BUFFALO, N.Y. (WNED) – There were plenty of jabs during the second and final debate between the candidates for Erie County Executive.
St. Joseph’s Collegiate Institute continued its 25-year-tradition by hosting Thursday’s debate between Republican incumbent Chris Collins and his Democratic challenger and current County Comptroller Mark Poloncarz.
Poloncarz said he has “no intention of raising taxes” to restore programs – because the county has a large surplus.
“You should spend it on the service that the public wants and demands and needs, or you should return it through a tax cut. He did neither. He hid it charging people $8-million more. That’s why I feel confident I’m able to fund these programs without raising taxes,” Poloncarz said.
In rebuttal, Collins said he’s not only the County Executive, he’s also the Chief Budget Officer.
“It’s the budget that I put forward each year that controls the spending of over $1-billion. I’m very proud of that budget. I’m very proud that we rebuilt our cash reserves and we actually have a small rainy day fund,” Collins said.
About 800 students and faculty attended the one-hour debate. ‘Advanced Placement Government’ students researched the issues and came-up with the questions posed by the panel of students.
This was the second and final scheduled debate between the candidates. Collins and Poloncarz took part in a televised debate at WNED earlier this month.
Also Thursday, Poloncarz received the endorsement of Governor Andrew Cuomo, a fellow Democrat. Cuomo says Poloncarz “has done an outstanding job as Erie County Comptroller. He’s rooted out waste and fraud and fought hard to protect the taxpayers of Erie County.”