Late last week, I delivered my second State of the County address.  The speech provided a great opportunity to look back and highlight my administration’s reform efforts during the past year, and look forward and focus on our community’s future. 

As Erie County's Chief Executive, I’m working every day to make sure we run Erie County like the billion dollar business it is, with a focus on the future.  That's what the taxpayers elected me to do, and I am proud to report back that is exactly what we are doing.  You hear politicians talk a lot about the future; what they hope to accomplish; what they want to achieve.  Unfortunately, for most politicians, their future is defined as the next two to four years.  I define our future as the next 20 to 50 years with a focus on our children, grandchildren, and generations not yet born.

I outlined my focus as I campaigned to become County Executive.  Simple and straight forward, it became known as my three R’s: reform county government, rebuild the economy and ultimately, reduce taxes.  The three R's are interconnected and dependent on one another.  The result will be the bright future we all want for our children and grandchildren right here in Erie County.  This past year, the vast majority of my time was spent on that first R - reforming county government, with an emphasis on Lean Six Sigma.

Now my administration is shifting its focus to the rebuilding of our economy.  In order to fully revitalize our economy, Erie County needs a vision and a plan, just we like we do in the private sector.  Our vision is simple:  Erie County will become a world-class community that benefits its citizens by fostering a place where people want to live and work, businesses want to invest and locate, and tourists want to visit.  And, just as importantly, my administration has developed a plan to make that vision a reality – called the Road to a Bright Future.

Erie County's Road to a Bright Future begins with ten key agenda items that will serve as guidance for the actions that County government will take over the next three years to help our community grow and prosper.  Our ten agenda items are: make our community a global gateway; focus on entrepreneurship, innovation and small business; take advantage of our waterfront and greenway; promote our community’s arts, culture and heritage; make our community a tourist destination; promote our region’s agriculture industry; use our higher education institutions as a gateway; become the back office capital of America; advance high and low tech manufacturing; and position our area as a medical powerhouse.

We will be tracking our progress on our website, so the public can hold us accountable for our promises, just like we do in the private sector.