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.
Legislators acknowledged that spending in this country is completely out of control, and something had to be done, yet Mark Poloncarz, who has never met a dollar he didn’t want to spend, is upset with the current president for trying to reduce the deficit. The County Executive should have been focused on how to make Erie County a better place to live, rather than spending half of his address slamming the federal government. This, as Erie County continues to struggle on his watch.
The address lacked any great plan or vision. Instead, he spent it airing political grievances with the federal government, without any big picture ideas for the region.
