BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — On Monday afternoon, Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz posted a video on social media of him preparing to take in the solar eclipse in Ohio.
The post said:
"It's nice and sunny....in Ohio. Sadly, I don't think it will be clear back home, but here in Ashtabula, Ohio there are hundreds at the Ohio Welcome Center. Totality is in about 45 minutes and already 25% of the sun has been eclipsed."
It's nice and sunny....in Ohio. Sadly, I don't think it will be clear back home, but here in Ashtabula, Ohio there are hundreds at the Ohio Welcome Center. Totality is in about 45 minutes and already 25% of the sun has been eclipsed. pic.twitter.com/DOkq9C3BFU
— Mark Poloncarz (@markpoloncarz) April 8, 2024
Many have criticized the county executive's decision to leave Western New York to view the eclipse.
As of 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday the post on X, formerly Twitter, has over 500 replies.
Some saying:
- "Why aren't you in Erie County today?"
- "Why on earth are you in Ohio?"
- "You told everyone to stay home..."
- "The Erie County Executive isn't even in Erie County..."
In the weeks leading up to the eclipse, Poloncarz urged businesses to close on Monday. Most Erie County offices were closed. He also urged people to consider staying home.
"Because the less traffic on the roads when we have to respond to an emergency it makes it easier for us to respond rather than if traffic is at a standstill," he told reporters on Feb. 29.
WATCH RELATED: ‘We're going to see an incredible impact on traffic’: Emergency preparedness for April eclipse
He also spoke about preparations in March, saying “So we’re preparing for the worst but we’re expecting the best, which will be a sunny day and no major matters."
WATCH RELATED: 'Expecting the best': Erie County, state leaders make emergency plans ahead of eclipse
7 News reached out to his office Tuesday for a comment, a spokesperson provided the following statement:
“After confirming overcast skies were leading to far lower out-of-area travel into our region than expected, including reviewing NITTEC Thruway cameras that showed traffic not entering WNY but leaving it, the CE, a life-long astronomy fan and avid amateur astronomer who occasionally shares some of his astrophotography pictures on social media, felt comfortable visiting another location in the path of totality, just like thousands of other WNYers did. The Emergency Operations Center was fully-staffed, even though no state of emergency was ever declared, contrary to many false social media posts, and except for the cloudy skies that obscured the view for many, the event went smoothly for our region.”
He responded to the criticism on Wednesday during an unrelated press conference, saying:
"This is something I care about deeply, anybody who knows me knows I am so much into astronomy. I have my own telescope. I do my own astrophotography. I didn't want to miss this and I was concerned that I would. I would've actually left my house no matter what because I was either planning on being at Chestnut Ridge Park or Spraguebrook Park because we had an event scheduled. That's one of the things that I think is a little disappointing is people were saying 'You told everyone they had to stay at home,' we never said that. We said your view at home will be as good as any other as long as you don't have an obstructed view or it's cloudy."
WATCH: 'I didn't want to miss this': Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz addresses eclipse trip to Ohio
