Tom Golisano | The New York Observer

The Downside to Having a Billionaire Supporter

Fri, 17 Oct 2008 13:36:26 -0400

News that Tom Golisano will oppose the change to term limits was, initially, seen as a boost to critics of the plan. But Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer is suggesting a drawback to Golisano’s involvement.

Critics will lose their ability to push a populist argument if t they have their own billionaire supporter, he said.

Critics of Bloomberg's plan to extend term limits have seized on the fact that it hinges on...

Golisano to Oppose Bloomberg on Term Limits

Thu, 16 Oct 2008 14:50:23 -0400

Billionaire Tom Golisano will mount a campaign in opposition to Michael Bloomberg’s effort to seek a third term, potentially opening up an expensive new obstacle to the mayor’s plan.

Golisano’s top advisor, Steve Pigeon, declined to specify exactly how much Golisano will spend, but said the Rochester-based founder of Paychex was turned off by the process that was unfolding.

“He thinks it should go to voter referendum,” Pigoen said in a brief...

Tom Golisano in Denver, Cuomo for Obama

Wed, 27 Aug 2008 18:11:34 -0400

DENVER—Here's billionaire and State Senate crusader Tom Golisano, who was hanging out at Andrew Cuomo's reception in the Sheraton Hotel this afternoon.

When I asked him why he, a Republican, is here, Golisano said, "I'm an American."

Also, as Cuomo was leaving the event, I asked him how he would vote in the roll call. Cuomo told me he would be voting for Barack Obama....

Responsibility We Can Believe In

Mon, 11 Aug 2008 13:40:24 -0400

Does anybody else think the logo for Republican Tom Golisano's P.A.C., Responsible New York, looks a little like Barack Obama's campaign...

Skelos Issues Shark Warning to Golisano

Mon, 04 Aug 2008 14:24:03 -0400

In a letter dated today to billionaire Tom Golisano - who is vowing to pour $5 million into this year‘s elections - Republican Senate leader Dean Skelos makes the case that Republicans are the ones who have tried to make state government fiscally prudent and transparent.

And Skelos ends the letter by reminding Golisano, a Rochester man, that Democrats aren't so much from upstate. (Old theme!)
“Without the checks and balances we...

Golisano Adviser on Giuliani's New Senate P.A.C.

Mon, 21 Jul 2008 11:49:10 -0400

An adviser to Tom Golisano--who said Golisano is willing to spend at least $5 million on State Senate races this year--is taking the news that Rudy Giuliani is launching a P.A.C. in stride. (The former mayor's fund-raising committee will contribute mainly to State Senate Republicans, who would like to maintain their very narrow majority.)

“Clearly it’s his right to do what he believes and I think this will be quite a critical election,” Golisano adviser...

Soros Money Flows to New York Senate Democrats

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 05:07:41 -0400

Liberal billionaire George Soros and members of his family have contributed a little more than $1 million into state campaign coffers since 2000, with nearly all of it going to help Democrats in the State Senate.

Already this year, George, his son Robert, Robert’s wife, Melissa, and another son, Jonathan, contributed $199,500. George, Robert and Melissa each gave $25,000 to the New York State Democratic Party and gave the maximum allowable personal contributions...

Golisano’s Return: Albany’s Nightmare?

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 17:20:10 -0400

Political junkies and maybe even a few ordinary voters will remember Tom Golisano as New York State’s answer to H. Ross Perot: A business leader with money to burn and an inexplicable desire to be a political player. Mr. Perot, of course, ran for president in 1992 and for a time seemed a threat to the established order. When he ran again in 1996, he seemed like yesterday’s news.

Mr. Golisano...

Newell: What $5 Million PAC?

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 11:07:41 -0400

Also at last night’s fund-raiser for Kevin Powell was one of Sheldon Silver’s opponents, Paul Newell.

