With less than two weeks to go before early voting begins, Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz and challenger Chrissy Casilio are taking jabs at the perceived weak spots of their opponents.
Casilio, a Republican, called attention to the issue of domestic violence, while Poloncarz, a Democrat, criticized Casilio on the issue of race.
Casilio on Friday came under criticism for declining a debate request from the Buffalo Association of Black Journalists.
The association released a statement Friday saying that Casilio’s decision was “disappointing and highly insulting to the African American community” at a time when the May 14 mass shooting and the 2022 blizzard exposed racial disparities across the region.
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“In deciding to reject this debate, Republican candidate Chrissy Casilio has thumbed her nose at the African American community, not once, but twice, at the very time its concerns are supposedly a priority for a region looking to brand itself as inclusive and committed to addressing long standing inequities,” the organization said in a news release.
Poloncarz heaped on his own criticism on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.
“When you run for executive you’re running to represent everyone in our county,” Poloncarz wrote. “I’m disappointed my opponent rejected an invitation to debate the issues that matter to our African-American neighbors on any 1 of multiple days offered by the BABJ. It says a lot about her priorities.”
In response to the criticism, Casilio’s campaign released a statement about Poloncarz’s stance on migrants. It did not address the issue of race and the debate other than to say that her “campaign debate schedule was set by the time we received this request.”
Casilio on Friday jabbed Poloncarz for his treatment of women, charging that Poloncarz has not acknowledged October as Domestic Violence Awareness Month because he was accused of grabbing and restraining a girlfriend in August. Poloncarz denied the charge, which surfaced in a Buffalo police report.
Casilio in a news release noted that the Erie County Legislature passed a proclamation acknowledging October as Domestic Violence Awareness Month but said Poloncarz has been “curiously silent on the issue of protecting women from abuse.”
“Could it be because Mr. Poloncarz himself was accused of domestic violence and had a police report filed against him outlining abhorrent behavior against women?” Casilio stated.
No charges were filed in the incident, which involved Poloncarz and a woman who told police that the county executive allowed her to look at his cellphone and then became “irate” when he noticed her looking at his text messages. Poloncarz denied grabbing or restraining the woman in any way, and he said he did nothing to merit a police report being filed.
Poloncarz campaign manager Benjamin Swanekamp on Sunday said Poloncarz “has always acknowledged Domestic Violence Awareness Month. In fact, he directed Old County Hall to be lit up purple to acknowledge the month, although it has been temporarily re-lit blue and white in solidarity with Israel.”
Swanekamp also noted that during Poloncarz’s tenure, the county built a “domestic violence tribute garden.” He also said on Friday, the county executive signed a resolution asking the Legislature to approve a $283,000 grant for the Department of Social Services to provide nonresidential services for victims of domestic violence.