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Election results offer positives and challenges
November 11, 2008

Your first chance to meet newly-elected leaders from the Buffalo Niagara region likely will be the Partnership’s Public Officials Reception and roll-out of the 2009 Regional Agenda on Monday, November 24 from 4-7 p.m. at Pettibones Grille. In response to financial crises at the state and federal levels, we are presenting the Regional Agenda two months earlier than ever before, in order to get Buffalo Niagara’s priorities on the radar screen of federal and state decision-makers, who are making some of the toughest governmental decisions ever. Register now for the Public Officials Reception – the best political networking event of the year.

The record number of voters – especially new voters – last week certainly was a tribute to a new spirit among Americans. For the Buffalo Niagara employer community, the election results have several implications (click here to hear my WBFO interview):

Let me begin with the positives:

At the state level, control of the Senate hangs in the balance, as a Democratic majority on paper is being postponed (at the least) by a group of three Democrats who so far have withheld support of Sen. Malcolm Smith. Assuming the Democrats actually do take over the majority, we are hopeful that, as anticipated, Senator Bill Stachowski will be appointed chair of the Senate Finance Committee. If that takes place, it would be the highest anyone from our region has attained in the State Senate in half a century. More will follow in the coming days regarding the status of the Senate majority.

At the federal level, all three of the Partnership’s endorsed candidates for Congress were successful in their elections or re-elections. Congresswoman Louise Slaughter and Congressman Brian Higgins maintain their positions of prominence working on behalf of the Buffalo Niagara region, and we believe Congressman-elect Chris Lee will join them as an active and avid voice for employers in our region.

Also in Washington, there has been a longstanding lack of understanding regarding the difference between the issues of the nation’s southern and northern. In part, this is because shifts in population from the Great Lakes region to other parts of the country turned the federal government’s attention away from the “rust belt.” With President-elect Barack Obama’s home in the Great Lakes region, we are hopeful that the importance of the border delineation – and the economic needs of the Great Lakes region and northern border in particular – will receive much greater and smarter attention.

And the challenges:

If Democrats – with their overwhelming downstate orientation – are to take control of the State Senate majority, we will need your help more than ever to communicate loudly and strongly against mandates on businesses, especially related to project labor agreements, wage requirements, paid leave etc.  Legislation such as the Hoyt IDA bill, which would have added wage requirements to IDA incentives, did not make it through the current Senate majority but inevitably will have a much greater chance should the downstate Democrats’ paper majority hold.

In addition, the increasingly Democrat Congress is anticipating passage of the Employee Free Choice Act (aka “Card Check” legislation), which revokes an employee’s right to secret ballot in matters of unionization of private companies. This is among the most burdensome regulations we’ve seen, and the Partnership needs your help as we continue to oppose this bill and its dire consequences. If you’re willing to share your outlook on how this legislation will impact your business and your employees, please contact our Public Policy Director Craig Turner at cturner@thepartnership.org.

The “good” news related to the challenging outcomes of the election is, ironically, in both New York and across the nation, that with the economic crisis in full tilt, it is likely that there will be hesitancy in hastily moving forward with a costly anti-business agenda – or any agenda for that matter. Also, I believe we are about to enter a new era of transparency and accountability in government, if recent actions and statements by Governor David Paterson are any indication of the future.

Given the upcoming changes in government, the Partnership will continue to work with our elected representatives, cultivating relationships on both sides of the aisle, with the end goal of ensuring that your concerns as employers are addressed.

Andrew J. Rudnick
President & CEO