Erie County Comptroller Kevin Hardwick is back for another term, after capturing close to 60% of votes to beat Republican challenger Christine Czarnik.
Now that elections are over, there should be an immediate pivot to working with fellow politicians, even if they are the opposition, Hardwick said.
“I dedicate the next three years in my term to continuing what we've been doing and to working with everyone else to continue to restore leadership, respect and integrity to the office of comptroller," he said. "And to reach out to everyone else, whether they voted for us or not.”
Despite losing with just over 40% of the votes, there are issues Czarnik said she wants to see picked up as priorities in the comptroller’s office.
One of her top causes remains the taxpayer transparency tool, which would let residents and media members search the county’s financial records online without needing to file a Freedom of Information request.
“There are programs out there that will create a dashboard, an online database, very simple to use," Czarnik said. "The state comptroller does it, and I think it's a good model. And Erie County should implement that, too.”
A cause both have expressed concern for is a need to audit the NFTA and keep the transit authority accountable.
