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Mark C. Poloncarz (born November 7, 1967) is the county executive of Erie County, New York. Poloncarz, a Democrat, was elected county executive on November 8, 2011 after defeating the incumbent county executive Chris Collins a Republican by a 53 - 47 percentage point margin. Poloncarz is only the 2nd Democrat to be elected to the position of county executive in the 51 year history of the position. Poloncarz was the elected comptroller of the county at the time of his election as executive. Poloncarz was a heavy underdog when he entered the race in May of 2011. However, by focusing on issues of providing efficient, yet cost-effective government, reducing waste, fraud and abuse of the public's tax dollars, supporting the "People's Mandates," and properly funding libraries and arts and cultural institutions, Poloncarz was able to chip away a sizable Collins lead until he won in surprisingly easy fashion. Poloncarz also capitalized on his "son of a steelworker" blue collar background against Collins self-proclaimed businessman style. Since taking office as Erie County Executive in January 2012, Mark has worked to change the culture of Erie County government and return it to its core mission: provide the programs and services that residents and taxpayers demand as effectively and efficiently as possible. And as such, he made it a priority to restore funding for what he calls the “People’s Mandates,” which include the rodent control program, parks improvements, road and bridge construction, libraries, summer youth programming and a renewed commitment to arts and cultural organizations. These programs were restored by Mark in a fiscally responsible manner without raising taxes. In 2014, as a result of Mark’s prudent budgeting and strong fiscal discipline, Fitch Ratings raised Erie County’s credit rating outlook from “stable” to “positive” and Standard & Poor’s upgraded the county’s credit rating three steps to “AA-.” Additionally, Poloncarz believes the key to his administration’s success is to create strong partnerships with other levels of government, the private and non-profit sectors, educational institutions and community groups. Examples include the creation of one of New York State’s first Land Banks, the establishment of the Erie County Medicaid Anti-Fraud Unit, as well as the successful negotiation of a new 10-year lease with the Buffalo Bills that is fair for local and state taxpayers. 2014 has been a significant year of accomplishments for Mark, including working with the Legislature to pass a balanced budget with a small tax cut, opening the Erie County Health Mall, signing an executive order requiring that all contractors with Erie County comply with equal pay laws for women, restructuring the Department of Social Services while hiring more CPS caseworkers, and managing the emergency response to four major weather-related events: two blizzards, flooding in West Seneca and Winter Storm Knife. In early 2015, Mark released “Initiatives for a Stronger Community,” his health and human services plan for Erie County.Mark believes the key to his administration’s success is to create strong partnerships with other levels of government, the private and non-profit sectors, educational institutions and community groups. In his first year in office, Mark spearheaded the creation of one of New York State’s first Land Banks and the establishment of the Erie County Medicaid Anti-Fraud Unit, as well as leading the Erie County team in successfully negotiating a new 10-year lease with the Buffalo Bills. In his first term, Mark has also settled all contracts with collective bargaining units representing Erie County employees that were expired when he took office. In 2013, Mark announced his “Initiatives for a Smart Economy,” which represents his administration’s commitment to a comprehensive, innovative approach to economic development and provides the “missing link,” tying a host of diverse initiatives into one regional development effort. Specifically, this plan includes a total of 64 initiatives across a dozen areas, representing the economic gears that, working together, will help drive our economic future. More than half of these Initiatives are already underway and showing results around Erie County. Poloncarz was first elected comptroller in 2005 and was re-elected in 2009 in a three-person race by defeating Republican Phil Kadet and Independence Party candidate Michael Abramo by a 52 - 45 - 3 percentage point margin, respectively. Prior to being elected comptroller Poloncarz was an American business and finance lawyer residing in Buffalo, New York. Poloncarz was first elected county comptroller on a platform of restoring fiscal stability and accountability to the county by acting as the taxpayers "watchdog." He is the first comptroller to be elected after a state control board was created and imposed over the county to oversee county finances. While he was the endorsed candidate of the county Democratic party, he defeated 2 challengers in the primary and then a Republican in the general election. Poloncarz has a bachelor's degree from the University at Buffalo and a law degree from the University of Toledo. Poloncarz was the 2003 - 2004 Buffalo and western New York coordinator and spokesman for the John Kerry presidential campaign. He was an at large district delegate for John Kerry at the 2004 Democratic National Convention and to Hillary Clinton at the 2008 Democratic National Convention. Poloncarz was the founder and first president of the (WNY Coalition for Progress ), a progressive think tank in upstate New York which today is known as the Western New York Democrats for Progress. ==References== 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Mark Poloncarz」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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