It seemed like Newell, and fellow challenger Luke Henry, might get a boost when billionaire Tom Golisano announced he would launch a $5 million PAC to help shake up the legislative races and change Albany’s leadership-driven style of politics. But when Golisano made the announcement, he said he didn’t even know who was challenging Silver.

It might be...

Democratic State Senate Fund-Raiser Confident Golisano Will Back Democrats

Wed, 09 Jul 2008 15:50:54 -0400

Jeff Klein, the fund-raising chairman for the State Senate Democrats, isn't worried about Tom Golisano's promise to drop $5 million on this year’s legislative races without specifying which, if any, party he will favor.

Klein dismissed the idea that Golisano might target Democratic candidates, telling me in an interview, “The way you shake things up is by putting Democrats in charge.”

Klein echoed Golisano‘s complaints about Albany‘s inactivity. “We can’t be blamed for leaving...

Cunningham on Golisano Versus Bloomberg

Wed, 09 Jul 2008 11:51:27 -0400

Tom Golisano’s new political action committee could put him on a collision course with Michael Bloomberg, who has openly talked very publicly about what he says would be the benefits of keeping Republicans in control of the State Senate.

As Bloomberg’s former communications director Bill Cunningham told me, “They may have dueling agendas.”

“The mayor’s agenda has typically been what’s good for New York City. Golisano’s agenda sounds like it is a...

NYPIRG on Golisano's 'Murky' Political Plan

Wed, 09 Jul 2008 10:30:31 -0400

Blair Horner of the good-government group NYPIRG was just on Fred Dicker's Talk 1300 radio show, saying that Tom Golisano may "undermine his own efforts" if "he gets caught up in the courts."

Golisano, who pledged yesterday to put $5 million towards State Senate races, mainly in western New York, says he's launching a political action committee. Horner said the problem may be that laws surrounding P.A.C.s do not allow them to coordinate...

Golisano and the State Senate Majority

Wed, 09 Jul 2008 08:21:48 -0400

Here’s Tom Golisano, a registered Republican, being asked repeatedly by reporters in Albany yesterday if the goal of his new P.A.C. is to help Democrats take control of the State Senate, and answering repeatedly that the organization won't be about partisanship.

“I want to see the senate turn in such a way that we start accomplishing these things,” he said, referring to his eight-point agenda. “I want the assembly to do the same...

Hey, Big Spender!

Wed, 09 Jul 2008 08:17:34 -0400

Golisano Makes it Official: He's Throwing $5 Million Into This Fall's Elections

BY AZI PAYBARAH

Rochester billionaire and three-time gubernatorial candidate Tom Golisano waved a $5 million check in front of reporters in Albany this morning and said he was forming a political action committee – “Responsible New York” – that he promised would help liberate lawmakers from the grip of party leaders.

Golisano has yet to endorse any legislative candidates, but his PAC...

Common Cause on Golisano's Gambit

Tue, 08 Jul 2008 16:19:18 -0400

I just spoke with Susan Lerner, the executive director of Common Cause New York, about Tom Golisano’s decision to seed a PAC with $5 million of his own money – and his lawyer’s assertion that Golisano can spend whatever he wants in state legislative races this fall as long as he doesn’t coordinate directly with any of the candidates.

“This is kind of one of...

Lawyer: New Golisano PAC Can Spend Whatever it Wants

Tue, 08 Jul 2008 13:17:11 -0400

I just spoke with Tom Golisano's lawyer, Henry Berger, who told me that Golisano, through the new political action committee that he formally launched today, "can spend whatever he wants" in this fall's legislative races.

Speaking by phone from his Manhattan office, Berger said Golisano's committee won't breach any state spending limits because it won't be donating directly to any candidates. Instead, the PAC will only be making "independent expenditures" to support or oppose candidates of Golisano's choosing. This way, Berger said, the PAC's activities...

Golisano Makes it Official: He's Throwing $5 Million Into This Fall's Elections

Tue, 08 Jul 2008 13:03:04 -0400

Golisano has yet to endorse any legislative candidates, but his PAC will work on behalf of those...

