Golisano emboldened by role in Albany coup
Buffalo Sabres owner B. Thomas Golisano acknowledged in the lobby of HSBC Arena on Thursday that after running three times for governor and spending millions on State Senate Democrats, the coup he orchestrated this week in Albany may finally net the results he has been seeking.
“I’m not exactly afraid of perseverance,” he said. “But there’s no question this week was a pretty rewarding week.”
After he and political adviser G. Steven Pigeon engineered a stunning yet tenuous Republican takeover of the Senate on Monday, Golisano made it clear that he is not stopping there. He appeared with the leaders of two major upstate business organizations— Andrew J. Rudnick of the Buffalo Niagara Partnership and Sandy Parker of the Rochester Business Alliance — to announce he will financially support their efforts to reduce taxes and roll back business regulation in New York State through their Unshackle Upstate organization.
Golisano, the Rochester billionaire who is now a resident of Florida, said the addition of business organizations from Long Island, Westchester County and the Hudson Valley now means that business is united in seeking changes in the policies that have made this state the most highly taxed in the nation.
“This is a total state alliance,” Golisano said. “There is recognition by these chambers that we have huge issues across the state.”
Golisano predicted more Senate Democrats will join the Republican-led effort, though he would not name them. “We will absolutely cement this if that happens,” he said.
He emphasized that the move will result in reforms such as term limits for Senate leaders, more power for Senate committees and more influence for individual senators.
He again defended his efforts to depose Senate Democratic Leader Malcolm A. Smith of Queens, contending that Smith never lived up to commitments for fiscal restraint.
Though Golisano would not commit to an amount he will devote to Unshackle Upstate, Rudnick said Golisano’s participation will lend more stature to efforts seeking a more pro-business and pro-jobs Legislature.
“Albany elected officials just don’t seem to get it,” Rudnick said. “Indeed, they act as if they are completely disconnected from the real world.”
Earlier in the day, protesters led by the Citizen Action group marched in front of the Mahoney State Office Building in downtown Buffalo to protest Golisano’s “attempt to buy the State Senate majority and hijack critical legislative reforms.”
“Last November, voters refused to allow the party of ‘no’ to return to power in New York,” the group said in a statement. “The results of that historic election . . . must not be overturned by big money interests who oppose change.”
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