Tom Golisano's Responsible New York is back in action.
The political committee run by the billionaire owner of the Buffalo Sabres has mailed thousands of fliers to the Assembly constituents of Sam Hoyt of Buffalo, Francine DelMonte of Lewiston and Susan John of suburban Rochester assailing recent votes enabling the "sweep" of $500 million in New York Power Authority funds to balance the state budget.
Steve Pigeon, the former Erie County Democratic chairman, who is Golisano's political point man, said the committee has spent about $50,000 on the mailings -- and there's more money where that came from.
"Tom indicated when he was in Albany that we will be a year-round organization, and this is just a piece of that," he said. "He is outraged at what is happening in NYPA."
The budget sweep created a major controversy last week when The Buffalo News reported that the authority was planning upstate rate hikes after the funds were directed to the general budget. The authority has since backed away from the idea.
Pigeon said Golisano resurrected his political operation to call attention to the move among all voters of the three Assembly districts -- not just Democrats. All three targets of the mailings are Democrats.
The Buffalo News placed a call to DelMonte seeking her reaction, but she was reported on the floor of the Assembly voting on budget bills and unavailable to comment.
Golisano spent more than $4 million of hs own money in last year's legislative elections, mostly on behalf of Senate Democrats.
-- Robert J. McCarthy
County Executive Chris Collins hosted a few hundred of his closest friends Friday night at the Adam's Mark Hotel, and raked in about $300,000 in campaign funds too.
The Republican held a major fundraiser that by all measures ranked as a success.
It all means things are going well politically for the rookie politician. Knowledgeable sources say his poll numbers are strong, while the County Legislature's are not (but then again, what legislative body posts high poll numbers?).
Collins was elected in 2007 backed by a slogan that asked voters to "elect a chief executive, not a chief politician." But since then he's freely acknowledged that just as he mastered all the skills that made him a successful businessman, he's attempting to master the skills to make him a successful politician. Politics, he acknowledges, is part of the game.
The county executive faces many new challenges. It's difficult to run a major, urban government when times are good, let alone during the worst economic conditions in 75 years. And he continues to battle with a control board that oversees all county finances.
But the fact that poll numbers look good and campaign funds are flowing in shows Chris Collins occupies a fairly decent spot for a new pol still early in his sophomore year in office.
What's your opinion of the county executive's performance?
-- Robert J. McCarthy
WASHINGTON — Few will argue that as a candidate for president, Sen. Barack H. Obama had a lot of the print and establishment television media in his corner. Lately, a lot of their employers are fallen on hard times and layoffs and payroll trims loom.
The organization that best represents this media group is the 65-member Gridiron Club, which throws a white-tie-and-tails dinner at which the president is the featured attraction. The bulk of the members are print reporters, columnists, and wire service editors, but lately the club has admitted journalists and anchors from CBS News, CNN and NBC News.
In the economic crunch, some newspaper bureaus have been closed outright, and so the industry might use a little moral support like General Motors, or CitiGroup. However, this year the dinner's main attraction, President Obama, has cut out. In its 126-year history, only President Grover Cleveland, who had been mayor of Buffalo by the way, skipped the first dinner held after he was inaugurated.
Even Richard M. Nixon came. One year he played the piano for the audience. Last March, President George W. Bush, another Republican with grievous media relations, came and sang a song from the stage with club members. Obama was the Democratic speaker in 2006 when he was readying his presidential campaign. He also sang a song then. Obama was a speaker at the club's winter dinner two years before.
This Saturday night, however, President Obama will be elsewhere. The White House said his daughters' spring break begins this week and the president's wife, Michelle, is insisting on a family gathering "out of town." It was first reported they would spend the weekend in Chicago. However, Obama aides said they are just going to Camp David, Maryland, which is a 20-minute ride on Marine One from downtown Washington, where the party is being held.
One prominent network anchor called Rahm Emanuel, White House chief of staff, to inquire, but Emanuel said he wasn't going to get between the president and his wife on this one. For purposes of full disclosure, the writer of this blog is a Gridiron member who wonders what it will be like when the club president offers the only toast given at the event: "To the president of the United States."
— Douglas Turner, News Washington Columnist