Big Guests at Hillary's Party, but Not Hillary

Fri, 08 Jun 2007 09:08:44 -0400

Here’s a shot of a few people waiting outside Hillary Clinton’s fund-raiser at Capitale last night. Hillary was voting on an immigration bill in D.C. and didn’t attend, but a few other big names did:

Rapper Darryl McDaniels, also known as DMC. Dressed in a Harley Davidson t-shirt and black jeans, he told me, “I came to experience something I can talk to my grandkids about.”
...

Late Money

Fri, 27 Oct 2006 07:00:00 -0400

A Democratic tsunami may be headed for Albany, but so is a bunch of money to make sure at least one house stays Republican. In the last days of the campaign season, contributions over $1,000 have to be filed with the state Board of Election within a 24 hours period. Yesterday alone, the New York Republican State Senate Campaign Committee filed around $349,950 in large contributions. (Compare that to the $67,000 Assembly Democratic Campaign Committee...

Elsewhere: Jeanine Pirro

Wed, 27 Sep 2006 14:27:19 -0400

Tom Golisano returns. So do some Swift Boat tactics. But the Republican convention doesn't. And picturedto the right is Jeanine Pirro, whose press conference about her husband's infidelity, her venting to Bernie Kerik, and the fed's probe into the whole thing...is here. -- Azi...

Gore at Clinton's Party

Thu, 21 Sep 2006 13:30:00 -0400

The big news from the Clinton Global Initiative conference today was that Richard Branson, the eccentric founder of Virgin group, joined the billionaire philanthropist club with a pledge to donate $3 billion over the next 10 years to anti-global warming initiatives. The money accounts for all of the profits from his transportation and airline businesses, he said. But the political story of the day was Al Gore's performance during a Global Warming panel. (The sartorial...

Thursday Blog Stroll

Thu, 06 Apr 2006 07:51:02 -0400

Capitol Confidential has it that Tom Golisano is working hard on the local level. DMI blog discusses the so-called exodus of Black New Yorkers reported in the Times on Monday. They say, "the article never mentioned the fact that the Census Bureau does not count as city residents African Americans from New York City incarcerated upstate --- rather, it considers them residents of the upstate counties in which they are imprisoned. " And Yoda revisits...

Time Warner Dispatch

Fri, 31 Mar 2006 06:23:15 -0500

A tidbit from the meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative at the Time Warner Center today: Laura Bush will participate in September's second Davos-on-Hudson. Murdoch will be there too, of course. And the main underwriter, again, is Tom Golisano, incongruously seated front and center between his wife and Democratic partisan warrior John...

Plotting in Florida

Fri, 24 Mar 2006 06:25:28 -0500

The anti-Spitzer PAC effort seems to be gathering momentum, with this report that Ken Langone and Tom Golisano met in Florida. A Golisano advisor notes that Eliot’s decision to play hardball in a face-to-face meeting with the Rochester billionaire is not looking like such a good idea. "I assumed at the time that he acted the way he did because he assumed Golisano wanted to run and the thought there was no downside," he said. "Golisano...

Golisano Speaks. Sort Of.

Tue, 31 Jan 2006 07:38:27 -0500

The New York Press's Azi got Tom on the phone a little while after the news that he had pulled out broke (unbeknownst to Azi). Here's the exchange: Tom Golisano: "Surprised to hear back from me? What can I do for ya?" Azi: "I was kind of wondering what your announcement was going to be." TG: "In your phone message to me, you said you wanted to talk about Paychex." Me: "I was doing a broader story about—" TG: "I'm...

Golisano Not Running

Tue, 31 Jan 2006 07:12:41 -0500

The AP reports: "Billionaire B. Thomas Golisano will not seekthe Republican nomination to run for governor of New York, an adviser to the businessman told The Associated Press on Tuesday." The unnamed adviser cites "personal...

