BUFFALO, N.Y. — Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz announced Friday that he is releasing documents in connection with his book contract with SUNY Press, as requested by Erie County Comptroller Stefan Mychajliw.
Poloncarz says Mychajliw submitted the Freedom of Information Act request regarding Poloncarz's upcoming book, "Beyond the Xs and Os - Keeping the Bills in Buffalo," on March 20, 2019.
Below is the full statement from County Executive Poloncarz.
“In response to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request from the County Comptroller, this afternoon I am releasing documents responsive to his request related to my book contract with SUNY Press regarding SUNY Press’s upcoming publication of my book: ‘Beyond the Xs and Os – Keeping the Bills in Buffalo.’ Documents are fully unredacted unless redactions were made to remove personal identifying information, such as my home address and personal mobile phone number, or to protect information covered as a trade secret of the copyrighted book.
I wrote the manuscript on my personal laptop using my personal time over the course of more than three years and corresponded with SUNY Press using either my personal email account or personal letterhead. However, in one email communication between a SUNY Press representative and myself when the original manuscript and other documents were submitted, I inadvertently included as an attachment a “pdf” copy of a document on County letterhead printed from my home computer. While this was an unintended and isolated incident, I recognize that it was nonetheless a mistake. I take full responsibility for my actions and sincerely apologize.
Additionally, in an effort to demonstrate complete transparency, tens of thousands of pages of documents relating to the 2012-2013 lease negotiations will be made available for review by the comptroller through the county attorney’s office under the county’s standard FOIA procedures. It should be noted that this information was already available to anyone filing a FOIA request at any time since the last lease negotiation was closed in 2013, and much of the information has been already made public.
‘Beyond the Xs and Os’ is a close-up look at a pivotal point in our community’s history. I believe it is important for the public to understand how precarious the negotiation process was at times and how potential owners were ultimately dissuaded from attempting to purchase and move the team. It is a story the public should hear and I look forward to sharing it with them in the future.”
