The Erie County Legislature held its annual reorganizational meeting on Thursday, Jan. 8, 2015 and elected Legislator John Mills to his second term as Chairman. He was appointed unanimously (11-0) to the one-year term.

“I am honored to have the support of my colleagues to continue serving as Chairman. We had a lot of success in 2014 during my first year in the position and I look forward to a productive new year. The Legislature has a lot of work to do to capitalize on the 2015 tax decrease we delivered and to continue the trend of delivering relief for taxpayers,” said Chairman Mills.

Chairman Mills was first elected to the Legislature in 2005 and served seven years as Minority Leader. In November 2013 the first Republican-aligned majority was elected to lead the Legislature in 37 years, making Chairman Mills the first Republican to hold the seat in nearly four decades.

Also during Thursday’s meeting the Majority Caucus re-elected Legislator Joseph Lorigo to the position of Majority Leader. First elected to the Legislature in 2011, Majority Leader Lorigo was the first Conservative Party member to hold the position when he was appointed by the Republican-aligned Majority Caucus in 2014.

"In our first year in the majority, our Caucus made significant changes to how the Legislature operates, held departments and commissioners accountable, implemented internal reform and improved overall efficiency. As a result, the administration has also had to adjust how it operates, knowing the Legislature will not simply rubber-stamp items like it did during the first two years of the County Executive's term.  I am proud of the improvement Erie County has achieved under our leadership. However, our job continues and we pledge to remain diligent in dealing every matter that comes before this body,” said Majority Leader Lorigo.

For an overview of the Republican-aligned Majority Caucus’s first year, please read the following press release: Legislature’s Majority Caucus looks to build on 2014’s successes

For information on County Legislature agendas, schedules and other information, please visit www.erie.gov/legislature.