Golisano Forecast: Slightly Groggy

Wed, 11 Jan 2006 06:15:00 -0500

Mid-January is rolling in, and soon the world will know whether Rochester billionaire (and gubernatorial tease?) Tom Golisano will take on Eliot Spitzer. In recent reports, Golisano got a spousal nod and planned to toss money into the wind. But on the whole, the rumblings from Rochester have been pretty faint lately. Perhaps this explains it. According to one associate, he's down -- but definitely not out -- with the flu: "I'm told...

A New Year Brings Bad News for G.O.P.

Sun, 08 Jan 2006 19:00:00 -0500

Two statewide offices have vacancy signs hanging on the door, inspiring a two-party scramble for Governor and State Attorney General. A handful of Republicans would like to...

A New Year Brings Bad News for G.O.P.

Sun, 08 Jan 2006 19:00:00 -0500

Fast away the old year passed, and none too soon for political junkies who found last year’s Mayoral proceedings something less than exciting. By contrast, 2006 offers rich opportunities for the scheming, backstabbing, character assassination, duplicity and insincerity that are the hallmarks of New York politics. Two statewide offices have vacancy signs hanging on the door, inspiring a two-party scramble for Governor and State Attorney General. A handful of Republicans would like to succeed...

Q-Poll: Golisano Vaguely Known, Suozzi Not So Much

Wed, 14 Dec 2005 05:10:00 -0500

These early polls are kind of maddening in the temptation -- to be resisted -- to read much meaning into them. This latest one seems to reveal that some people have heard of Tom Golisano, but that nobody's heard of Tom Suozzi. Also, that something like two-thirds of New Yorkers are willing to say they'll vote for Hillary, and that Pirro's hardly a sure thing for...

Republican Round-Up

Mon, 12 Dec 2005 06:37:00 -0500

The lonely GOPers over at Urban Elephants have been keeping half an eye on today's GOP parley, which looks likely to produce...nothing. (Though it's probably worth reporting that those Republican "insiders" who keep getting quoted saying Jeanine's about to drop out...still say that. Their credibility, however, is kind of in question at this point.) Meanwhile, over at Alarming News, there's some unhappiness that the elephant not in the room, Tom Golisano, is palling around with...

The G.O.P.'s Chaos Worries Conservatives

Sun, 11 Dec 2005 19:00:00 -0500

Can this marriage be saved?

As all 62 Republican county chairmen get set to meet on Dec. 12, ostensibly to decide on a gubernatorial candidate, their party’s alliance with the state’s Conservatives—whose support has been critical to the G.O.P. since the 1970’s—is in jeopardy. That’s because Governor George Pataki’s handpicked state chairman, Stephen Minarik, has backed the gubernatorial candidacy of William Weld and the U.S. Senate candidacy of Jeanine Pirro, both of whom Conservative...

The G.O.P.’s Chaos Worries Conservatives

Sun, 11 Dec 2005 19:00:00 -0500

Can this marriage be saved? As all 62 Republican county chairmen get set to meet on Dec. 12, ostensibly to decide on a gubernatorial candidate, their party’s alliance with the state’s Conservatives—whose support has been critical to the G.O.P. since the 1970’s—is in jeopardy. That’s because Governor George Pataki’s handpicked state chairman, Stephen Minarik, has backed the gubernatorial candidacy of William Weld and the U.S. Senate candidacy of Jeanine Pirro, both of whom Conservative leaders—and...

Siena Poll

Mon, 14 Nov 2005 05:02:00 -0500

OK, The Politicker is still recovering from the election, and managed to write up last month's Siena poll, rather than this month's, in an earlier version of this post. (Thanks, Scott, for pointing this out.) One observation from that earlier version is true: Most New Yorkers couldn't tell Jeanine Pirro, John Faso, Tom Golisano (for all he's spent!) and Bill Weld (especially Weld) apart if you put them in a police line-up. As for the rest...

Golisano Goes G.O.P.

