By Joyce Kryszak
Buffalo, NY – The two candidates for Erie County Executive appear to be in a race to turn down compensation for the job.
Republican businessman Chris Collins Tuesday announced that, if elected, he will pass up the salary for the county's top post. By law Collins has to keep at least a dollar. But he said the rest will go back to the county. Collins will accept the full salary, he said, only after Albany removes the hard status of the fiscal stability authority.
His opponent, Democrat James Keane, previously announced that if elected he would refuse any pension money earned while he's in office. Keane also wants Collins to show evidence that he is not profiting personally from public business.
But Collins said his pledge to the public will actually cost him money from his personal savings accounts.
A recent poll shows Collins is currently leading Keane by nine percentage points among county voters.
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