Clarification from Tom Golisano
Apropos this post and the one directly below:
Tom Golisano just called to say that I’m wrong to suggest Steve Pigeon is making any money administering the Responsible New York committee. He says Pigeon is a volunteer for Responsible New York, that he is receiving no consulting fees whatsoever.
Responsible New York’s filings with the New York State Board of Elections call the $140,000 to Landen, LLC consulting fees, but Golisano says Landen, LLC is using the funds to purchase radio and TV ads.
More of Golisano’s Money
Tom Golisano
Yesterday we calculated that about 1/4 of the money spent by Tom Golisano’s Responsible New York PAC so far has gone to Steve Pigeon and colleagues for consulting fees (about $140,000 out of about $568,000, all spent in August).
(Close to $120,000 was paid to New York Media Strategies, too, which we are told is Jack O’Donnell, formerly of the Kavanaugh and Mesi campaigns and now working alongside Pigeon for Responsible New York.)
Another recipient of Golisano’s money is the Steve Pigeon-controlled PAC Citizens for Fiscal Integrity, to which Pigeon steered $4,000 on August 7. Citizens for Fiscal Integrity was $7,237.09 in debt until it received $5,000 from the Hamburg Land Corporation last June. Though still $2,237.09 in debt, in July the PAC managed to distribute $500 to Barbra Kavanaugh, $1,000 to Joe Mesi, $500 to Frank Sedita III, and $1,000 in consulting fees to Democratic political operative Alexander Smith Alexandra Schmid. That left Citizens for Fiscal Integrity $5,237.09 in the hole at the end of July. Then Pigeon came around with $4,000 of Golisano’s money. So they’re almost out of the hole. Who wants to bet Golisano’s money pulls them all the way out before this fall’s campaign season is finished?
Despite receiving that $4,000 cash infusion, Citizens for Fiscal Integrity chose not to file a campaign disclosure form for the 32-day and 11-day pre-primary deadlines.
Responsible New York dropped another $3,000 on a group called People For Responsible Government, which is not registered at all with New York State’s Board of Elections. The group’s address is 11 Deerhurst Park Boulevard in Tonawanda, which is owned by Dave Pfaff—another well known Democratic operative who is employed by the county and is a spokesman for Citizens for Fiscal Integrity. Another Pigeon associate.
In a Buffalo News article today about another catch-basin for Responsible New York funds (in which staff writer Jim Heaney reports basically what we reported in this week’s print edition, which comes out online only Wednesday night), Steve Pigeon responds to a question about the coordination of all these different cash outlets, “I think it will all come out in the [Board of Election] reports.”
Yeah, probably. But to me it already looks like Pigeon is taking Tom Golisano’s money on a joy ride.
September 4, 2008
Bonfatti Remembered
Those of us who were lucky enough to count Buffalo News writer Jay Bonfatti as a friend suffered a wicked shock last week when he passed away in his sleep while visiting with family on Martha’s Vineyard. He was only 52. The grief has been profound and widespread. Hundreds have expressed their sadness and many more are expected to attend a memorial for him this Saturday, September 6, at the Lafayette Tap Room, from 1-4pm.
Leave it to Jay, the Italian from Boston, to be the man of honor at what promises to be one of the best Irish wakes in Buffalo history.
It will be an eclectic crowd, because Jay knew and touched people from all walks of life. Members of his family are expected to travel from Massachusetts to be at the event.
There will also be great food and music, and a lot of beautiful stories told about a hilarious, compassionate, irreplaceable guy who really made everyone’s life that much sunnier.
He remains, as he was in life, a catalyst.
What an Ultramaroon
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This is the kind of guy who represents our region in a national venue: Jim Domagalski of the Erie County Republican Party on Sarah Palin and John McCain.
Reconsidering the Skyway
Bring up the Skyway in any conversation where Buffalo’s armchair urban planners are discussing anything from grain silos to livery stables, and watch the sparks fly. But before you join the mob chanting for its removal—a massive demolition that we’re told will restore the city to its former greatness—you’d be well advised to read “Ribbon of Steel and Concrete”: A cultural Biography of the Buffalo Skyway , which was recently published in the academic journal American Studies.
Author William Graebner, Professor of History Emeritus at SUNY, Fredonia, puts the historic bridge in the context of its time, and in so doing lets us see the “eyesore” in a new light. Rich in detail, and full of interesting photos, Graebner avoids the easy route of treating the Skyway like a political football. He draws no final conclusions, but at the same time presents an interesting dilemma for preservationists and developers alike to consider.
We offer it with the kind permission of American Studies editor David Katzman, the Mid-America American Studies Association and the University of Kansas.
*Please note: Although the essay is in the spring, 2007 issue of American Studies, that issue was published only recently, in May 2008.
My 3 Minutes: Mark Supples on City Hall Employees
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LISTEN: Mark Supples on City Hall
Mother’s restuarant owner and cracker barrel philosopher Mark Supples opines on the performance of City Hall workers, what they do, what they don’t do, and what they could do if they actually worked. Mark is one of My 3 Minutes audio-video bloggers, so look for more from Mssr. Supples. You can listen to the audio here on the AV Daily or watch the video on Artvoice TV. Just follow the appropriate links.
All Golisano’s Money
Steve Pigeon at the DNC in Denver.
Buck Quigley has been counting the campaign fliers that are pushed through his mail slot. But there’s more to follow on the money trail than glossy mailers.
In the last month, Responsible New York—the PAC created with $5 million of Tom Golisano’s money and operated by political hack Steve Pigeon—has issued $139,650 to Landen, LLP.
