It looked almost like a reunion of old politicians Monday at the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority, as former officeholders-turned-lobbyists showed up en masse to pitch their powers and influence in Albany.
As the NFTA prepares to hire a lobbyist to represent its interests in the State Capitol, its board of commissioners heard a parade of top political figures and Albany insiders tout their new ability to get things done on the lobbying level – especially as the authority makes its case for a larger share of the state transit pie.
Former Assembly Majority Leader Paul A. Tokasz was there on behalf of his lobbying firm, Patricia Lynch & Associates. So was former Mayor Anthony M. Masiello, for his Buffalo-based government affairs firm – as was Jack O’Donnell, a onetime local and statewide political operative and current Erie County Water Authority commissioner.
And Fred Hiffa – onetime chief of staff to Thomas M. Reynolds when the former Clarence congressman served as Republican minority leader of the Assembly – also touted his long experience in the offices and hallways of the Capitol.
“We continue to be at the lowest level of aid the state provides,” he said of the NFTA, promising to use his Albany contacts for a more equitable distribution of state transit operating assistance.
After seriously considering drastic cutbacks in bus and rail service earlier this year in the face of reduced state operating aid, the NFTA adopted a series of new approaches aimed at stabilizing its financial position in the years ahead. One of those innovations is rehiring an Albany lobbyist to represent its interests in the Capitol, even though the board decided back in 2008 to allow the authority’s own government affairs specialists to handle the job.
NFTA spokesman C. Douglas Hartmayer said a renewed lobbying presence in Albany will allow the authority to be better represented as an entity separate from other upstate transit agencies. With two airports and a subway system, he said it should be viewed apart from systems in Albany, Syracuse and Rochester, which act primarily as bus operators, he said.
He also said the board has changed its mind on the need for an Albany representative, and as a result, interviewed lobbying and government affairs firms Monday.
Tokasz teamed with Justin McCarthy, a veteran staffer in the Republican Senate, who emphasized his close relationship with Majority Leader Dean Skelos. They pointed to extensive experience with a host of business and government interests as part of one of Albany’s biggest lobbying firms, Patricia Lynch & Associates.
“There is a uniqueness in what is going on here, and I don’t think that has been expressed to the administration or the Legislature,” Tokasz said.
O’Donnell and Bill McCarthy of Bolton-St. John’s, another high-powered Albany firm, pitched their services.
“We understand what it’s like to deal with the Buffalo community, but also understand Albany is where the decisions are made,” said O’Donnell, who in the past has been a close associate of top political figures, including former Erie County Democratic Chairman G. Steven Pigeon and three-time gubernatorial candidate B. Thomas Golisano.
Masiello appeared with his lobbying partners – former Deputy County Executive Carl J. Calabrese and Victor A. Martucci, a former chairman of the Town of Tonawanda Republican Committee.
They stressed their expertise in homeland security measures when Calabrese served in the Giambra administration, as well as Masiello’s tenure as three-term mayor of Buffalo preceded by 12 years in the State Senate.
They also stressed that unlike other firms headquartered in Albany or New York, he and his associates walked to NFTA headquarters from their office on Main Street.
“Our job is to be the face of the NFTA in Albany,” he said, adding that his long career in politics makes him instantly accessible to top figures in the Capitol.
The NFTA, which for several years has retained the Aiken Gump firm in Washington, is expected to decide on an Albany lobbyist at its Aug. 27 meeting, following a staff recommendation.
email: rmccarthy@buffnews.com