County Executive Cites Critical Experience, Negotiation Skills as Critical

ERIE COUNTY, NY— Erie County Executive Mark C. Poloncarz has announced the appointment of David A. Palmer as Commissioner of the Erie County Department of Personnel. Palmer, the current Erie County Commissioner of Labor Relations, had been serving as interim Personnel Commissioner since the departure of former Commissioner John Greenan in late February. His tenure as Commissioner of Labor Relations began in January 2012, and Palmer was instrumental in negotiating new contracts on behalf of Erie County with the New York State Nurses Association (“NYSNA”), CSEA Local 815 Erie County Corrections Officer unit, Erie County Sheriffs’ PBA, and Teamsters Local 264.

“I am pleased to appoint David Palmer as Erie County Personnel Commissioner and am confident that he will serve well in that role,” said Poloncarz. “David has a wealth of experience to draw on, knowledge of personnel and management issues, and the ability to identify problems and work out solutions. I look forward to working with him as Personnel Commissioner.”

Commissioner Palmer said, “I am pleased to accept this designation and look forward to continuing to work with the County Executive and his team in this new capacity. I want to thank all those that I worked with me in my capacity as Labor Relations Commissioner, as our successes in Labor Relations would not have been possible without their good work.”

Palmer has thirty nine years of experience working in labor relations in both Union and Management positions. Palmer served as the New York/New England Director of the Communications Workers of America from 1995 until 2012, when he accepted the position of Commissioner of Labor Relations in the Poloncarz administration.