the democratic values and institutions that tie us together as Americans.
The next generation is watching, waiting to see if we will protect the fundamental freedoms and rights we hold dear. We cannot let them down.
Thank you for all that you do to make our community and country a better place and thank you for giving me the opportunity to serve as your County Executive.
Mark Poloncarz was elected in November to an unprecedented fourth term as Erie County Executive.