Why We Do What We Do - Buffalo Niagara Partnership

At the beginning of the year, the Partnership's Board of Directors was asked about our organization's role in the community. The response was overwhelming: if we weren't advocating on behalf of business interests, there would be a void because nobody else would or could take the reins. Armed with that mandate, we reinvigorated our economic development advocacy efforts to create a business environment in Buffalo Niagara that is more competitive for investment and job creation.

As you probably noticed, over the last few weeks there has been a flurry of activity as the NYS Legislature's regular 2007 session came to a close and important federal announcements were made. Unfortunately, maintaining the status quo was the outcome - and I used the term "victory" with conscious disdain - for our members. It is, however, a tribute to you, and to everyone who has gotten involved during this period, that the State Legislature was not able to come to agreement on various pieces of legislation that were particularly problematic.

While "minimizing other people's foolishness" obviously is not our goal, passage of the legislation we opposed would have carried detrimental repercussions. At the state level: on Wicks, IDA and Brownfield "reforms" - and I've put the word "reforms" in quotes because our opponents referred to them as such, though they were far from it - you were instrumental and effective in getting the message to our elected officials on the harm the proposed legislation would cause.

It is unfortunate that, in NYS's political world, protecting our members from political interests which would devastate Upstate's fragile economy takes such great effort. It astounds us daily that there are Upstate legislators - even members of our own delegation - we cannot count on to understand what they're trying to do is detrimental to our economy and community. That's why we continue to cultivate relationships with our elected officials, to try to educate them (and their constituents) on the dangers inherent in the special interest agenda that resurfaces every year.

The fight will, and must, continue. In 2008's elections, the NYS Senate majority is expected to be heavily tested, which offers an extra opportunity to special interests looking to "sell" endorsements and/or campaign contributions in exchange for support on issues that is not possible in a non-election year. With your help, the Partnership and our Unshackle Upstate partners will maintain our pro-active approach to reform of policies that hurt Upstate, and will continue to defend our economy from self-serving political agendas.

At the Federal level, there were similar "holding our ground" successes. The Partnership's advocacy team played an integral role in stalling implementation of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI) and in getting "enhanced driver's licenses" included as acceptable documentation, and we were pleased to see labor-favoring legislation, which we opposed - that would've made it easier for unions to organize and left employees open to aggressive persuasion tactics - fail in the U.S. Senate.

The bottom line of all this? If our opponents are in one ear of our elected officials - it is our job to be at least as loud in the other.

Have a safe and happy 4^th!