The Reader Beat Recap: June 2026

The Reader Beat aims to cover city and county council meetings as well as other important government and community-related meetings. The following is a summary of each meeting for the month of May.

County Council, May 5: During the first meeting of the month constituents came to speak about the Erie County Re-entry Services and Support Alliance (ECRSSA) being disbanded and reinstated under the Adult Probation Department. It is unlikely that the program will keep the same structure or case managers that it once had. One of these case managers was Allen Brown, who served 47 years in prison for accidentally killing a peer when he was 16. He would not be able to be rehired at the future county-run reentry program due to his criminal record. "I have a great sadness that you could be so emotionally calloused in your hasty decisions," Brown said. "Society decided hastily that I wasn't worthy of a chance. That at 16 years old, a child, I should be thrown away forever. Well, I proved them wrong, I was worthy of a chance." Councilman Jim Wertz made a commitment during his report to work to resolve some of the concerns constituents had about the program being under County Probation which "might ultimately force folks back into the system."

Attendees also defended Councilman Wertz following his removal as Erie County Board of Elections Chair by a vote of 4-3, due to alleged conflict of interest by associating with the Election Truth Alliance. Some constituents, including Erie County Democratic Party Chairman Sam Talarico called for Wertz to be reinstated as Chair. "The Election Board claims that their votes were cast to protect the credibility of the board, but your actions had the exact opposite effect. So if your concern really is credibility, this body must reverse its decision," Talarico said.

Others pointed out the hypocrisy present in the board, as Election Board member Charlie Bayle questioned the validity of the 2020 presidential election in 2021. Bayle wrote: "Anyone in this country with an ounce of common sense knows the left cheated to some extent," according to a Rolling Stone article. No official action was taken at that time within the Board of Elections. Wertz addressed the alleged conflict of interest, saying that he had conversations with County Solicitor Tom Talarico about recusing himself from a possible future vote, "which would be appropriate to avoid even the perception of a conflict of interest."

Copeland also defended his colleague and raised suspicion about the legality of the Special Board of Election Meeting under the Sunshine Law. These issues include Wertz not being notified of the request for a special meeting and the official action of ousting Wertz not being included on the agenda, which obscures the meeting for the public. "This is not just a violation of the Sunshine Act of a specific statute, book, chapter, verse. It's not just a violation of the spirit of the Sunshine Law. This is the entire reason the Sunshine Law was created," Copeland said. The councilman also exposed that in an executive session, "there was no privileged information that was discussed," and that council only discussed the vote on whether or not to remove Wertz. After the meeting adjourned, Solicitor Talarico confronted Copeland for speaking publicly about the executive session, claiming he broke trust with the rest of council. Solicitor Talarico punctuated his confrontation with profanity, asking rhetorically: "You think I need this job?" Although it is considered unconventional to break the executive session, it is not considered illegal if the information is not confidential or privileged.

"There's a decorum issue in the solicitor understanding his role in serving council rather than directing it," Copeland said.

City Council, May 6: City Council held a public hearing to discuss the possibility of the Maennerchor building being considered a historic site. The city's cultural resource manager Matthew Falcone described the building, which was built in 1889 and maintains unique historical handiwork to this day. Constituents praised Julio Reyes, the current owner of the Maennerchor, who they say has put in hard work to maintain and beautify the building. Councilman Andre Horton said he is "tickled to death about a proud Mexican-American owning and taking care of the building." He also reminded the room of the historical and cultural significance of the club beyond the positive aspects, as for much of its existence the Maennerchor did not allow Black people or women to be members. "Whenever we have an opportunity to talk about history, we're going to talk about all of it," Horton said.

Owner Julio Reyes spoke about his mission in owning the Maennerchor and the importance of recognizing history so we can improve the future. "My statement is about leaving places better than you found them. It is to really do your work, do your due diligence, ask for information, recognize history, and recognize the places," Reyes said.

During public comments, some constituents discussed the city's Strengthening Police and Community Partnerships (SPCP) program and needing to represent the Black community more besides two Black Church seats in the faith/clergy community. "They have neglected to include the most affected community which would be Black Americans," Constituent Kennedy Horton said.

City Council, May 20: Public comments addressed the city's budget issue and the wealth gap continuing to widen. Constituent Marty Nwachukwu said, "We don't actually have a cost of living crisis, we have a cost of greed crisis." She referenced New York City being able to balance their budget without cutting services or raising taxes. "We need to be really aggressive with the state. They need to be closing the tax loopholes that a lot of these corporations are getting away with," Nwachukwu said. Constituent Cole Schenley discussed needing a higher population in the city to increase the tax base, but that the average family may struggle if services are cut. "What are we doing for the poorest that live here? I really want you to consider that in everything you do," Schenley said.

Constituent Freda Tepfer referenced the city's budget issue and criticized the resolution to approve the construction of Erie Events' Bayfront Market House. "I am concerned because I know that the county's on the hook for some of the debt that Erie Events incurs and this is yet another nonprofit that won't pump any tax money back into the city," Tepfer said.

The resolution approving the construction of the Market House failed 2-4, with Horton, Pol, Flores, and Titus voting no. Councilwoman Pol spoke out against corporations and nonprofits dividing up the bayfront over the years. Councilwoman Flores connected the conversation to the tax base and budget concerns. "We have to be mindful about the deals we make to entice people to do things here and then later it falls on our taxpayers," she said. "I don't agree with the nonprofit sector making profits but also not paying their taxes when other smaller nonprofits have shown that they can pay their property tax."

Coming up this month:

County Council: June 2 at 6 p.m.

City Council: June 3 at 9 a.m.

City Council: June 17 at 6:30 p.m.

County Council: June 23 at 6 p.m.