Nevermind, I'll Buy My Own

This week has proven a bumper week for members of the Western New York Millionaire's (and Billionaire's) Club.

On Monday, New York State Senate Republicans stage a coup with the help of......um........Billionaire Tom Golisano who, last I checked, did everything he could in November to help make the Dems the Senate majority party. On this side of WNY Golisano lost the Konst/Volker battle when Volker outnastied anything Golisano henchman, Steve Pigeon ever dreamed up with. So, here's the recap as I understand it.

Tom Golisano and Steve Pigeon put together a group called Responsible New York to fund candidates for Golisano’s vision of what government should be. Responsible NY bankrolls candidates and engages on some of the worst campaigning in WNY history, and that says a lot about how bad it was. Golisano backed candidates mostly get trounced. Defeated, Golisano picks up his ball, kicks at the dirt and moves to Florida. The new Senate doesn’t do Golisano’s bidding, and the new Senate Majority leader plays with his Blackberry while in a meeting with the Golisano, so he has Pigeon find the two most opportunistic senators with the least amount of character possible and gets them to stand up and vote with the Republicans to oust Malcolm Smith as Majority leader. Pigeon, of course, does this by getting the old and possibly new Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos to promise the turncoats some plum positions, like in Espada’s case…Senate President. Will either Espada or Monserrate be able to fulfill the duties of those new jobs from the clink after the ongoing investigations of either of them are completed. In unprecedented fashion the Senate is now at a complete standstill....oh yeah, that's not really unprecedented it's pretty commonplace. Did I miss anything? In the days following the coup, one of the ship jumpers, Monserrate, who is under investigation for slashing his girlfriend's face with a broken wine glass (nice guy representing us there) is said to be wavering.

I guess the thing about this to me is that the Republicans keep touting it as a coalition government, except getting two guys of unquestionably bad character to turn on their party isn't really a coalition. Getting ten Dems to buy into it might classify as a coalition. And to hear the Republicans who have been just as fiscally horrible in the past talk about all this reform is laughable. They controlled the Senate for how long, and yet New York is still a big fat hairy mess. Where was the reform when you were in charge, fellas, (with a Republican Governor for 12 years too)and why in the world should we believe you now?

Example number 2 of the Spoiled Rich Guy Syndrome is when millionaire developer Carl Paladino sent a letter to the board of directors of the Buffalo Niagara Partnership demanding Andrew Rudnick's firing. If that doesn't happen he says he will start his own Chamber of Commerce.............um.....ok.......have at it. If Paladino doesn't like things at the Partnership he certainly has the right to drop his membership. If he wants to start another group to advocate for the business community in Western New York, he absolutely should do that. But to write a letter that demands the ouster of the head of a group is ridiculous. Who does he think he is the County Executive? And doesn't he realize that he has effectively tied the director's hands? If they agree to give in to that terrorist-like demand, they may as well just shut the doors on the whole organization. So, now, even though Rudnick has been pretty impotent, he will probably stay on top of the Partnership because they cannot get rid of him without looking like they gave in to millionaire Carl's demands. Nice, Carl.......really.

Positive Movement In Niagara Falls

There are signs of life in Niagara Falls after all. Page 3 of this week's edition of Business First has two articles about change in the Cataract City.

The first article is accompanied by a picture that shows workers standing on top of the old Wintergarden as they get ready to dismantle the glass and steel behemoth. While I am not a rabid preservationist by any stretch of the imagination, I sometimes become attached to certain buildings or ideas whose heydays are long gone. The Wintergarden is one of those buildings. I have several events in my life that have the Wintergarden as a apart of the memory bank. A couple of weddings where we made the limo trip to Niagara Falls to get pictures, and a remembrance of a few trips to Niagara Falls with my family when I was a kid that involved staying at the Holiday Inn and swimming in the inside pool in the winter with an inevitable trip the Wintergarden. Certainly, I am not saying it is a bad idea to take it down and make way for the new, just a sad idea to do so.

