How Mark Poloncarz brushed aside his critics, used big war chest to define his opponent and make history

On Tuesday, Poloncarz showed why that characterization is accurate. If ever an elected leader was vulnerable to an aggressive challenger, it seemed to have been this candidate and this year, with Poloncarz facing criticism about storm response, his handling of immigration issues and a personal scandal that erupted in the middle of summer.

But the Buffalo Democrat brushed all of that aside, accomplishing in dominant fashion what no Erie County executive has done in the office’s 62-year history: winning a fourth term in office.

“Thanks, Erie County, for giving me the best birthday present ever,” Poloncarz told supporters downtown after declaring victory over Republican Chrissy Casilio, whom Poloncarz said had “graciously” conceded the race in a phone call to him.

It was quite a happy birthday for the 57-year-old lawyer, who won with a message of economic turnaround, steady leadership, tax cuts and the hiring of more sheriff’s deputies in what he has said will be his final term.

It didn’t hurt that his opponent was a first-time candidate who had a rocky start to her first run for office when it was revealed that she spread conspiracy theories on social media. Or that Republicans spent key resources in an early squabble with the Conservative Party.

“This is the most vulnerable Mark Poloncarz has ever been,” said Christopher M. Grant, a Republican strategist. “His image was the weakest. His record was weakest. He had salient issues that he mishandled. But you can’t beat somebody with nobody.”

Additionally, Casilio came nowhere close to raising the $1 million that political insiders estimated would be needed to make the race competitive. She didn’t raise as much money as Republican/Independence challenger Lynne Dixon did four years ago when Dixon challenged the county…