Poloncarz vows to veto term limits for Erie County officials

County Executive Mark Poloncarz confirmed to the Buffalo News on Wednesday that he would veto any proposed term limits bill.

His statement follows a lack of interest from both Republican and Democratic lawmakers in the county in supporting a term limits bill and a sparsely attended public hearing Tuesday night in which only two people spoke.

Poloncarz said that while he supported extending the terms of county legislators from two to four years so they are not continually fundraising and running for office, he never thought term limits were a good idea.

“As I’ve said for a long time, we already have term limits — they’re called elections,” he said. “People have the opportunity to vote for or against incumbents. Sometimes they vote to elect them, sometimes they vote to remove them. I do not support term limits, and if that part of the bill were brought before me, I would veto it.”

Erie County Legislator John Bargnesi, a Democrat from the town of Tonawanda, proposed a new law last month that would extend legislators’ terms from two to four years, but impose a three-term limit on all elected county officials, effectively capping terms at 12 years. The term limits would apply to the county executive, sheriff, comptroller, clerk and county legislators, and would not be retroactive. The term limit period would not begin until 2026, at the earliest.

Bargnesi said Poloncarz’s decision was “extremely disappointing to hear,” but that won’t stop him from pushing for a vote on the bill in the county legislature.

“Why don’t you let the people decide?” he asked. “Isn’t it our job to give the people the opportunity to decide? It seems like he’s planning to derail the process before the vote.”

The term limits bill must clear several hurdles. First, a majority of lawmakers must approve the bill. According to a tally by the Buffalo News last week, only one other Democratic lawmaker, Michael Kooshoian, a Democrat from Tonawanda, has expressed full support for the measure. All other lawmakers have been noncommittal or opposed.

Second, the bill must survive Poloncarz’s veto. That means a bipartisan supermajority of eight out of 11 Democrats and Republicans must vote to override the veto.

If these things happen, voters will have a chance to decide on the measure in November. Term limit proposals generally receive public support.

So far, Bargnesi said he has not actively advocated for the bill with fellow legislators or the county executive’s office. He also has not actively encouraged people to attend Tuesday’s public hearing.

“Fill[ing]a room is not my way of governing,” he said.

A 46-year-old Amherst resident and former teacher who cares for his 77-year-old mother and drives for Instacart spoke at the public hearing. Todd Hariaczyi said he was upset that no one showed up for a recent public hearing on pay raises for county employees, so he took time off work to support term limits at the public hearing. He also said many residents are frustrated that lawmakers are voting for raises for themselves and redirecting county money to their own ends.

“They’re not listening to the voters,” he told the Buffalo News.

He then referred to 19-year veteran lawmaker John Mills, R-Orchard Park.

“He’s been there since Lindy Ruff was named head coach the first time,” Hariaczyi said, referring to the Buffalo Sabres coach who led the National Hockey League team from 1997 to 2013 before returning to the Sabres this year. “It’s a problem. How many head coaches have come and gone or been fired because they didn’t do their job?”

Legislative Clerk Olivia Owens read an email from lawyer Paul Wolf, an open government advocate who also supports term limits. He noted that from 2001 to 2023, out of 154 elections held, only nine incumbents lost.

“We don’t have competitive elections for Erie County, and we should,” he wrote.

Rep. Monica Wallace, a Democrat from Lancaster, also spoke before the legislature about the importance of term limits for lawmakers to limit the power of incumbents and encourage more people to bring new ideas to government. She also said she supports extending lawmakers’ terms to four years. She has introduced her own bill in the legislature that would limit state Senate and Assembly members to 16 years of service and state elected officials to 12 years of service. That bill has not yet received a co-sponsor.

“It eliminates the concept of career politicians,” she said. “It gives other people more opportunities to participate in government and it reduces the advantage that comes with being in office.”

Electoral districting often results in single-party dominance, and partisan politics regularly leads incumbents to run unopposed or with token opposition.

Poloncarz, who won a record fourth term last year, said incumbents can be defeated, and he is an example of that, having first defeated incumbent County President Chris Collins in 2011. He noted that other county lawmakers have successfully done the same.

Bargnesi said that if elected officials believe voters should have the power to decide, then they should allow his bill to be put to a public referendum.

“I never imagined that something so simple, so appealing, would get so much attention and, I guess, so much resistance,” he said. “The only resistance I get is from elected officials.”

Bargnesi said he believes he has support from his colleagues in the Legislature on the term limits bill and anticipates the issue will be brought to a vote in the Legislature by July 25. He also said he is not interested in amending the bill to support a change from two-year to four-year terms for lawmakers, but abandons the concept of term limits.

“My intention was never to extend the term of this position or to facilitate the retention of incumbents,” he said. “For now, I stand by my positions.”