A few blocks over, Tuscarora businessman and developer Joseph Anderson is getting ready to open his new attraction Snow Park Niagara. Anderson has invested $5.2 million in the project that includes an NHL sized synthetic ice rink and a year round tubing hill. There is also a play area. I posted on this earlier and think it is a grand idea. I have long said that we should embrace our image as a snow capital and not shun it or run from it. There is definitely a market for year round winter sports, and all of the sundries that go along with it. I wish Anderson well.

I have always believed that Niagara Falls has potential to be a really fun place. The tightening of cross border regulations that are making it more difficult to get back and forth should have a positive effect on keeping people on our side of the Falls. Certainly, some well thought out investment plans could bring a lot of entertainment venues to Niagara Falls. Once the people are coming there are a whole host of opportunities. As long as the ideas aren't trying to compete with the economic powerhouse of the casino, but play off of the people it brings in, they should do OK. I am not a gambler, but my wife is. If we were going to the Falls for a quick getaway, there would need to be something for me to do as well. Certainly, if Mayor Dyster can reign in the oppressive culture of patronage and corruption that has hamstrung his city, there is enormous potential up there. One must just look at the continuously growing skyline across the gorge.

Think It Through Went It Comes To Downsizing

Before I begin let me state that I am 100% of the belief that we have too much government in Western New York and in New York State. It seems you cannot turn around without tripping over an elected official. I am also for a well thought out approach to this downsizing frenzy that civic activist Kevin Gaughn has created.

To Mr. Gaughan's credit, he is absolutely right. There is too much governement, it is costing the taxpayers too much, it is gettin gin the way of real progress. The problem with Mr. Gaughan's theory is that he is attacking the wrong end of the pyramid. A smart man, Gaughan knows that it is the only way that his plan will gain any momentum. There is little chance that the well-paid public servants at the top of the government food chain will vote themselves out and the voters know well enough that ther is little we can do about it. So, Gaughan is presenting his ideas in a place where success is likely, even at the cost of common sense. It is a mission for mission's sake more than a mission for the betterment of local government.

In a Buffalo News article today, Kathryn Foster, director of UB's Regional Institute hits the nail on the head when she says, “We find three men in a room objectionable in Albany. We should think very carefully before we do that locally.”

Three person boards are not functional forms of government. Once the board reaches that level, perhaps it is time to dissolve the government all together. Three person boards will fall victim to personality conflicts easier. Three person boards can be more easily swayed by special interests. Three person boards are easily disrupted by illness or other absences.

Last year the Village of Lancaster voted to downsize from 7 to 5 and this is an excellent example of a board doing the right thing. A board of five is a good size for a small town or village government. It allows for differing opinons, discussions, and representative government and yet protects against too few people being able to push through an unwanted agenda or being swayed by special interests. On a board of three, a trustee with an idea only has to convince one other official to vote for something. That is less compromise and less promises that have to be made, making it easier to achieve.

If Mr. Gaughan was truly interested in making his plan have substance instead of just shine, he would be pushing to downsize mid and upper level government. There is no real need for a bicameral house in New York State. A single legislative body would save taxpayers significantly more money than a few low level, part time local board seats. In the last election cycle it was reported that the total cost of running Senator Dale Volker's office was near $1million. There are 62 Senators currently serving in the NY Senate. Dissolve the Senate and you are talking some serious savings to taxpayers. Significantly more than the 2 $9000 trustee jobs eliminated by Lancaster.

County government is another place that this savings could be realized. I personally believe that the county government should stay and all of the towns and villages should go, however I understand the other side of the argument. I also feel from my conversations that more people would be in favor of losing the county government over the local government. In recent years, county government has been so dysfunctional that perhaps it is damaged beyond repair and should be the entity on the chopping block.

Kevin Gaughan and I agree on the idea that there is too much government in Western New York. We even agree that downsizing is a viable option for correcting this, but if you are going to slay dragons, you should seek the larger, more terrifying ones when you are looking to create a more comfortable society.