Michael P. "Mickey" Kearns is an American

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

who serves as Clerk of

Erie County, New York Erie County is a county along the shore of Lake Erie in western New York (state), New York State. As of the United States Census 2020, 2020 census, the population was 954,236. However, in the 2023 census, the Erie County population was 946,147 ...

. Kearns previously represented the 142nd

New York State Assembly The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature, with the New York State Senate being the upper house. There are 150 seats in the Assembly. Assembly members serve two-year terms without term limits. The Ass ...

District, which spans

South Buffalo South Buffalo is a neighborhood that makes up the southern third of the City of Buffalo, New York. Traditionally known for its large Irish-American community, this community also has a strong presence of various other nationalities. The once-he ...

, half of the city of Lackawanna,

West Seneca West Seneca is a town in Erie County, New York, United States. The population was 45,500 at the 2020 census. West Seneca is a centrally located interior town of the county, and a suburb of Buffalo. West Seneca, Orchard Park and Hamburg form th ...

and Orchard Park, from 2012 to 2017; he has also served on the Buffalo Common Council. Kearns was elected Erie County Clerk in a 2017 special election.

Early career

Prior to his election to the Assembly, Kearns served as South Buffalo's representative on the Buffalo Common Council, where he was elected to succeed Jeffrey M. Conrad. Kearns unsuccessfully challenged incumbent Buffalo Mayor

Byron Brown Byron William Brown II (born September 24, 1958) is an American politician who served as the 62nd mayor of Buffalo, New York from 2006 until his resignation in 2024. He was the city's first African-American mayor and the longest-serving mayo ...

in a Democratic primary in the

2009 Buffalo mayoral election A mayoral election took place in Buffalo, New York, on November 3, 2009. Incumbent Democratic Party (United States), Democratic mayor Byron Brown won re-election to a second term. Primary The primary election was held on September 15, 2009. ...

State Assembly

Kearns is a registered

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

. He ran for Assembly in a March 2012 special election without the Democrats' support on the lines of the Republican and

Independence Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state, in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the status of ...

Parties. He was elected in a special election on March 20, 2012, defeating Chris Fahey, the endorsed Democrat. While he stated his intention to caucus with the Democrats, Kearns also stated that he would not support Speaker

Sheldon Silver Sheldon Silver (February 13, 1944 – January 24, 2022) was an American Democratic Party politician, attorney, and convicted felon from New York City who served as Speaker of the New York State Assembly from 1994 to 2015. A native of Manhattan' ...

; this stance mirrored the position taken by Kearns's predecessor, Mark J. F. Schroeder. On May 20, 2013, Kearns left the Assembly Democratic Conference and called for Silver to resign from his post as Speaker of the Assembly; Kearns took these steps after Silver's confidential, taxpayer-funded settlement of sexual harassment claims against fellow Assembly Democrat

Vito Lopez Vito Joseph Lopez (June 5, 1941 – November 9, 2015) was an American politician from New York. He was a member of the New York State Assembly, and chairman of the Democratic Party of Kings County. Personal life Vito Lopez was born on June 5, 1 ...

became public. Following the ouster of Speaker Silver, Kearns rejoined the Assembly Democratic Conference. While in the Assembly, Kearns pushed for accountability for banks who allow properties that are the subject of abandoned foreclosures to fall into disrepair, and he fought against a bill that allowed the Western New York Children's Psychiatric Center to be closed or relocated. Kearns resigned his Assembly seat after being elected Erie County Clerk.

Erie County Clerk

Kearns announced his candidacy for Erie County Clerk in mid-2017 against Democratic candidate and former WBEN host Steve Cichon. The position had been vacant since January 2017, when then-Clerk Chris Jacobs resigned the post after being elected the

New York State Senate The New York State Senate is the upper house of the New York State Legislature, while the New York State Assembly is its lower house. Established in 1777 by the Constitution of New York, its members are elected to two-year terms with no term l ...

. Kearns ran for County Clerk on the Republican, Conservative, Independence, and Reform Party lines, was elected County Clerk in November 2017, and was sworn in on December 5, 2017. After becoming Erie County Clerk, Kearns urged the State of New York to delay the January 31 recertification deadline for pistol permit holders who obtained their permits before January 2013, arguing that a delay would allow state and county governments to work out kinks in the process. Kearns explained, "'We should not be making law-abiding citizens into criminals based on them not re-certifying.'" Kearns won re-election to the position of Erie County Clerk in 2018 and 2022.

References

External links

Erie County Clerk website
, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Kearns, Michael P. 1969 births Living people Democratic Party members of the New York State Assembly Buffalo Common Council members 21st-century members of the New York State Legislature