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Suozzi to meet with Golisano

BY JAMES T. MADORE | STAFF CORRESPONDENT

March 12, 2006

New York state Attorney General Eliot Spitzer is seen after a fundraiser at the Glen Oaks Country Club in Old Westbury. (Newsday / Karen Wiles Stabile / February 15, 2006)

TARRYTOWN - Nassau County Executive Thomas Suozzi is expected to have one of the most important interviews of his gubernatorial campaign tonight when he meets Rochester billionaire and three-time candidate for governor Thomas Golisano during a hockey game in Buffalo.

Suozzi confirmed the meeting yesterday, saying he admires Golisano, owner of the Buffalo Sabres, "as a successful entrepreneur and someone who was one of the first to put reforming Albany on the map."

Golisano, a founder of the Independence Party in New York State who recently became a Republican, flirted with running again for governor before announcing in late January he would not. G. Steven Pigeon of Buffalo, a friend and adviser, said yesterday that Golisano now "wants to meet all the candidates and think about what role, if any, he wants to play in the campaign."

Pigeon also denied published reports that Golisano has no interest in speaking with the Democratic frontrunner, Attorney General Eliot Spitzer.

"Nothing official has been set up yet, but Tom is open to meeting with Eliot," Pigeon said. He added that Golisano "is not interested in supporting any candidate who is a lobbyist," a reference to GOP candidate John Faso, who has received the crucial endorsement of Conservative Party leaders.

A Spitzer campaign spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Both Spitzer and Suozzi are expected to begin airing television ads next week.

Suozzi is the second candidate in less than week to attend a Buffalo Sabres game with Golisano. GOP hopeful and former Massachusetts Gov. William Weld watched the Sabres and Boston Bruins play. Suozzi will see the same two teams, according to Pigeon, who said he plans to attend the interview session.

Suozzi spent a couple of hours yesterday at a conference on day laborers and immigration held on the Fordham University campus in Tarrytown. He recalled his days as Glen Cove mayor when that city opened the first hiring hall on the East Coast for day laborers.

Suozzi, a Fordham graduate, blasted local governments that refuse to provide services to undocumented immigrants. He said, "If people are playing by the rules of a community, then we should treat them as people and let them take advantage of the services."