Erie County Executive Addresses Capacity Crowd at SUNY Erie North Gleasner Auditorium
Poloncarz Provides Updates on County Initiatives, Outlines Plans for New Willowdale Park, Expansion of County Ambulance Service, Creation of Heart Safe Community, More
ERIE COUNTY, NY— Erie County Executive Mark C. Poloncarz today delivered his 2025 State of the County address before a crowd of over 300 people gathered at the Gleasner Auditorium on SUNY Erie’s North Campus in Amherst, discussing county successes with initiatives announced in past addresses and plans for new projects but also issuing a call to action for residents concerned with the repressive atmosphere and actions emanating from Washington, D.C. The roughly 45-minute address was interrupted frequently by applause as Poloncarz highlighted successes in Erie County’s new ambulance service, the recently begun construction of affordable housing units in Buffalo and Cheektowaga, the growth of the county’s Erie NET broadband plan, and the rapid addition of businesses, jobs, and overall robust economic development at the Renaissance Commerce Park in Lackawanna and elsewhere. Despite these successes, Poloncarz also issued a warning to attendees about the damage being done to our economy and our democracy by the current regime in our nation’s capital.
“The state of our county is strong. We currently have the highest credit rating, AA, and the lowest tax rate in modern history. Our unemployment is low, and companies are moving here to capitalize on our resources, especially our strong workforce and abundant clean water supply. We have more work to do, but there is no doubt we have changed our community for the better,” said Erie County Executive Mark C. Poloncarz. “Unfortunately, one very dark cloud could set this all back. I cannot stand before you tonight and ignore the elephant in the room, which is the actions being taken by our president and others to reshape our democratic republic, as well as the president’s unjustified attack on Canadian sovereignty and harmful implementation of tariffs. As the former comptroller who created the whistleblower hotline, I fully support cutting waste, fraud, and abuse from government. However, that is not what the president, Elon Musk, and DOGE are doing. Fiscal responsibility cannot be achieved by dismantling the programs that have created most Americans' economic security and upward mobility.”
“Every generation faces a critical test. This is ours. I ask you to join me in standing up to these attacks on our republic because democracy is not a spectator sport and democracies can fail,” Poloncarz added.
The 2025 State of the County Address can be read here .
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