The Accountability Compact

A public standard, signed before the election, so you can hold me to it after

In May 2026 I signed the Erie County Accountability Compact and invited every other candidate for county office to sign it with me. It is not a campaign promise. It is a written standard for how we will behave in office, published before Election Day so that voters, reporters, and watchdog groups can measure us against it afterward. Here it is in full.

I. We Will Show Up

  • Attend all scheduled legislative and committee meetings, with absences publicly disclosed and explained
  • Hold a minimum of two public constituent hearings per year in our districts, on the record and open to all
  • Respond to constituent inquiries within five business days
  • Publish a public attendance and activity record quarterly

II. We Will Open the Books

  • Support the County Comptroller’s full and unconditional access to county financial records
  • Proactively disclose all FOIL requests received and fulfilled through our offices
  • Post all voting records, meeting minutes, and official correspondence publicly within 30 days
  • Oppose any procedural maneuver designed to shield county business from public view

III. We Will Not Play Pay-to-Play

  • Recuse from any vote involving a contractor or developer who has donated to our campaigns
  • Publicly disclose any conflict of interest before deliberation, not after
  • Oppose IDA benefits for projects where the applicant has made recent political donations to approving officials
  • Support an independent ethics review process for county government

IV. We Will Create Public Record

  • Use official proceedings, including hearings, public comments, and formal requests, to place accountability issues into the permanent public record
  • Invite officials to answer questions publicly before drawing conclusions
  • Document and publish the results of oversight actions, including when officials decline to respond

Our Commitment to You

This is not a campaign promise. It is a public behavioral standard we are signing before the election, so that voters, journalists, and watchdog organizations can measure us against it after. We invite any candidate for Erie County office, regardless of party, to sign on. We call on the public and press to hold us accountable if we fall short.

Signed by

  • Zach Beaudoin, candidate for Erie County Legislature, District 11

Are you a candidate for Erie County office? Contact us to add your name to the Accountability Compact.

What this means for District 11: the Legislature approves the county’s contracts for professional services and votes on its budget and development deals. You should never have to wonder whether the person casting that vote answers to you or to a donor. If a contractor or developer gives to my campaign, I will not vote on their contract, and I will say so before the vote.