I might as well plug my own campaign here. As most know I am running for Erie County Comptroller. I have been detailing some of my campaign exploits on the blog here. To find out more about my campaign please check out my website at

http://www.poloncarz.com

Mark

The best to you and I hope you win!!

Amy,
Thank you!! The race is going well (tiring, 8 stops yesterday, but going well).

My first radio spot is on the air and you can listen to it here: http://www.poloncarz.com/poloncarz_radio.MP3

CGCS will be proud to have one of our own in public office! Best of luck and cheers!

In what some are calling a huge upset - I WON MY PRIMARY TO BE THE NEXT ERIE COUNTY COMPTROLLER BY 13 PERCENTAGE POINTS LAST NIGHT!!!

Because some districts voted by paper ballot, only 77% of the vote has been tallied. As of now I lead my competitors as follows:

Precincts Reporting: 760 Of 985 77%
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Candidate Votes Vote %
Mark Poloncarz 16,931 48%
Robert Whelan 12,396 35%
Richard Pawarski 5,234 15%

In the end I should come out on top with about the same margin of victory. I have not declared victory yet because so many people voted by paper ballots, but I feel confident that when the final numbers are released I will be victorious.

Thanks to my CGCS family that wished me support (every now and then the good guys win). Here are some stories on the race with links to video:

WIVB CBS-4 Political Newcomer Surprises Experts

WKBW ABC-7 Winner of Democratic Primary Could be Officially Unknown for Some TIme

Thanks to all once again,

Mark

CONGRATULATIONS TO YOU MARK!!!

Thanks G4A, It was a hard fought election, but now we head towards the general election.

Mark

Congratulations Mark! Good luck in the General Election!

congratulations
and i hope this a sign of changes to come all around the country

Great news! Congratulations!

FANTASTIC! Best wishes on your entry into a new world!

Latest Update to Supporters:

Friends,

There are only 19 days left until the general election to decide the next Erie County Comptroller, and with your continued help we will elect Mark Poloncarz as our next comptroller! During the past week Mark attended functions and candidate forums throughout Erie County: Amherst, Cheektowaga, Elma, Hamburg, Lackawanna, Tonawanda, and of course, Buffalo. Mark also held 2 press conferences in the past week on the continuing problems with Erie County's finances, and you can check out some of the coverage of those events by clicking here: Press Room.

During the past week Mark also received key endorsements for his campaign from the Solidarity Task Force, Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, Faculty Federation of ECC, and National Association of Letter Carriers. These organizations are supporting Mark's candidacy because they know he is the best candidate to be Erie County's next fiscal watchdog.

While Mark will be out meeting and greeting voters all across the county in these final days, he needs your assistance to help spread his message of fiscal discipline and responsible government throughout Erie County. Here are just some of the ways in which you can help out in the next week:

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Canvass Voters in Key Districts
Mark's volunteers will once again be talking to voters door-to-door in neighborhoods throughout Erie County, and we need your help! In order to get Mark's message out we need as many people as possible this Saturday morning to help out while the weather is still good. So please consider spending a couple of hours this Saturday morning talking to voters which will help elect Mark Poloncarz as our next comptroller. Here are the details:

Saturday October 22nd & 29th Voter Canvass
Meet at 10:30 AM at
Mark Poloncarz Headquarters
2789 Union Road, Cheektowaga

We will provide you with all the details on where to go, which voters to approach, what to tell voters, and how to record the information. If you can help out this Saturday please contact our HQ at 683-1828 and tell them you want to volunteer, or just drop an e-mail to our volunteer coordinator Bob Farmer at volunteers@markpoloncarz.com!

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Call Voters
During the past week Mark's volunteers made over 2,000 calls to voters, and the response was fantastic! But we still need to contact many more voters in the next 19 days. We will give you lists of voters and the script to use, you just call the voters and record the response on the call sheet. We will be holding these phone banks every week night between now and election day, so if you cannot help out with the weekend canvass please consider attending a phone bank, or two, or three!

