ECGRA Executive Director Perry Wood starts the offer for County Executive
Democrat Perry Wood, the managing director of the Erie County Gaming Revenue Authority, discusses why he is running for the County Executive.
- Perry Wood runs for Erie County Executive on a platform for cooperation and progress.
- Wood underlines his experience in the management of Ecgra and emphasizes his success to bring different groups together to offer people in the entire district of growth, jobs and opportunity.
- Wood contrasts his story to seek common properties with the current state of the state government, which he displaced as dysfunctional and in complaints.
When I look around Erie County, I see stories. I see families who want to buy their first house and take root. Small business owners who open their doors every morning in the hope that more customers today than yesterday will bring with them. I see pensioners who have been living in the same districts for decades and see their grandchildren playing in the same parks in which they grew up.
This place is more than at home; It is a community full of opportunities. It is a place where the neighbors really want to see. A place where families invest in their future not only for their own profit, but also their children and grandchildren thrive. This is the Erie County I know and love.
But I also see the cracks. I see a district government that is too often involved in chaos and functional disorders. I hear from public servants who feel demoralized, from shops that were involved in bureaucracy and from residents who have lost confidence in the people chosen for the leadership. The headlines tell a story of complaints and missed possibilities. The story that we deserve to tell is cooperation and progress.
That's why I decided to run for Erie County Executive. I think it's time for the guidance that prioritizes listening. I spent my career together to bring different perspectives together, to find similarities between people who may not always agree and to transform this cooperation into real results. It's not always easy and it is rarely fast, but I saw first -hand how powerful it can be when we go beyond our silos and work together.
I am very honored to support two of the most respected leaders of Erie – the former County Executive Judy Lynch and Mayor Joyce Savocchio. Both women women changed their offices through cooperation, accountability and a focus on building a better future for Erie. Mayor Savocchio, he's first mayor, brought the same collaborative spirit to the town hall. It focused on economic revitalization, infrastructure development and education and laid the basis for the show growth and stability. It showed how coalition structure could lead to innovative solutions even with unlikely bedding.
Dr. Lynch, the first female manager of Erie County, accepted the challenge of fiscal mismanagement and converted a debt of 2.7 million US dollars into a success story of transparency and service excess. It was significantly involved in the development of the library system and the professionalization of the court building. Her approach was not just about solving problems, but also creating permanent responsibility systems, a legacy that I want to build on as the next County Manager.
My journey at this moment started right after the then Mercyhurst College. I started my career in the governor Tom Ridge's office and worked with the city of Erie. To see how the government works from the inside, triggered my passion for public service and politics. When I headed Northwest Pa Technology Council, I made the collaboration to the cornerstone of my approach. We started the Keystone Innovation Zone, which brought Erie millions of tax credits and private funds. It was not about what I thought best – it was about bringing business leaders, civil servants and community voices together to create something that worked for everyone.
When I started at the Erie County Gaming Revenue Authority (ECGRA), the organization was on a crossroads. Laws and unclear guidelines for the distribution of the scholarships threatened to derail the critical economic development for which the organization was built. I didn't come in with a top-down approach. Instead, I worked with our board and community takeholders to create clear, fair grants. We have created a system in which every dollar is taken into account and every decision is transparent – because the trust is not something that you ask, it is something you deserve.
The same spirit of collaboration has fueled the projects that I am most proud of. We have built Mission Main Street as the first strategy for the economic development of rural areas that work with local communities to leave areas too often. With Empower Erie we brought educators, managing directors and civil servants to create the latest community college in the country, which was rooted in the idea that education is the basis for opportunities.
And then there are the beehives in which we helped the universities to become incubators for local companies, and give the entrepreneurs the support they needed to thrive. And then the Renaissance block program, which not only invests in houses, but also built partnerships with homeowners and revived the neighborhoods Block after Block.
These are not just initiatives on paper. They live and breathe examples of what happens when we prioritize the cooperation. They have led to over 1,000 jobs that were created and held back throughout the district and have been invested in over 88 million US dollars. They are proof of what can be achieved if the leadership focuses on building up and not tearing down.
Erie County deserves a guide who not only understands the challenges of our community, but also has experience and vision to overcome it. I am incredibly proud of the work I did with others to make Erie County a better place, but I know that we can do more if you trust me to be your next County manager. I believe in the power of the district government to promote positive changes.
I believe that with the right leadership we can transform Erie County into a place where every family has the opportunity to be successful. I am ready to bring my experience and passion for service in the County Executive office, and it is an honor for me to have received non -partisan support from dozens of chosen and not chosen civil servants who believe in our joint vision.
On election day, Erie County's voters have the opportunity to choose a better future. By voting for me, you vote for an accountability, cooperation and a government that works for all of us. They vote for someone who always puts the needs of Erie first and has the vision, experience and integrity to drive our district forward.
Let us earn the future Erie County together. Let us write the next chapter in our story in which cooperation and progress are the way.
Perry Wood is looking for democratic nomination for Erie County Executive in the municipal primary school on May 20.
