Jun 10, 2009 7:19 pm US/Eastern
Paterson: BlackBerry Squabble Led To Albany Coup?
'GIVE ME A BREAK!' Angry Gov Said After Learning Of Rumored Incident Between Billionaire Golisano & Smith
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
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Billionaire Tom Golisano is the man who flipped control of the Senate, and it turns out he made the controversial call after growing peeved over BlackBerry etiquette. (File)
CBS
Billionaire Tom Golisano is the man who flipped control of the Senate, and it turns out he made the controversial call after growing peeved over BlackBerry etiquette.
So just who is he and why is he at the center of the storm?
Golisano has been a force in New York politics for more than a decade. Since 1994, the Rochester billionaire made three runs for governor as an independent, spending some $93 million of his own money in the process. His switch to the GOP in 2005 fueled speculation that he would run for governor again in 2006, but instead he sought influence by funding a political action committee focused on property tax cuts and government transparency.
Golisano, who made his fortune with a company that processes paychecks, has interests outside of politics. He is a major philanthropist and is part owner of the Buffalo Sabres. He also acknowledged on Tuesday that he is dating former tennis great Monica Seles, who is less than half his age.
Though Golisano engineered the Senate Democrats return to power in January, he has now orchestrated their removal from power. That effort was set in motion after Majority Leader Malcolm Smith angered Golisano by paying too much attention to his BlackBerry during a meeting between the two men.
"I heard reasons why people are upset [are because] somebody was reading their BlackBerry while someone else was trying to talk to them. If that's true, well it was certainly rude, but that's a reason to change the senate? Give me a break!" said Gov. David Paterson on Wednesday.
Some analysts say that a man who is a self-proclaimed reformer may instead be acting like the ultimate back-room politician.
"This isn't the way you achieve reform," said political analyst David Birdsell of Baruch College. "Reform comes in through the front door and announces its intentions and it holds an honest debate. That isn't what happened."
Last month, to protest New York's high taxes, Golisano moved his legal address to Florida. That apparently has not diminished his interest in New York state politics.
(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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