Tue, 11 Oct 2005 13:20:00 -0400

So Tom Golisano has officially gone Republican, as per a statement posted today on his website. The Rochester billionaire name-drops John McCain, Joe Bruno, and Tom Reynolds as pols who lobbied him to cross over, and insists that a new ballot line won't mean new principles. In short, he says he's still committed to lowering taxes and spending, squeezing out the influence of special interests, rooting out Medicaid fraud, and strengthening public schools. By way of...

Poll Fatigue

Tue, 04 Oct 2005 05:37:00 -0400

Another day, another poll about the 2006 races, this one from Quinnipiac University. It must be getting hard to write the headlines on these things. Democrats hold big leads over GOP candidates nobody's ever heard of in races to which nobody is paying attention. Scraps of news include Tom Golisano looking marginally stronger against Eliot than any of the other candidates, a reminder that outside media circles New Yorkers have no idea who Bill Weld is....

Dept. of Unusual Alliances

Mon, 19 Sep 2005 10:45:00 -0400

The Clinton Global Initiative, Bill's big conference, was held in midtown last week with an unlikely prime sponsor: Tom Golisano. The Rochester mogul, and likely contestant for the Republican nomination for Governor, writes in the event's program: "Although my philanthropic efforts to date have been concentrated primarily in my community in Upstate New York, I have long desired to enter the global arena of giving but was waiting for the right opportunity." He continues: "I believe...

Somebody for Governor: Weld, Golisano, or Parsons?

Tue, 16 Aug 2005 11:55:00 -0400

The stirrings around the Republican nomination to face, probably, Eliot Spitzer, are growing, and it looks like a three-way contest: Tom Golisano, Bill Weld, and some wild-card tycoon -- in the wildest fantasies of GOP insiders, make it Time Warner CEO Dick Parsons. First, here's some unexpected news from the AP: Tom Golisano says he just spoke to John McCain: "He was very personable and said the Republican Party could use people like me, and that...

Political Roundup

Fri, 08 Jul 2005 06:10:00 -0400

In declining order of importance: -The web is abuzz with rumors that Rehnquist will retire momentarily. -Harry Reid is unenthusiastic about Clinton '08: "It is a wide-open field," Reid said. "The person who is leading at this stage is Hillary Clinton. Hillary Clinton, of course, has lots of money. She comes from a state with lots of people in it, but she still has a few ties to Arkansas. I think she is the person to beat,...

Gristedes Boss is at Check-Out on Mayoral Run

Sun, 08 Jun 2003 20:00:00 -0400

With Democrats gleefully making noise about taking on Michael Bloomberg in the 2005 Mayoral election, one potential challenger who is rich enough to finance his own campaign is about to unleash a series of television ads attacking the Mayor and promoting his own ideas for the city's future.

John Catsimatidis, a 53-year-old grocery-store mogul who is considering a run for Mayor, is planning to spend $250,000 on the new ad campaign, which will introduce him...

It's George III: Pataki Sweeps, McCall Creeps

Sun, 10 Nov 2002 19:00:00 -0500

After a colorless, by-the-book campaign that offered little hint of the fiscal perils awaiting the state, Governor George Pataki won election to a third term on Nov. 5, easily swatting aside Democrat Carl McCall and Independence Party candidate Thomas Golisano. At press time, Mr. Pataki had 49 percent of the vote, compared with Mr. McCall's 32 percent and Mr. Golisano's 15 percent. By winning a third term, Mr. Pataki, 57, joins some exclusive company:...

Roger Stones the Race

Sun, 10 Nov 2002 19:00:00 -0500

To the outside observer, it looked as if Roger Stone was merely running Independence Party candidate Tom Golisano’s campaign for Governor. Actually, lots of insiders think Mr. Stone was carrying out a $50 million revenge fantasy against Governor Pataki. Mr. Stone, the former Nixon hand who is the brains behind Mr. Golisano, says that revenge has nothing to do with his efforts on behalf of the Rochester billionaire. Still, he doesn’t dispute that he...

