2006's Top Button Pushers

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2006's Top Button Pushers

The start of a new year is always a good time to reflect.  Our staff recently reviewed the few dozen emails I sent to you during 2006, and a few things became abundantly clear.

First, when the Partnership challenges a policy that would negatively impact your business, we're most effective when we have your voice backing us up (in the form of calls or emails to elected officials, or when you join us in person at a meeting or event).  I asked for your help a lot last year, and you responded.  Thank you for doing so.  Expect much more of the same in 2007.

Second, I receive member responses to each of my emails (thanks for writing), but some of them have led to my inbox being flooded with replies far more than others.  Thus, here are the five biggest "button pushers" (the "reply" and "send" buttons, that is) of 2006:

5). Workers' Comp, IDAs and Health Insurance:  This email from April touched on three Albany-based matters of concern:  the critical need for workers' comp reform, a proposal that would further regulate businesses that seek to expand in New York State, and an onerous bill (many dubbed it the "Wal-Mart bill") that would have required even smaller businesses to pay more for health care costs (and into a state fund, no less).  You responded with strong opinions about how Albany operates, and many of you asked the same question:  "Why are they trying to drive more businesses out of state?!?"  Workers' comp reform is a key focus of Unshackle Upstate (and is the primary reason we founded the state reform effort with the Rochester Business Alliance) and is something we're pushing (hard) for real progress on during this first term of the Spitzer administration.  Luckily the so-called Wal-mart billed failed (in part due to some pressure by then-gubernatorial candidate Spitzer), but we're expecting it to rear its ugly head again.  When it does, you'll be asked to once again express your angst about it to our friends in the state legislature.

4). "Hospital Closure" Issue: Status Quo Not an Option:  The Partnership's perspective that the recommendations of the Commission on Health Care Facilities in the 21st Century (released in November) should be implemented and embraced as an important opportunity for our community to improve the quality of care and reign in ever-increasing costs, yielded the most positive responses of 2006.  Since the business community appears so supportive of the commission's recommendations, we'll be counting on your help in 2007 and beyond to advocate for the federal and state dollars needed to right size our health care infrastructure.

3). IDAs, tolls and casinos:  In April, you shared your opinions about the pros and cons of a Buffalo casino, agreed that the more collaborative our region's IDAs are, the more business growth we'll see in our region, and just about everyone who wrote about the I-190 tolls found their existence in Buffalo to be another sign of Albany's ineptitude.  And while the casino is still being litigated, the tolls are down and provide a good lesson for all of us: one businessman (longtime Partnership member, Carl Paladino) made a lot of noise about this issue, and got Albany to pay attention.  Imagine what all of you - all 200,000 Buffalo Niagara residents who are employed by Partnership member companies -- could do together… that's one loudly squeaking wheel..

2). Partnership Endorses Spitzer for Governor:  We received a few (actually, very few) skeptical responses to our endorsement of Eliot Spitzer for governor, primarily from folks who noted his tough posture toward Wall St. during his tenure at Attorney General.  But, even those skeptics agreed that being the first business organization in the state to endorse Mr. Spitzer made sense, and a number of you shared our optimism that Upstate -- and reform of brownfields, workers' comp and other onerous laws -- would be a priority in the executive office should he win.  To date, the new governor's rhetoric expresses a commitment to these items, but his budget - expected at the end of this month - will be the first test of what action he will take to back up his words.

1). Thanks for helping; Taylor Changes Vetoed:  We got plenty of "you're welcomes" and "Amens!" when I wrote in August to thank you for urging then-Governor Pataki to veto one of the most onerous state bills we've seen:  legislation - passed in the waning hours of the state legislature's session with only one dissenting vote in the entire state - that called for changes to the Taylor Law that would've handed public employee unions tremendous bargaining leverage at taxpayers' expense by incentivizing negotiations impasses.  The fact that upstate and downstate and Republican and Democratic legislators alike voted for this bill that would strangle municipalities like those in our region - nd that they did so in such a seemingly thoughtless way - struck a chord with you.  Thanks again for flooding Pataki's office with your thoughts!

Best for 2007.  And, of course, I welcome your responses.

Andrew J. Rudnick