here is a lot of political news coming out of the Erie county court house Friday.
After spending 40 years in Erie county government, Sheriff John Loomis announced he plans to retire at the end of 2021.
So he will have spent 8 years leading the department, after being elected sheriff in 2013.
Also on Friday, a member of Erie county council announced his candidacy to fill Loomis' position.
Brian Shank made the announcement at the steps of the Erie county courthouse.
Shank is a U.S. Army veteran and a retired Pennsylvania department of corrections employee.
So he's fairly new to politics, but has spent the past two years on Erie county council.
He says experience in all fields now, makes him the best candidate for Erie County Sheriff, “Sheriff is a pretty wide spectrum position, they have a lot of moving parts, they have a lot of entities and the more things you can bring to the table as a candidate, that makes you a better candidate,” said Shank. “I’m an Army Veteran, retired city police officer, state corrections officer and currently a proud member of the Fairfield Hose Company out in Harborcreek I'm a fire police officer there, so I tell you a community service is nothing new and I'm willing and ready for the challenge,” Shank continued.
Meantime, another member of Erie county council will attempt to move onto another branch of government.
According to a news release, Erie County Council Chairman Carl Anderson will announce his candidacy for Erie County Executive.
He will make the announcement Saturday at 10:00 a.m. as part of a Zoom meeting and Facebook live.
On December 15th of last year, Kathy Dahlkemper announced she will not seek another term as County Executive.
Anderson is the second person so far to announce their candidacy for Erie County Executive.
Shank is the first person to announce a campaign for sheriff, so it could likely be a crowded primary ballot on May 18th.