Erie County Legislature candidate declared bankruptcy twice

Michael J. Zachowicz, a Republican, who is challenging Majority Leader Tim Meyers, a Democrat, for the Legislature’s 7th District seat, filed for bankruptcy in 2003 when he owed $123,000 to creditors, and filed again in 2015 when he owed $34,000, according to bankruptcy records in federal courts in Buffalo and in California.

Erie County Democratic Committee Chairman Jeremy J. Zellner said the filings cast “serious doubt” about Zachowicz’s candidacy because of the Legislature’s oversight role for the nearly $2 billion county budget.

“Those are the facts, and they show he cannot be trusted with our hard-earned tax dollars,” Zellner said in a prepared statement. “Legislators must be able to understand a complicated county budget that has huge implications for working families, as well as Western New York’s economy. By looking at his past record, it’s clear that Zachowicz lacks that fundamental understanding.”

Erie County Republican Chairman Michael Kracker fired back, saying that Zachowicz’s financial struggles mean he is an “authentic voice” to serve taxpayers. Kracker said Meyers “embodies a life of public privilege and detachment from the hardships faced by his own constituents.”

In 2003, Zachowicz declared bankruptcy in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New York’s Western District after he accumulated debts of more than $123,000, mostly from credit cards, according to filings in U.S. Bankruptcy Court.

He also defaulted on a $15,000 loan and owed hundreds of dollars to utility companies National Fuel and Niagara Mohawk, the filings show.

Zachowicz, 54, said he ran up those debts while working part-time, going to school part-time and trying to care for his parents.

“I was the only sibling in town, so, essentially, I was borrowing money from…