The two candidates for the elected position of Erie County executive squared off in a debate Thursday. Three-term incumbent and Democrat Mark Poloncarz, and first-time elected office candidate and Republican, Chrissy Casilio, took the stage at St. Joseph’s Collegiate Institute for the event.
The candidates had differing views on almost every subject raised during the debate. Talking points ranged from tax rates and the county’s blizzard response, to the migrant crisis and its impact in the area.
As he vies for a fourth term as Erie County executive, Poloncarz was able to give examples of ways his administration has managed challenges faced by residents since 2012. Whereas small-business owner and political newcomer Casilio, used her position as a first-time candidate as leverage to suggest Poloncarz is “out of touch” with residents and their needs.
The debate opened with a moderator question on what each candidate would do differently when it came to the county’s response to the December blizzard. Casilio's answer set the tone of the debate, which at times exposed the tensions between the two candidates.
"To be honest with you, the response from the storm was so bad, I was surprised that my opponent decided to run for reelection," Casilio said.
She argued that the National Guard should have been called in earlier, and the county should have shut down the night before the blizzard hit.
The county issued a county-wide driving ban on Dec. 23 at 9:30 a.m., the day the blizzard enveloped the Buffalo-area.
Explaining why the ban was not issued earlier, Poloncarz said: "We did not implement a driving ban until the next morning because we wanted the individuals who were working the night before on third shift, and there are thousands of people who work third shift 11 to 7, to be able to get home."
When it comes to taxes, Casilio proposes cutting them by as much as 10%, and when asked how she plans to do that without cutting services, she said spending could be done differently.
"We don't need to be cutting services," Casilio said. "We don't need to be having these major slashes of programs, we simply need to spend more wisely because if all of us are having to tighten our belt under inflation, then so can the government."
Poloncarz said a tax decrease without cuts to services is not possible.
"We just got hit with a $25 million bill from New York State for Medicaid," Poloncarz said. "We can't ignore that. We have to pay it which means you'd have to cut libraries, parks, and other services that the public wants. There is no money tree where you can just go out there and pay for the services with."
A hot topic for both Republicans and Democrats in counties across the state has been the influx of migrants to New York. Earlier this year, Poloncarz’s administration agreed for Erie County to temporarily house migrants, with approximately 530 staying in area hotels. The incumbent took aim at municipalities that have issued emergency orders preventing this in other counties.
"I believe it's morally repugnant to issue an order like that. You issue an emergency order during a blizzard, or when things went really bad in COVID."
Casilio responded by claiming migrants are not properly vetted.
"What's morally repugnant is that to this day, we still don't know exactly who is here, where they're from, and what the plan is."
In the continuation of a tradition of 39 years, the debate was organized by St Joseph’s Collegiate Institute, and moderated by AP Government teacher Ted Lina. All questions were produced by Mr. Lina’s students. You can hear the debate in full above. Election Day is Nov. 7, and early voting starts Oct. 28.