Phone banks are held at our Cheektowaga headquarters and in the downtown area every night starting at 5:30 p.m. Once again, here are the details:

Week Night Phone Banks
5:30 - 8:30 PM
Mark Poloncarz Headquarters
2789 Union Road, Cheektowaga

also Downtown Buffalo
(call 683-1828 for more information)

For more information about volunteering at a phone bank, or to confirm your attendance, please contact Mark's HQ at 683-1828, or just drop an e-mail to our volunteer coordinator Bob Farmer at volunteers@markpoloncarz.com!

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Attend Mark's Fundraiser on 10/25 at the Allen Street Hardware Cafe!!
Help Mark Hammer It Home At the Allen Street Hardware Cafe
Tuesday, October 25, 6:00 – 8:00 p.m.
245 Allen Street, Buffalo.
$50 per person


Join good friends for food, drinks, and good times while we raise money for the campaign at one on the coolest new restaurants in Buffalo.

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Make a Donation to the Campaign
Every dollar counts, especially as we gear up for the final month of the general election! If everyone on this e-mail list donated $10.00 to Mark's campaign we would raise over $20,000 which would be used to help Mark spread his message on the airwaves. To make a secure online donation by credit card please click here and follow the steps: Contribute Online.

If you would like to send a check or money order to the campaign you can do so by making it out to "Friends of Mark Poloncarz" and mailing it to our campaign headquarters: Mark Poloncarz for Erie Co. Comptroller, 2789 Union Road, Cheektowaga, New York 14227
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In less than 3 weeks Erie County voters will go to the polls to elect their next taxpayer representative and fiscal watchdog. We thank you for your past support, which helped Mark achieve his BIG victory in the primary, and with your continuing support Mark will come out on top in the general election in November!


To find out how you can play a part in Mark's campaign during these last weeks please contact our headquarters:



Mark Poloncarz for Erie County Comptroller Headquarters
2789 Union Road
Cheektowaga, New York 14227
Phone: 716.683.1828
Fax: 716.683.1838
campaign@markpoloncarz.com
www.markpoloncarz.com

I'm not sure if I can catch a flight to Buffalo tomorrow after class, register in Buffalo, vote, catch a flight home and get back into the classroom by Wednesday morning, BUT I'LL SURE TRY!

I missed all this. This is great news! Congrats!

Mark,

Thinking about you today--I called all my relatives and friends and asked them to call all of THEIR relatives and friends...

My Dad said--"I already voted for him!"

I told him to get on the phone already then!

(He's 83).

Karen and Dick

I completely missed this thread. Mark, I remember you from orgainizing the canvasing for the Kerry campaign :o) Anyhow, when I heard you were running I told everyone I know to vote you in. I'll have my fingers crossed tonight, and know that you'll have MY vote.

Kim
Riverside, Buffalo, NY

Wonderful news ! Congratulations.

This is very very sweet.

The Buffalo newspaper endorsed Mark's opponent.

Something about "experience."

But we know our Mark.

I hope it's not premature to say:

Yeah, Mark!!

Looking Good!
CONGRATULATIONS!

WHOOOO-EEEEE!!!!!

ERIE COUNTY MAY SURVIVE!!!

Congratulations, Mark. Big time way to go!!!

Heyyyyy, Congratulations!!

Congratulations Mark!!! One of CGCS's own is an elected official! I couldn't be happier for you bro!

CHEERS!

Congratulations, Mark! You did it!!

Okay, you won, eh? Methinks now that you got all that campaignin' and stuff done you can get back here and get busy again.

BTW, congratulations!

A hale and hearty congratulations Mark...I'm sure that this has been a grueling campaign!...Enjoy the fruits of your labor.
I worked on my brothers’ campaign for city council 3 times…The 3rd. time was the charm.

OUTSTANDING!!!!!

Thanks to everyone for your suport!! It has been one hell of a ride the last 48 hours, especially the last 5 since the polls closed. I will have more tomorrow after I get a good night of sleep, but thank you for all your support and well wishes. I look forward to being the first elected official from the CGCS crew.

Mark Poloncarz a/k/a Buffalo Mark

The 1st, but hopefully not the last.

Here is what I think CGCS should send Mark:

1. A shovel and pail

2. Lysol

3. A calculator

4. A copy of Pema Chodron's book When Things Fall Apart

5. The best champagne

6. A new major industry for Western New York, besides Wegman's!

Love ya', man!

