By CHRISTOPHER GORDON
As Mark Poloncarz made his decision to run for County Executive official Saturday morning, he believes it was a symbolic gesture of Mother Nature that the sun came out the second he announced his candidacy in front of a packed crowd at the Lackawanna Public Library.
“I think there is a reason why the sun just came out,” said Poloncarz, who currently serves as Erie County Comptroller.
A large group of supporters cheered as he declared himself a candidate for the county’s top seat.
“I am announcing my candidacy to become Erie County’s next county executive and I humbly ask for your support,” said Poloncarz.
The Democratic candidate will seek to unseat incumbent Chris Collins, who recently announced he would seek a second term.
Poloncarz said he chose his hometown of Lackawanna to kickoff his campaign for a number of reasons.
“I didn’t grow up with a silver spoon in my mouth,” said Poloncarz.
He said as the son of a steel worker, he was taught the value of hard work.
While he admits that the county is in better fiscal condition then it was when he took office six years ago, Poloncarz said the county will not see growth under the direction of Collins.
“It was a crisis in leadership,” said Poloncarz about his decision to run.
“Chris Collins said he was going to run Erie County like a business,” said Poloncarz, adding he believes he has failed to live up to that promise.
He accused Collins of offering high salaries to “big shots” and said that he “raised taxes and decimated services.”
Poloncarz believes it is vital for the county to work with the private sector to give Erie County long-term fiscal stability.
According to Poloncarz, the county has endured too many “frivolous lawsuits” during Collins’ four-years in office.
He was also critical of Collins’ decision not to use funds in the surplus to help with needed projects such as roads. Poloncarz added in his estimation, Collins used the surplus to “piggy bank” the money as a way to protect his own job.
Poloncarz also believes Collins created a sense of urban versus suburban life and ignored rural areas.
“Erie County deserves better,” said Poloncarz.
If he is elected, Poloncarz vowed he would restore funding to libraries, as well as funding for the arts and cultural community.
He also plans to bring financial stability to the county by solving issues with Medicaid.
“I will aggresively fight Medicaid fraud,” he said.
Poloncarz also intends to work on a long-range plan for regional development throughout the county.