WASHINGTON – Erie County Executive Mark C. Poloncarz and four of his big-county colleagues traveled to the National Press Club Wednesday to talk about how they planned to spend the money the federal government showered on them in response to the pandemic.
But like the nation at large, they struggled to get past the pandemic and its politics.
"I've had death threats" from opponents of Erie County's attempts to control Covid-19, Poloncarz said in his characteristic, matter-of-fact tone.
And while his recent decision to reimpose an indoor mask mandate prompted a protest outside his office, Poloncarz didn't seem to be bothered by the fierce opposition he's facing.
"I look at it as: 'Yes, not everyone's going to be happy. But in the end, am I doing the right thing to protect my public?' " Poloncarz, who is up for re-election for a fourth term in 2023, said. "If that means I get voted out next time around, I can live with that. Because at the end of the day, that allows me to put my head on the pillow at night and sleep ... I'd rather sleep and do the right thing, even if it's not popular with everyone, than do the thing that's popular with everyone but more lives are taken as a result."
People are also reading…
So it went at the late-afternoon session sponsored by the National Association of Counties. Billed as a discussion of stimulus funding and infrastructure priorities, the session turned into something else, as county executives from Milwaukee, Miami, Houston and the Kentucky suburbs of Cincinnati joined Poloncarz in addressing more questions about the pandemic.
Many of them shared similar experiences and concerns as those of Poloncarz, citing how they tried to sell the public on measures to prevent the spread of Covid-19 only to meet people more influenced by the spread of misinformation.
"Just because Aunt Ginny saw it on Facebook doesn't mean it's true," Poloncarz said. "Let's tell you what the truth is, and you hope over time by continuing to spread the message of the facts of the situation, enough people will say: 'Well, maybe he's a Democrat, but I think he's right and that's why I'm going to wear masks going forward to protect myself.'"
Poloncarz noted, though, that he's also tried other strategies to combat the fact that Republicans might not believe the information he delivers just because he's a Democrat. He said that's why he brought Dr. Thomas A. Russo, a professor and chief of infectious diseases at the University at Buffalo School of Medicine, to a recent briefing on the pandemic.
"So if you don't believe me, at least believe the doctor," Poloncarz said.
Poloncarz traveled to Washington at a perilous time for Erie County. The daily number of Covid-19 cases in the county has reached its all-time peak in recent days, leaving its hospitals at more than 90% capacity.
The county executive said he's been fighting that spike in infections in the same way he has from the start: by trying to get people to take Covid-19 seriously and protect themselves and their communities.
"We've been focused ... on trying to get more people vaccinated, including boosted," he said.
Still, swaths of the City of Buffalo and rural stretches of Erie County have low vaccination rates, just like parts of other large urban counties nationwide.
In Harris County, Texas, officials are so desperate to vaccinate the hesitant that they're offering $100 to people who get vaccinated and another $50 if they recruit someone to get a shot.
Like Poloncarz, Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo – the top executive of the county that includes Houston – lamented the fact that the nation's deep partisan divide is hampering its response to the pandemic.
"I hope that all of us can work together to make sure that going forward, we don't end up in this state of division that ultimately affects the health of the community," she said.
The county executives spent a relatively short period of time discussing the stimulus windfall they received from the federal government earlier this year. Poloncarz, for example, touted the Office of Health Equity that his administration was able to create with the money.
Poloncarz will have more of a chance to discuss federal funding Thursday, though, when he meets with Mitch Landrieu, the Biden administration's infrastructure bill czar, and other federal officials.
