I say, let’s dump the downstate czar and stick with the one that is here to help us out. Once again the stepchild (WNY and Upstate) get the shaft…

wxxi NewsRoom
Paterson Tries to Calm Worries Over Upstate Economic Development Czar

ALBANY, NEW YORK (2008-05-15) Governor David Paterson is taking some heat for wanting to merge the state’s two economic development chairs into one position. Upstaters are worried that they might not get the attention they say they desperately need for projects.

When former Governor Eliot Spitzer appointed two co-equal economic development chairs, one for upstate and one for downstate, it was viewed by upstate leaders as recognition, finally, that the troubled region would get some needed attention.

Sandy Parker, with the Rochester Business Alliance, who also organizes the pro-business group Unshackle Upstate, says she was happy with the progress that the upstate development czar Dan Gunderson has made so far.

“He knows the regions’ issues, he’s gotten to know the leadership in the region, and he visits us,” said Parker. “In the previous administration, the guy that was in the job, we never saw his face.”

Governor Paterson, however, now wants to merge the two jobs back into one, with the head of the agency likely being located in New York City. Parker says she and other business leaders were dismayed by the announcement.

The governor has been the target of several angry editorials in newspapers in Rochester, Binghamton, Syracuse and Schenectady, expressing worry that their region’s needs will once again be ignored.

Some Republicans are also picking up on the issue, and using it to score political points. Senator Jim Alessi, a Republican from the Rochester area, sent out a videotape criticizing Paterson, saying the move is “ill advised”, and that he’s “extremely concerned”.

“We are really hurting, and we can’t afford to have that focus shifted away from us,” Alessi said.

Paterson initially said that having two economic development chairs “sends the wrong message”, and that New York is “one state”. The governor has been trying ever since, in visits to Western New York and in Albany, to quell worries that the merger will mean upstate needs will be forgotten.

“I understand the anxiety and the fear,” said Paterson.

The Governor, who lives in Harlem, says he knows what it’s like to feel forgotten, he says he won’t let it happen to the upstate region.

“We’re not letting them down,” said Paterson “We are going to have a strong and viable development plan for the upstate region.”

Paterson also explained why he thinks the current two person structure isn’t working. He says the split economic development agency is “dysfunctional” and could not agree on anything, including changes to the Empire Zones, which were created to give tax breaks to business that create jobs, but have often been abused by recipients. He says they also could not figure out a way to reform Industrial Development Agencies, which are also accused of misusing funds. And he says the upstate and downstate divisions didn’t trust each other, and often competed for money.

Parker, with Unshackle Upstate, says the governor called her to talk about her concerns, and she says she was encouraged by the conversation. And she says it’s entirely plausible that having two competing chairs could be a problem.

“He said that he is very sensitive to the hurt that people in upstate feel, with the possibility of this change,” Parker said.

But Parker says that while she’s a very optimistic and trusting person, Paterson is going to have to prove to her and other business leaders that he’ll follow through with his promises.

As for the status of upstate development chair Dan Gunderson, Paterson says he’s “very happy” with Gunderson’s efforts, but it seems likely that Gunderson will get a demotion. When asked in Buffalo about how he views the economic development center there, Paterson would only say that he envisions it in the future as “one of the main headquarters”.

The New York City based arm of the economic development agency has no leader right now. Patrick Foye quit shortly after Spitzer resigned. Paterson says he does not have a successor immediately in mind, he say she’s still considering his options.