Political hanky-panky surrounding the race for Erie County executive started with the mail. It took over the telephone lines Wednesday and Thursday.
Nearly two dozen complaints were received by the campaign for Democratic candidate Mark C. Poloncarz, with numerous others logged on his Facebook site alleging that harassing phone calls were being made by someone posing as a Poloncarz supporter, Peter Anderson, Poloncarz’s spokesman, said Thursday.
Anderson said the calls are originating from the telephone number (716) 250-7491, a Williamsville exchange. However, campaign officials were still trying to determine the owner of the number and person making the calls.
He said a live person has allegedly made repeated telephone calls — in some cases, 12 to 14 per day, including some in the middle of the night — to Erie County voters.
“Sometimes nothing is said. Whoever it is just hangs up,” Anderson said. “Other times, someone on the other end of the line says, ‘Do you know Mark Poloncarz? Well, vote for him’ and then hangs up.”
Poloncarz officials say the caller is in no way associated with the Democrat’s campaign. “We just want to get to the bottom of it,” Anderson said.
Charlie King, executive director of the state Democratic Party, late Thursday called on Erie County District Attorney Frank Sedita III to investigate the calls.
Officials with Republican incumbent Chris Collins campaign aren’t buying it. “This is a shallow, transparent attempt for Mark Poloncarz to run from the real issue,” said Stefan Mychajliw, Collins’ spokesman, who accuses the Poloncarz camp of manufacturing a controversy.
Mychajliw says Poloncarz officials are trying to deflect attention from alleged ballot tampering surrounding a Democratic operative at the Erie County Board of Elections.
Poloncarz on his Facebook account initially blamed the Collins campaign for sending 10 or so ballots to absentee voters in Lackawanna already marked for Collins but has since retreated from that position.
“He will use smoke and mirrors when presented with facts that make him look bad,” Mychajliw said about Poloncarz. “He had massive egg on his face from feverishly and curiously blaming others without a single fact.”
Anderson said those allegations have no merit. “Somebody is monkeying around with the democratic process,” he said. “We want to make sure this is stopped.”
Poloncarz said the harassing telephone calls were “not coming from my campaign” and pointed out that similar incidents are occurring with the Democratic county executive candidate in Suffolk County.