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<\/p>\nErie County Sheriff John Garcia’s signed oath card is not on file with the county clerk, as required by law. So is he still the sheriff? Can he receive a paycheck? Or is this all political gamesmanship?<\/p>\n
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Erie County Sheriff John Garcia. Photo: WKBW 7 News.<\/p>\n
Erie County Sheriff John Garcia cruised to victory at the polls last year, facing no opponents in the primary or general elections. However, he may have neglected a critical step to beginning his second term: filing an oath of office with the county clerk.<\/p>\n
The clerk\u2019s office confirmed it has no current oaths of office on file for the sheriff or his second in command, Undersheriff Bill Cooley, and no record of receiving them.<\/p>\n
Garcia, through a spokesperson, claimed his office had sent the necessary documents through the county\u2019s intra-office mail and were \u201csurprised\u201d to learn the clerk didn\u2019t have them on file.<\/p>\n
Many public officials in New York, and all elected officials, are required by state law<\/a> to file oaths of office within 30 days of the beginning of their term or appointment. County officials like Garcia file their oaths with the county clerk\u2019s office.\u00a0<\/p>\n For many, failure to do so results automatically in removal from office.\u00a0<\/p>\n In Garcia\u2019s case, it would mean he has been collecting a paycheck to which he\u2019s not entitled for the past three-and-a-half months. It would also mean he\u2019s been discharging his duties as sheriff without legal authority to do so, according to state law.\u00a0<\/p>\n Erie County Executive Poloncarz said his office is \u201creviewing the matter,\u201d which could have serious consequences \u2014 or could be a game of gotcha between Democrats and Republicans.<\/p>\n As of Monday afternoon, the county clerk\u2019s electronic records showed no record of oath cards filed by Garcia or Cooley. Michael Cecchini, a spokesman for Erie County Clerk Mickey Kearns, confirmed the office had no oath cards on file for either man and no record of receiving them.\u00a0<\/p>\n According to Chris Horvatits, the sheriff\u2019s spokesperson, the sheriff and undersheriff signed oath cards on Jan. 5 and sent the originals \u201cvia the county\u2019s mail system\u201d to the clerk\u2019s office. He said Garcia learned from Erie County Attorney Jeremy Toth that the clerk did not have the documents on file and forwarded a copy to Toth\u2019s office.<\/p>\n Peter Anderson, a Poloncarz spokesperson, would not confirm whether the county attorney had received copies of the signed oath cards, waving off the question as \u201cnot relevant.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThis seems like an issue between the Sheriff and the Clerk to find out what happened there,\u201d Anderson wrote in an email. \u201cThe County Attorney isn\u2019t the person who files these oath cards, it\u2019s the Clerk.\u201d<\/p>\n Horvatits, via email, provided copies of the signed and dated oath cards to Investigative Post, but no evidence that they\u2019d been filed with the clerk, as state law requires. He insisted the sheriff \u201cmet his obligation when the original oath cards were sent to the County Clerk\u2019s Office.\u201d<\/p>\n Cecchini, from the clerk\u2019s office, noted that most county officials file oaths of office in person and receive a receipt as evidence that they\u2019ve done so.<\/p>\n None of the county\u2019s other elected officials have had any trouble filing their oaths.<\/p>\n All 11 county legislators began new terms in January, and all filed their oaths of office, according to the county clerk\u2019s records.<\/p>\n Michael Keane, the district attorney, filed his oath after winning election in 2024. Poloncarz filed an oath after winning his fourth term in 2023. Mickey Kearns, the county clerk, filed his oath after he was last reelected in 2022.<\/p>\n Both Garcia and Cooley successfully filed oaths in January 2022, at the beginning of Garcia\u2019s first term, according to clerk\u2019s records.<\/p>\n Emailed copy of Garcia\u2019s oath card, dated Jan. 5, 2026 and notarized.<\/p>\n The consequences of failing to file an oath of office can be severe. A \u201crefusal or neglect to file\u201d results in vacancy, according to the state\u2019s public officers law and court rulings.<\/p>\n \u201cNo excuses,\u201d according to a 1997 article in the New York State Bar Journal<\/a>. \u201cNo exceptions.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/garcia-oath-card.jpg\")
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