When the county's financial stability went up in flames early this year, both legislators and residents were confronted with bizarrely conflicting budget numbers and political war brewing between the county executive's and comptroller's offices.

As a result, more voters are expected to pay closer attention to who should fill the county role of financial watchdog.

Two of the three candidates vying for the post have never before run for office. A third lost the Democratic primary but continues to wage his campaign on a minor party line.

There are Democratic primary winner Mark C. Poloncarz, a Buffalo business lawyer; John J. Canavan, a Republican newcomer with a heavy financial background; and Robert E. Whelan, a Conservative-endorsed Democrat and former judge and city comptroller.

Canavan, 52, originally from New Jersey, moved to Western New York six years ago with more than 20 years of experience in business finance and high-level management positions with several billion-dollar corporations.

"I had a great record," Canavan said. "I was the envy of my peers."

A business major at Drexel University in Philadelphia, Canavan was a certified public accountant and registered municipal accountant in New Jersey. He earned is master's degree in business administration, with a finance concentration, from Rutgers University in Newark, N.J.

He started with Deloitte and Touche in 1976 as an auditor, then was hired and promoted through the ranks of major corporations in New Jersey, Arizona and Ohio, where he specialized in planning and acquisitions.

John W. Meredith, former vice president of corporate planning and development at Dial Corp., where Canavan worked for six years, said Canavan improved performance and cut costs in acquisitions for one of Dial's major subsidiaries.

"John's strength was looking at alternatives," Meredith said. "How do we do this, and how can we do it better? Even if people didn't like his position, they respected his intelligence and integrity."

Canavan's last position before coming to Western New York was director of acquisitions for Omnicare, a Cincinnati-based pharmacy services provider that grew from a $250 million company to a nearly $2 billion company during his tenure, Canavan said.

The Orchard Park resident came to the Buffalo area in 1997 after marrying Karen Kemp, whom he met in Cincinnati. She is currently the chief financial officer for Delaware North Co.

Since coming here, Canavan has been working in commercial real estate. He enjoys sailing and skiing and works as a weekend ski instructor at Holiday Valley.

He exudes restlessness beneath his friendly demeanor when he talks about his work over the past year. He said he wants to do more to serve the public.

"I've got a strong financial background, and there's obviously a big need," he said. "It would give me a lot of personal satisfaction to fix a broken system that affects so many people."

Poloncarz, 37, was born in Buffalo and raised in Lackawanna. He enjoys a strong civic record locally.

Poloncarz married his wife, Liz, two months ago but put off the honeymoon to run for the comptroller's seat.

He earned a bachelor's degree in political science from the University at Buffalo, then worked in sales for Sears, Roebuck & Co. for nearly a decade.

Poloncarz earned a law degree, with a business law concentration, from the University of Toledo College of Law in 1997.

He returned to Buffalo and worked as a business and corporate law attorney for Watson, Bennett, Colligan, Johnson and Schechter from 1998 to 2000, then joined Kavinoky Cook in 2000 as a business and finance lawyer.

Arnold B. Gardner, a senior partner at Kavinoky Cook, said Poloncarz is perfect for the comptroller's job.

"He's handled many sophisticated business and financial transactions," Gardner said. "He's excellent at what he does. He focuses on issues well, not just the obvious but the underlying issues in a matter."

Last year, Poloncarz served as the Western New York coordinator for Sen. John Kerry's presidential campaign.

He is an officer with several not-for-profit groups, including the Western New York Coalition for Progress, the New Group at the Albright-Knox Art Gallery and South Park Golf Club. He also is a member of the Buffalo Olmsted Parks Conservancy Advisory Board.

"I'm looking to make a difference in this community," Poloncarz said. "That's why I'm running now."

Retired Judge Robert E. Whelan, 62, is the only candidate who is no stranger to elected office. He points out that he served as Buffalo comptroller from 1976 to 1989, the longest tenure of any city comptroller.

Before serving as comptroller, Whelan was a lawyer and chief of staff for the Erie County Legislature. He also worked for a short time in Albany as assistant counsel to the State Senate Labor Committee.

As comptroller, Whelan said, he erased a $35 million budget deficit he inherited and raised the city's credit rating - which had dropped to junk status - to an acceptable level. During his 14-year tenure, city budgets remained in the black.

"I served the City of Buffalo with similar basic problems, beginning in 1975, with huge deficits," Whelan said. "Someone had to take a more aggressive posture and develop solutions that worked."

Whelan was elected to State Supreme Court in 1990 and remained on the bench until 2003, overseeing a broad range of civil litigation in that time. He was denied his own Democratic Party's endorsement in 2003 and subsequently lost his bid for re-election.

Whelan, who lost the Democratic primary in September, concedes he has burned his share of bridges during his political life. He will run in the general election on the Conservative Party line.

One thing Whelan won't do is pander.

"That's just not part of my makeup," he said. "That's why every party chairman I've every worked with threw me out of their office. I won't try to be well-loved, just well-respected."