Tobe brings a wide array of skills to county’s economic development table
By News Editorial Board
December 13, 2011
The hiring of Richard M. Tobe as deputy county executive, with special responsibility for revamping Erie County’s economic development efforts, is a good choice, and a sign that the new county executive is fulfilling his pledge to put top-notch individuals in key posts.
Tobe’s years of experience in state and local government over the years will be a big assist to County Executive-elect Mark C. Poloncarz, who is stepping up to the county’s top job after six years as comptroller. Tobe’s expertise and guidance will especially be critical in dealing with economic development.
Tobe, 62, an attorney, has a history of public service. He was a top aide to the late Assemblyman William B. Hoyt, D-Buffalo, and commissioner of environment and planning for then-County Executive Dennis T. Gorski.
He also served as a member of the Buffalo Fiscal Stability Authority and was vice president of the Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo, and has been an adjunct professor at the University at Buffalo.
He did generate some controversy over his two-and-a-half years as head of Buffalo’s Department of Economic Development, Permits and Inspections under Mayor Byron W. Brown. Not controversial because of Tobe, an intelligent, professional and ethical individual who brought a lot to the public sector table. But controversial for the way he was pushed out of the Brown administration in 2008. The rationale for the decision — that Brown wanted to move in another direction — is nothing short of mystifying. Tobe declined to address a reporter’s questions about that stint with the Brown administration.
Poloncarz has shown good judgment in choosing Tobe for this high-profile position at a time when economic development efforts are a top priority. He is drawing on the skills of a man who has an encyclopedic knowledge of how government works, but who lately has been out of government service.
Tobe’s main focus will include economic development and helping to negotiate a new lease with the Buffalo Bills for the use of county-owned Ralph Wilson Stadium. Tobe was at the forefront of lease negotiations for the Gorski administration in 1998, the last time the Bills and Erie County worked out a stadium lease, and that institutional knowledge should serve Poloncarz and taxpayers.
Tobe’s optimism about the potential for economic development in the county comes as the region is about to receive more than $100 million from New York State secured by the Western New York Regional Development Council for a wide variety of projects. We hope Tobe will be able to build on those projects.
He’ll also prove key in Poloncarz’s hope to consolidate the county’s six industrial development agencies in an effort to limit our destructive intra-community competition for business and jobs.