Their constituencies are often spread across many miles, but that has not stopped the next generation of New York State’s elected leaders from making themselves known and prompting intense speculation into their political futures. The Capitol has identified five of the most promising up and comers in each of the state’s seven regions outside of New York City and will profile each in this ongoing series. Ages were not taken into account in the development of these lists. What matters here is potential, which everyone in this group has in abundance.

REGION DESCRIPTION: Bounded by two Great Lakes, Erie to the west and Ontario to the north, Western New York is home to two of the state’s largest cities: Buffalo and Rochester. It is also home to one of the nation’s most-seen tourist attractions to international visitors—Niagara Falls. With Democratic majorities in the urban areas and Republican domination of rural areas, the region is politically split. The economy has been in distress for years with the departure of the traditionally manufacturing economy leading to an exodus of residents for warmer climates. Most local races are dominated by the issues of economic development and property taxes.

MARK POLONCARZ (D)
ERIE COUNTY COMPTROLLER
AGE 40

In 2004, Erie County went into fiscal meltdown. Tax cuts combined with spending hikes had caused the county’s tax reserves to be depleted and a sales tax hike to be proposed. While the state agreed to a sales tax hike for the county, the County Legislature changed tracks, forcing the county to lay off 3,000 employees and close such services as parks, beaches and cultural activities. The state was forced to place the county under a fiscal control board.

The county’s Democratic leadership took a different turn in the 2005 race for county comptroller: Instead of backing one of the scores of local officials looking to move up to a countywide office, the party choose instead to go with Mark Poloncarz, a little-known business attorney who had worked on Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry’s 2004 presidential campaign.

Since taking office in January 2006, Poloncarz has quickly emerged as a high-profile comptroller, alternating between working with Republican County Executive Joel Giambra on fiscal reform and criticizing Giambra’s efforts. In a similar fashion, he has worked with the control board while calling for its abolishment. While a political novice, Poloncarz was publicly courted to run for county executive by County Democratic Chairman Len Lenihan, who liked his freshness in opposition to the four longtime political veterans running. After flirting with the county executive’s race for several weeks, Poloncarz backed away, saying it was best for the county for him to focus on the comptroller’s office. Earlier this year, Poloncarz was mentioned as a potential successor to Alan Hevesi as state comptroller.

While insisting he will serve a full term as comptroller and seek re-election in 2009, Poloncarz has not closed the door on a future run for office. While speculation swirls that he will run for county executive, state comptroller or Congress in the future, Poloncarz declined to say which was most appealing to him.

What is your biggest accomplishment in office so far? One thing I wanted to do is turn the audit division into an inspector general’s office. We’ve issued a number of audits and some of the changes have become county law. My goal is to make sure that the changes we recommend are implemented.

What do you want to accomplish in the next two years, governmentally and politically? We have a new county executive coming in, whom I will work with. I want to insure we continue to move Erie County down a path of fiscal certainty. I want to increase our bond ratings and make sure we can make fiscal decisions on our own.

What do you think should be the top three priorities for the state right now? Curtail state mandates of county expenses; focus on upstate economic growth; focus on creating a positive business climate upstate

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