The Empire Page

Tom Golisano interjected himself into NYS politics in 1994 when he helped form the NYS Independence Party which was initially associated with Ross Perot's run for the presidency. Despite three unsuccessful runs for governor on the Independence line and his having formed a reform organization -- Responsible New York -- to finance legislative and congressional campaigns, Mr. Golisano had not achieved the noteriety he has today having within a matter of days declared that he was moving to Florida to reduce his personal taxes and helped engineer a coup that has parallyzed the New York State Senate.  We asked Mr. Golisano a number of questions about his goals and beliefs.

1. In a piece in The (Albany) Times Union Common Cause wrote that money has an undue influence in New York State politics.  Are they right?
   


TG: It should be obvious to everyone in New York that money has an undue influence.  For far too long all that money has come from the special interests and our government has acted accordingly.  I founded Responsible New York (and provided funding) to provide a voice for the people without lobbyists, without PACs and without millions of dollars to spend.



2. What was the primary reason you sought to remove Malcolm Smith as Majority Leader of the NYS Senate?
   


TG: Our efforts we not so much against Malcolm Smith as they were efforts in favor of reform.  Smith and his allies campaigned as reformers but after winning they did not keep any of those promises.  Smith was removed from office because he either could not or would not enact any reforms.



3. Coalition governments don’t have a good history for longevity.  Why did you think a coalition would work in this instance?
   


TG: After decades of dysfunction, cronyism and corruption New Yorkers don’t have the luxury of waiting for ideal circumstances.  A coalition government was the only way to push reform so we are supporting the coalition government.



4. What do you say to people who attack you for “interfering” in NYS politics after moving your residency to Florida?
   


TG:  I care deeply about New York.  My family is here.  I own property in New York as well as several businesses that are based in New York.  I make no apologies for trying to make New York a better place to live and do business.



5. What are the specific reforms you’d like to see the Senate pass?
   


TG: The coalition government already passed some reforms, notably term limits for the Speaker and Committee Chairs, procedural reforms that empowers Committee Chairs, a C-SPAN style network to shine light on what happens in Albany and an independent budget office.
 
There is more work to do.  We would like to see more responsible state budgeting such as zero based budgeting, real estate tax reform, election and campaign finance reform (including meaningful redistricting reform), true government transparency, an end to unfunded mandates, equitable distribution of economic development resources, government employee compensation and pensions consistent with the private sector and an end to back/door borrowing along with an end of out of control authorities.



6. Which do you believe is more important for the long term (a) ethics reform, (b) procedural reform or (c) electoral reform?
   


TG: Reform doesn’t fit nicely into categories.  Either you are committed to an ethical government that works democratically and represents all its people fairly or you are not. I am committed to those reforms. Responsible New York is committed to that type of reform and we are challenging our legislators in Albany to make that reform a reality.  It started last week and we are going to try to continue it until that work is done.