There’s no Landen, LLP registered as a business in New York State, nor in Erie County, but the campaign disclosure forms list two addresses: There’s a Landen Associates, LLP at 703 Admiral’s Walk in Buffalo, which is Pigeon’s address. (Pigeon bought the place in 1997 from his old protege Anthony Nanula.) And the August checks to Landen, LLC were attached to 335 Buffalo Avenue in Niagara Falls, which is the office of attorney John Bartolomei, an associate of Pigeon and a notorious wheeler-dealer. Bartolomei accompanied Pigeon and Golisano to the DNC in Denver last week.
In all, Responsible New York has spent $567,835.58 in August. So nearly 1/4 of Golisano’s money has apparently been paid in consulting fees to Pigeon and Bartolomei (and whoever else is a partner in Landen Associates, LLC). There are plenty of expenditures to cover printing costs, polling, web, TV, and legal work: The PAC paid another $119,648 to New York Media Strategies, with offices at 125 Edward Street; $71,000 with Miracle Printing in Port Washington; $45,000 with Momentum Analysis, a polling operation in DC; and just over $64,000 with two law firms in New York City.
So 1/4 of the money spent so far, up until the deadline for the 11-day, pre-primary, campaign finance disclosure filing deadline, seems to have gone to Pigeon and his partners.
We have phone calls out to determine exactly what Golisano bought for that money.
September 3, 2008
Echo Chamber: News from the outside world
Abbreviated from the New York Times
NEW ORLEANS — A mostly smooth evacuation from Hurricane Gustav turned sour on Tuesday as many New Orleans residents trying to return home were refused entry at roadblocks into the city or stranded in parking lots across the region.
On Tuesday, power remained off at nearly 80,000 homes in New Orleans and tree limbs littered the streets. City officials listed these and other factors as reasons that they were not ready for the return of hundreds of thousands of residents.
SARAH PALIN, WASILLA, Alaska — In 1996, the year Sarah Palin ran for mayor, Wasilla got its first local lesson in wedge politics. Anti-abortion flyers circulated. Palin played up her church work and her membership in the National Rifle Association. The state Republican Party, never involved in the past because city elections are nonpartisan, ran ads on Palin’s behalf.
Shortly after becoming mayor, former officials and Wasilla residents said, Palin approached the town librarian about the possibility of banning some books, though she never followed through and it was unclear which books or passages were in question. Palin fired the librarian, Mary Ellen Emmons, but changed course after residents made a strong show of support. Palin also asked many of the former mayor’s backers on the city payroll to resign — something virtually unheard of in Wasilla. The public works director, city planner, museum director and others were forced out. The police chief, Irl Stambaugh, was later fired outright.
“HONOR KILLINGS” in Pakistan
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — The government has ordered an inquiry into reports of the deaths of five women buried alive in so-called honor killings in Baluchistan Province. The reports have set off countrywide protests.
News of the killings, which occurred six weeks ago, trickled out of the tribal area with sketchy details. As described in an Aug. 21 statement by a French human rights group, the victims were three young women who had planned to marry men of their choice — a blot on family honor — and two older female relatives.
All were kidnapped July 13 by several men from their village, Baba Kot, in the department of Jafferabad, and taken to a deserted area in a vehicle bearing provincial government plates, according to the group, the International Federation for Human Rights. The young women were beaten and shot, and, still breathing, covered with earth and stones. The two older women tried to intervene and were buried alive as well.
EGYPTIAN TYCOON CHARGED WITH MURDER
CAIRO — A wealthy Egyptian businessman and lawmaker was charged Tuesday with paying
$2 million for the contract killing of Suzanne Tamim, a Lebanese pop star who was found dead in her apartment in Dubai on July 28. The tycoon, Hisham Talaat Moustafa, 49, is one of the country’s
largest real estate developers and a member of President Hosni Mubarak’s governing National
Democratic Party.
Moustafa was charged with hiring a former police officer, Mohsen al-Sukary, to kill Tamim in what authorities described as an act of revenge. The authorities did not elaborate, but it has been widely reported that he was infuriated with Tamim after a failed love affair. When her body was was found, she had been stabbed and her throat had been slit.
The case was front-page news everywhere in the region except Egypt, where the authorities prohibited newspapers from reporting on it.
OUSTER PROCEEDINGS AGAINST DETROIT MAYOR
Lawyers for Mayor Kwame M. Kilpatrick of Detroit failed in an effort to halt proceedings set for Wednesday that could lead to his removal. A panel of the Michigan Court of Appeals ruled that Gov. Jennifer M. Granholm may proceed with the hearing.
“My 3 Minutes” – Carl Paladino is No Fan of Dale Volker
Listen: Carl Paladino on Volker
I stopped by Carl Paladino ’s office yesterday and happened to have my video cam with me, so I asked Carl if he wanted to talk about anything. Never a man to hesitate when it comes to expressing an opinion, his topic for the day was republican state senator Dale Volker. Unfortunately, the video was terrible because I forgot to change the settings from a night time shoot in a dim music club. Nevertheless, here’s the audio. Expect more opinions from Carl and others in the community on Artvoice.com as we begin a new series of audio-video blogs titled “My 3 Minutes”.
September 1, 2008
Happy Labor Day, you Workers!
You’ve earned it. One day a year, in exchange for all your toil, the Federal and all 50 state governments have agreed to grant you this minor reprieve, to mark the end of another summer you spent working for the MAN.
Here’s an interesting factoid: Did you know that the Noble and Holy Order of the Knights of Labor—the important, all-inclusive 19th century labor organization that put together the original NYC Labor Day parade on September 5, 1882—did not allow bankers, doctors, lawyers, gamblers, stockholders, nor liquor manufacturers to take part in their festivities? Why? Because they were considered unproductive members of society.
Pretty cold, huh?
We hope you all have a wonderful day!
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