The Erie County Legislature voted Thursday to appoint a new county comptroller. In a 6-5 vote, lawmakers appointed David J. Shenk, a democrat, to fill the post left vacant by Mark Poloncarz when he was elected county executive.
Shenk currently serves as Boston Town clerk, he is also an army reservist. Shenk has been serving as acting comptroller in the interim and was recommended by the Erie County Democratic Committee.
But Thursday's vote pitted democrats against the republican minority, with all republican lawmakers voting against the Shenk appointment. They questioned his experience for the position that acts as the county's fiscal watchdog.
The Erie County Legislature’s Minority Caucus, led by Minority Leader John Mills and including Legislators Lynne Dixon, Kevin Hardwick, Joseph Lorigo and Edward Rath, released the following statement in response to Majority Caucus’ appointment of David Shenk as Comptroller:
“Today, at the Legislature’s session, David Shenk was appointed to fill the vacancy in the office of Erie County Comptroller by a vote of 6-5. The appointment was made through a flawed process. It’s unnerving that the seating of a county-wide elected official rests in the hands of the Legislature, and not the people, to begin with. Furthermore, it is disappointing that the process for interviewing candidates was a sham. A committee, hand-picked by the Democratic Chairman, recommended a person with no financial background, or applicable education or experience, to be the chief fiscal watchdog of Erie County’s $1.4 billion budget. This is in direct contrast to the independent taxpayer watchdog that the position requires. It is our hope that when the voters have their opportunity to be heard on Election Day that they choose a Comptroller that has the credentials to perform the job well.”
Erie County Republican Chairman Nicholas A. Langworthy also weighed in on the issue. Langworthy released the following statement regarding the appointment of Shenk as Erie County Comptroller:
“Culminating a hyper-political process, the Democratic Conference of the Erie County Legislature today appointed the least-qualified candidate under consideration to the office of Erie County Comptroller. Erie County is the equivalent of a billion-dollar enterprise. Taxpayers have been done a great disservice by the appointment of David Shenk, who lacks the qualifications to serve as Erie County's Chief Financial Officer. Candidates with better credentials were passed over due to the will of Party Politics and the over-reaching of Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz.”
“The Erie County Republican Committee has launched a screening committee to identify its candidate to run in the 2012 special election for County Comptroller. Interested candidates should mail a cover letter and resume to Erie County Republican Headquarters at 715 Main Street, Suite 102, Buffalo, NY 14203. Materials can also be emailed to ecrc@ecgop.com.”