By Jon Lentz
December 13, 2011
Mark Poloncarz notched one of the state’s big upset wins this year by knocking out Erie County Executive Chris Collins. The Erie County comptroller’s come-from-behind victory also bolstered Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who helped Poloncarz campaign to oust Collins, a potential gubernatorial challenger for the Republicans in 2014.
Now comes the tough part for Poloncarz, who envisions better relations with unions, stronger efforts to combat Medicaid fraud, and a united Democratic Party in Erie County.
What follows is an edited transcript.
City & State: What do you hope to accomplish first?
Mark Poloncarz: Right now we’re in the process of working with the Erie County Legislature to make modifications to the current county executive’s proposed 2012 budget. So when I get in on January 1, we are going to be focusing on job development and renegotiating the lease for the Buffalo Bills.
CS: What influence do you have over Collins’ budget?
MP: It’s his budget that’s proposed. The Legislature has the ability to make modifications to it, and I will be submitting suggestions in the next week or so for the Legislature. We believe that there are areas where the current county executive made certain cuts to county government, and social service delivery, and funding to the arts and cultural institutions of our community that can be funded in the current budget.
CS: In what shape are the county’s finances?
MP: Erie County has been running surpluses for the last few years, some of which have been predicated on stimulus dollars. Erie County had a serious financial crisis in 2004 and 2005. I was elected comptroller to help clean up that crisis, and I’m glad to say we did. Erie County made some very difficult decisions back then, such as cutting services, eliminating over a thousand jobs, as well as raising taxes to offset that deficit. As a result of the things that were done in 2006 and 2007, Erie County was put on stronger financial footing.
CS: You’ve talked about reducing Medicaid costs. How would you do that?
MP: First of all, we want to be more vigilant in going after Medicaid fraud on the provider end. Erie County has not been working in concert with New York State to go after provider fraud. I think that’s wrong. Secondly, we had two health clinics in the city of Buffalo that were closed by Mr. Collins. Those helped manage costs associated with Medicaid recipients. As a result, we believe we’ve seen an increase in costs associated with Medicaid expenses at the Erie County Medical Center Corporation, which is partially subsidized by Erie County. Instead of individuals going to the health clinic, where they’re managing their care and we can reduce the costs associated with their business, they’re going to hospital emergency rooms, which of course have no incentives to reduce costs. We’re going to look at trying to reopen one of those clinics in the first year.
CS: What do you think about the governor’s property tax cap?
MP: I’m going to be working with him within the parameters of the law. The property tax cap is in place, and we’re going to do everything possible to ensure that we don’t have to raise taxes—and if I wanted to, the cap is there to pretty much prohibit Erie County from raising taxes at this point. I don’t believe it is as big a problem in the county as it is in smaller school districts and towns, because the vast majority of Erie County’s revenues do not come from property taxes. They come from sales taxes. Right now our sales growth has been approximately 4.25 percent for the past year, so we are getting a substantial amount of new revenue from the sales-tax growth.
CS: Some county executives have called for mandate relief. Is that less of an issue in Erie County?
MP: It’s an issue, especially as it pertains to Medicaid, and I’m looking forward to discussing these issues with the governor and his staff as I go forward. I’m hopeful there will be more mandate relief. I think there was a discussion on the tax cap, that mandate relief would then be coming afterwards, and I hope those discussions still go on.
CS: How important was Cuomo’s support in this race?
MP: I believe that the governor’s support was very important. Not only did it send a message to the community that this popular governor was supporting me—and said that I was the individual that he wanted to work with to rein in these costs—but it allowed us the opportunity to use some of his field staff from the New York State Democratic Committee that was on site for weeks.
CS: What will resolve the feud among Erie County Democrats, particularly between Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown and Len Lenihan, the county leader?
MP: I think those issues will get resolved. As I remind folks, the only time Erie County had ever been united previously was when a Democrat was in the office of Erie County executive. That will be happening as of January 1. Right now I’m focused on transition. I’m focused on the 2012 budget. I think all those issues will be resolved. Truthfully, there is unity in the Democratic Party. Everyone was united behind my candidacy. Mayor Brown came in a little later than others, but in the end everyone was united.
CS: You also looked into running for Congress in the special election that Kathy Hochul won. How did the two of you decide who would run for which seat?
MP: In the end, I was more interested in county executive and she was more interested in Congress. At first I looked at it, and people were telling me to look at it, but then I realized it wasn’t the right race for me. And Kathy and I have always had a very good relationship. So in the end, the way things worked out, by her having the opportunity to run for Congress, it then pretty much guaranteed that I’d be running for county executive. We both had open doors. I thought I was going to be a better candidate for county executive, and I truthfully thought that she would have been the better candidate to run for Congress in that district.
CS: So will you send a thank-you to former Rep. Chris Lee for opening things up?
MP: I don’t think I’ll be sending a thank-you note to Chris Lee. In the end, it was something unexpected that had an impact for the whole community in western New York.
CS: What strategy will you take in negotiating expiring union contracts? Will you be more sympathetic to unions since they boosted your campaign?
MP: I think I’m going to be fair. I think that’s what Mr. Collins never was—to anybody, not least the unions—was fair. Many of them never really even had an opportunity to bargain with him. What he put down as a proposal was just going to be unacceptable, no matter what. I understand that I represent the people of the community, and I’m going to negotiate fairly. I’m not going to give the unions the keys to the candy store just because they helped me out on my campaign, but I think they’ll have someone who understands that they’ll have a right to be sitting across the table negotiating fairly.
CS: What is your view on legalizing gambling in New York?
MP: I don’t look at casino gambling as being this silver bullet that’s going to save communities. There’s a large gaming facility in Niagara Falls, Ontario, and I’m fine with it there. The Senecas also have a large facility in the Southern Tier on their own land in Salamanca, and I don’t have a problem with that. I don’t think that, if we start to bring casino gambling to New York State, that that’s going to really benefit western New York or Buffalo or Erie County. We need to build on small business. We need to build on our close relationship with Canada, and be going after the Canadian companies that are opening subsidiaries in the United States, more than casino gambling.
CS: How is your relationship with the Erie County Legislature?
MP: The new Erie County downsized to only 11 members, and it will be a 6 to 5 Democratic majority, so there’s one more Democrat. I believe I have a good relationship with all the current members and the two new incoming ones.
CS: Will you take any time off before you take office in January?
MP: It doesn’t look like it’ll be possible to take a week off, with the transition, as well as the passage of the 2012 county budget. But if I can take a day off here and there, I might, just to decompress and get a little relaxation myself. But I have a feeling I’m going to be working hard between now and January 1, and then of course after January 1 when I get sworn in.