Erie County Republicans have officially chosen Lynne M. Dixon as their candidate for comptroller this year, GOP Chairman Karl J. Simmeth Jr. said Wednesday.
"She has committed to run for county comptroller and we will endorse her Saturday," the chairman said.
Dixon, a former county legislator from Hamburg who ran a competitive but unsuccessful campaign for county executive in 2019, has been viewed in most quarters as the Republican favorite this year to run for the "fiscal watchdog" post. For more than a year, she has worked in the Comptroller's Office as a top assistant to incumbent Stefan I. Mychajliw Jr., who will not seek another term and instead will run for Hamburg supervisor.
She is also expected to be supported by the Conservative Party, and has proven a popular vote-getter throughout her career. She was unavailable for comment Wednesday.
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A former radio and television reporter, Dixon has always registered in the Independence Party. But the minor party was ruled off the ballot this year after failing to gain the required amount of votes in the 2020 presidential election to maintain "permanent" status. Still, even as an Independence Party member, she consistently caucused with the GOP in County Hall and ran essentially as a Republican against Democratic County Executive Mark C. Poloncarz.
Simmeth said Wednesday he is not sure of Dixon's party registration plans, noting she has until Feb. 14 to decide if she wants to reregister with another party.
"I don't know if she'll stay blank or register with Republican or Conservative," he said. "Regardless, we will go ahead and endorse her on the Republican side."
County Legislator Kevin R. Hardwick of the City of Tonawanda has been endorsed by Democrats for the post; businessman/developer Hormoz Mansouri is also contemplating a Democratic candidacy.