I don't know if congratulations or condolences are more appropriate. The only experience I have with someone elected to a public office is my brother who was elect as a city councilman many years ago.

His tenure was self described as the most frustrating and thankless job he ever worked. I guess if you don't try to make a difference things never get better. Congratulations.

CONGRATULATIONS MARK!!

To you and to myself, the City of Buffalo and Erie County. Its been a long time needed. We need someone with common sense to get things moving here. I'm proud to have you represent my interests....

Kim
Bflo

Congratulations, Mark.

I have some friends in Tonawanda, so be sure to manage their money well!

All the best of luck for success in your new office!

Great article!

This sure is a FIRST for me. I've never knowingly cheered for a "corporate lawyer" before! :

Congratulations again, Mark

Rox posted this on another thread. But I'm not sure she recognized the significance of the part I bolded!


That Warm Feeling
By William Rivers Pitt
t r u t h o u t | Perspective

Friday 11 November 2005

This may make me a bad person, but I get a warm feeling in the center of my soul when I watch right-wing maniacs freak out in frustration and lose their so-called minds. It just makes me smile.

Two examples of this came rolling down the mountain in the last day. When the citizens of Dover, PA, decided in the elections this past Tuesday to give the boot to a bunch of Intelligent Design golems who had boll-weeviled their way onto the school board, Mr. Robertson fell off the planet. "I'd like to say to the good citizens of Dover," saith Pat on his television show, "if there is a disaster in your area, don't turn to God, you just rejected Him from your city. And don't wonder why He hasn't helped you when problems begin, if they begin. I'm not saying they will, but if they do, just remember, you just voted God out of your city. And if that's the case, don't ask for His help because he might not be there."

If any of the good people in Dover are concerned about this, they should put their fears to rest. This condemnation came from the fellow who said Orlando would be obliterated by "earthquakes, tornadoes, and possibly a meteor" for flying rainbow flags to mark the annual Gay Days celebration at Disney World in 1998. The last time I checked, Orlando remains unsmited by the wrath of God.

On the heels of Robertson's magically deranged denunciation of Dover came the ever-insane Bill O'Reilly, who decided the city of San Francisco needs to be destroyed. The citizens of that glorious city decided in last Tuesday's elections to ban military recruiting in public schools, and to ban handgun ownership in the city. "You want to be your own country?" frothed Bill. "Go right ahead. And if al Qaeda comes in here and blows you up, we're not going to do anything about it. We're going to say, look, every other place in America is off limits to you except San Francisco. You want to blow up the Coit Tower? Go ahead."

For the record, Coit Tower was erected to honor the firefighters who fought the flames unleashed upon San Francisco in the '06 quake. Not very nice, Billy-boy.

Why are these two men, along with their like-minded cadre of right-wing goofballs, having such bad hair days all of a sudden? It might have something to do with the turning of a number of worms in last Tuesday's elections. Beyond the epic victories of Mr. Kaine in Virginia and Mr. Corzine in New Jersey, beyond the utterly humiliating bag of defeat handed to the Governator in California, beyond the defeat of an anti-gay ballot initiative in Maine, there were these moments of glory, as reported by Mark Green in the Huffington Post:

In the 94th District legislative race in Missouri, Democrat Jane Bogetto stunned locals with a 58 percent victory, becoming the first Democrat to win the seat in 58 years. In Erie County, New York, Mark Polocarz, a young Kerry '04 activist, became the first Democrat to capture the county comptroller's race in 30 years, winning easily by 18 percentage points. In Suffolk County, New York, Democrat Kathleen Rice defeated 30-year incumbent Dennis Dillon for DA, and Brian Foley got elected town supervisor of Brookhaven, the country's largest township, after a 30-year reign. In St. Paul, Minnesota, Democratic mayor Randy Kelly lost 2-1 to another Democrat because Kelly had crossed party lines to endorse President Bush in 2004. In Corning, New York, Democrat Frank Coccho, a self-employed plumber, became the first Democratic mayor in 50 years.

