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Unshackle Upstate: Staying the course in this extraordinary time

March 12, 2008

This week?s communication was intended to be a summary of Unshackle Upstate?s Albany lobbying effort on March 4, during which several dozen staff and volunteer leaders from Buffalo Niagara, Rochester, Syracuse, and Binghamton braved last week?s version of a winter storm to travel to the Capitol to advocate for Unshackle?s 2008 priorities ? brownfields and energy policy reform, tax relief for young professionals, and opposition to the Assembly-passed IDA ?reform? legislation. It seemed to be an important and effective series of meetings with legislators and administration officials; meetings which enhanced relationships to move proposed legislation benefiting the Upstate economy closer to reality.

However, one week later ? with the terrible news about and from Governor Spitzer ? last week seems like ages ago; and whatever progress we made regarding Unshackle Upstate?s economic revitalization agenda has to be ?under further review.?

If the balance of political power in Albany always is some sort of moving target, the Spitzer-related announcements which started on Monday have exponentially sped up that movement and ? at the same time ? have us all searching for new clarity and stability. At the moment, we certainly don?t have it ? and I?d be skeptical of anyone who says he or she does.

So, with the Governor?s just announced resignation, where are we? Here?s what we believe (I strongly hesitate using the word ?know?):

The Spitzer-to-Patterson transition should be pretty seamless. Stated differently, at least in the short run, the same administration is in place; it just has a new person heading it.
There is a lot of work ? the 08/09 budget ? to be completed in Albany in a very short period of time. That has to be the focus of everyone there over the next several weeks.
David Patterson, having served in the legislature for more than two decades, probably is in a better position to get budget differences resolved than his predecessor was. What is very uncertain is whether such a resolution will be beneficial to the interests/needs of the Upstate economy and of Buffalo Niagara?s, in particular.
The influence of the Senate Republican majority, while still vulnerable to the outcome of elections this fall, has increased as a result of the Spitzer demise. Our best hope for helpful budget and policy outcomes has to entail working even more closely with that body.
Irrespective of what one now thinks of Eliot Spitzer, he was a governor with a consistent and strong commitment to the revitalization of Upstate New York and followed up that commitment with specific actions ? from the creation of Upstate ESD to UB 2020 ? that could facilitate turning that commitment into reality. Whether the new governor will maintain the extent or even the fact of that commitment (with implementation specifics) is something we need to closely watch (and certainly seek).

And that?s the message I want to stress to the members of the Partnership ? in the midst of a huge/unexpected change in Albany and of all the inevitable uncertainties surrounding it, the need for state policies and resources to help revitalize Upstate and Buffalo Niagara, in particular, remains. That?s why the extent of the Partnership?s state focused advocacy efforts will not diminish one bit. There may be some new tactics, but there will not be any hesitancy to continue to do whatever is necessary to improve our region and its economy.

Please join us! Send a message (it?s about brownfields reform which we feel has the best chance of positive action by the legislature over the next several weeks) to our representatives in Albany that, no matter who's NYS's governor, ?we want our economy moving; not our people.?