George's Lap: Pataki Ready, Sauntering In

Sun, 03 Nov 2002 19:00:00 -0500

On the first day of the last full week of the 2002 gubernatorial campaign, former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani had nothing but praise for Governor George Pataki. "In seven years of serving when I was the Mayor and he was the Governor, he was the person that you could go to that would understand the problems of the city and the state," Mr. Giuliani told students at Christ the King High School in Queens....

Pataki Camp Gets Stoned

Sun, 27 Oct 2002 19:00:00 -0500

A happy paradox of politics is that cynical motives can advance idealistic purposes. In New York's gubernatorial election, a political consultant's festering urge to punish George Pataki is forcing everyone to reconsider the state's-and, by extension, the nation's-inhumane, idiotic drug policies.

Roger Stone, mastermind of Tom Golisano's campaign on the Independence Party line, has long nurtured a personal grudge against the Governor that has nothing to do with medical marijuana or mandatory minimums. Mr. Stone's...

McCall Hauling Clintons' Cash; Golisano Gains

Sun, 27 Oct 2002 19:00:00 -0500

With time running out in the race for Governor, Carl McCall and Tom Golisano are unveiling the endgame strategies that they hope will do something to stop George Pataki's seemingly inexorable march towards re-election.

Mr. McCall, whose campaign is nearly broke, plans to rely heavily on high-profile surrogates, especially Bill and Hillary Clinton. The McCall camp, which has mostly used the Clintons for fund-raising until now, is now making up for lost time, enlisting them...

Inhaling Deep, Golisano Backs Legal Marijuana

Sun, 20 Oct 2002 20:00:00 -0400

Just days after making news by calling for the repeal of the Rockefeller drug laws, billionaire Independence Party candidate Tom Golisano will begin a massive new advertising blitz to call for the legalization of medical marijuana.

The 30-second spot, produced by Golisano media consultant Erick Mullen, opens with images of a doctor caring for a sick patient. "Many of us know people suffering from painful, serious illness," says Mr. Golisano's voice. "In 1980," he continues,...

In Weird Primary, Golisano Struts as Pataki Vamps

Sun, 15 Sep 2002 20:00:00 -0400

While most New Yorkers were preparing to observe the first anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, a relative handful of voters showed up at the polls to decide a minor-party primary election that could have a profound impact on the 2002 Governor's race. The contest pitted Governor George Pataki, who is heavily favored to win re-election to a third term, against Tom Golisano, an eccentric billionaire from Rochester, for the nomination of the...

Cuomo Vadis? Now He'll Hold McCall's Coat

Sun, 08 Sep 2002 20:00:00 -0400

After a disappointing gubernatorial campaign that left his defeat in the Democratic primary election a near-certainty, former U.S. Housing Secretary Andrew Cuomo dropped out of the race on Sept. 3 and threw his support to his opponent, State Comptroller H. Carl McCall.

Mr. Cuomo, who was trailing by double digits in the polls, announced his decision at an emotional press conference in the New York Hilton. It was a humbling turn of events for Mr....

Downtown Deserves Better

Sun, 04 Aug 2002 20:00:00 -0400

There are many things that downtown Manhattan needs in the ongoing aftermath of 9/11. But 11 million square feet of new office space is not one of them. The six proposals submitted for public consumption err by requiring the rebuilding of all the office space lost in the destruction of the World Trade Center. This is a disaster in the making-and indeed, New Yorkers uniformly rejected the designs as atrocious. The priorities for redeveloping...

Governor's Team Sees Dirty Tricks From An Old Foe

Sun, 02 Jun 2002 20:00:00 -0400

In a sign of heightening tension in the race for Governor, top supporters of George Pataki are accusing upstate billionaire Tom Golisano and his operative, Roger Stone, of perpetrating a "cruel" scheme to deprive the Governor of support from Conservative Party voters. And in denying the accusation, Mr.Golisano fired a surprisingly bitter volley at the Governor,calling his allies "thugs."

Pataki supporters say that Mr. Golisano and his advisers have hatched a plan to hijack one...