The list goes on. To top all this off, the Bush administration is under withering assault from all directions. The nomination of Harriet Miers exploded in a blaze of disgrace, Scooter Libby and Tom DeLay are contemplating plea agreements to avoid prison time, the GOP budget talks have fallen apart after a revolt by party moderates, Patrick Fitzgerald is still crouched in the tall grass, and a vast majority of the country has come to the conclusion that the war in Iraq, indeed the entire term of Bush's tenure, has been an awful, bloody, wretched waste of time.

No wonder the cretins are going bananas. Like I said, it just gives me a warm feeling.

You wouldn't know the fortunes of these frauds are sinking like a stone in water had you listened to Mr. Bush's speech from Pennsylvania on Friday. According to George, everything's comin' up Millhouse. The march of freedom continues, he said, and Iraq is doing great. Someone should whisper this into the ears of the forty-two people who were breakfasting in a Baghdad restaurant on Thursday when it was bombed. They won't hear it, because they're dead, but it'd be nice for them to know that things are going so smoothly.

Ready for a dumb joke? Here goes: How do you know George W. Bush is lying? His lips are moving.

Speaking of dumb jokes, George also attempted in this speech to stifle the criticism coming his way from Democrats who have been smelling blood for weeks now. Accusing them of "rewriting history," Bush went so far as to quote John Kerry's comments from the Iraq War Resolution vote in 2003, claiming his former opponent and 100 other Democrats supported his invasion of Iraq. Too bad for George that people tend to write important things down. "I will support a multilateral effort to disarm him by force," said Kerry at the time," if we ever exhaust those other options, as the President has promised, but I will not support a unilateral US war against Iraq unless that threat is imminent and the multilateral effort has not proven possible under any circumstances."

You broke that promise, George, when you attacked and finally evicted Hans Blix and his weapons inspectors for not finding the weapons you promised were there. You broke that promise, George, when you scared the living cheese out of the American public with dire yet wildly unsubstantiated reports of imminent doom to get the war you wanted. You broke that promise when you used September 11 against the American people for this purpose.

Speaking of the Democrats, it was Senator Kennedy who was first on the wires with a response to the bag of gibberish dropped on the country in that speech. "It is deeply regrettable," said Kennedy, "that the president is using Veterans Day as a campaign-like attempt to rebuild his own credibility by tearing down those who seek the truth about the clear manipulation of intelligence in the run-up to the Iraq war. Instead of providing open and honest answers about how we will achieve success in Iraq and allow our troops to begin to come home, the president reverted to the same manipulation of facts to justify a war we never should have fought."

In the end, however, all anyone needed to see in that speech was the banner hanging behind Mr. Bush as he spoke. It read "Strategy for Victory," which is a hell of a long chalk from "Mission Accomplished." Remember that? On that day, more than two years and two thousand American soldiers gone now, he said, "Major combat operations in Iraq have ended. In the battle of Iraq, the United States and our allies have prevailed."

How do you know he's lying? His lips are moving. Thankfully for the country, the world and the future, most everyone who sees those lips moving knows they are being sold up the river. It does give me a warm feeling indeed.



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William Rivers Pitt is a New York Times and internationally bestselling author of two books: War on Iraq: What Team Bush Doesn't Want You to Know and The Greatest Sedition Is Silence.

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http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/111105Q.shtml

Aside from the fact that Mark is energetic, smart, and easy on the eyes, I do believe that the larger message here is a rejection of corporate financial culture.

The citizens of Erie County did not buy into the idea that someone with a background doing corporate audits and managing the finances of large companies was the right person to turn around a ship running aground.

They chose a lawyer, someone who ran on doing what was right and being more of a watchdog for their money, over someone to whom they might turn the books over and get back to their lives.

These voters will be paying attention and Mark's job will be far more publicly scrutinized than his predecessors were, but that's what he ran on anyway. That's why he won.

Mark is up to the task!

Congratulations again--to the citizens of Erie County, who now have hope---and a pair of eyes on their money...and a good manager who cares.

Thanks, I always felt bad when people criticized corporate/business lawyers as I knew that we weren't all bad



Pegatha,

Thanks for posting that, though it would have been nice if my name was spelled right!!



Karen,

Thanks for the kind words, especially the "easy on the eyes" part

I am in the process of putting my transition team together, and will update everyone on events as they progress towards my swearing in ceremony on January 1, 2006!!
Mark

:TurkeyDay: