Uh-oh! Things have started off badly for Niagara Falls under the reign of Gov. Eliot Spitzer before the state's new top man has even had the chance to visit the area while working under his new title. There has been hope in Niagara County that Spitzer would be of great help to our beleaguered economy by paying more attention to the region than did his neglectful predecessor, George Pataki. That hope seemed to vanish this past week with the information contained within an article published in the Buffalo News.
The Jan. 15 column, penned by News political columnist Robert J. McCarthy, announced that the new governor has formed an unofficial "Friends of Eliot" think tank, whose members have become his go-to people for all issues impacting Western New York. Among the names on the list are: Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown, Buffalo Sabres Managing Partner Larry Quinn, M&T CEO Robert G. Wilmers, chairman of the Erie County Democratic Party Leonard R. Lenihan and chief of the Attorney General's Buffalo Office Kenneth A. Schoetz. And, lest I forget, this very scary name: Andrew J. Rudnick, president of the Buffalo Niagara Partnership.
Notice that among these names, and the assorted others listed by McCarthy, you will find no one from Niagara Falls. Furthermore, Niagara County has no representative to whisper sweet nothings into the governor's ear.
Like I said, uh-oh.
The city of Niagara Falls, N.Y., has long been the municipal equivalent of a red-headed stepchild -- twice removed. We sit not only second to Buffalo in importance in Western New York, but to Niagara Falls, Ont., in relevance as a host to the world's visitors to our waterfalls. The attrition of folks from within the city's borders has left it in danger of being downgraded into a township, while the speed of tourism development across the international border has left us in danger of becoming little more than a restroom stop on the way to the Rainbow Bridge.
The new governor needs to recognize the precarious spot his world-famous attraction has come to and he needs to take quick and decisive action to rectify the sins of his predecessors. The question is: How can the tsar grant us his benevolence when we haven't even suited up a Rasputin to get into the game?
One name jumps to the fore as the person best suited to be our version of the "Mad Monk." That name is Francine Del Monte. The assemblywoman from the 138th District is the highest-ranking Democrat in Niagara County and is a member of the Assembly's prestigious Tourism, Arts and Sports Development Committee. Furthermore, Del Monte is well connected in Albany and is thought to have a close working relationship with Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver.
Francine Del Monte has been criticized on the pages of this newspaper for her failure to serve her constituency with what we feel is an effort commensurate with her ability. In her defense, she has had to work, up until this month, against the grain as a Democrat in a state under Republican rule. That handicap went the way of the slide rule when Spitzer took office. Now is the time for Del Monte to shine, both for the sake of her constituents and for the future of her political career.
Helping pull Niagara Falls out of the decades-old mud it has become encrusted in would put Del Monte's political star on the fast track to unabated ascension. I don't know what the assemblywoman's long-term career aspirations are, but I do know that if she fancies a run at Congress or at a state senator's seat, it all begins and ends with how she handles the fastball she's staring down now.
Being left off McCarthy's list should have elicited two emotions in Del Monte -- embarrassment and anger. Embarrassment because one of the names featured is that of Paul Tokasz, the retired Assembly majority leader from Cheektowaga. That the governor would include a former member of the Assembly while passing on the currently serving Del Monte should cause her to rethink her pull in the state capital. Then it should get her bloody well ticked off. Hopefully, anger caused Del Monte to work the phones and find out why she's like a car in the pits at the Indy 500 -- out of the loop.
So if Francine Del Monte is our Rasputin, is there anyone best qualified to help her in her quest to serenade the ruler's ear? It says here that person is Christopher Glynn of the Maid of the Mist Corp. Two reasons jump to the fore in recommending Glynn. The first, of course, is that he runs the most popular attraction at the falls. The second is that he is the only member on the board of directors of the Buffalo Niagara Partnership who represents a Niagara Falls entity.
Like Del Monte, this newspaper has a long history of criticism directed at the Buffalo Niagara Partnership and its president, Andrew J. Rudnick. Most recently it was the Partnership's betrayal of Niagara County in the bid to lure a new coal-burning power plant to the AES site in Somerset, but that is just the latest in a laundry list of offenses against the best interests of Niagara County residents. Even the name of the organization has been manipulated to prey upon the tourists passing through Buffalo on their way to the Falls.
Reporter columnist David Staba had this to say about Rudnick in July 2002:
"Rudnick's primary accomplishment during his reign as the ostensible spokesman for businesses in the Buffalo area has been changing the name of the organization he heads. Not once. Not twice. But three times. The Buffalo Chamber of Commerce, apparently too constricting a title, became the Greater Buffalo Partnership. Then the Greater Niagara Partnership. Then, a couple years ago, the Buffalo Niagara Partnership was born."
It is widely believed by staffers here that Rudnick is a wolf in sheep's clothing looking to bolster the interests of a select few Erie County businesses at the expense of those long suffering here. If so, then Glynn needs to be the good shepherd who leads the sheep safely back to the (not-so-still) waters.
With a voice on Rudnick's board of directors, Glynn can push the Buffalo Niagara Partnership to honor its middle name by using its influence to get Del Monte up to equal footing with the rest of the "Friends of Eliot." None of this can happen too soon, as another organization has taken aim at Niagara's visitors. NiagaraCulturalTourism.com has launched a Web site featuring 1,200 points of interest in Western New York and Southern Ontario.
Don't let the prominence of the name Niagara fool you, the Web site is another blatant attempt to lure people away from Niagara. The site's creator, Mark Donnelly, told the Buffalo News that the intent is to "bring tourists down (to Buffalo) from Niagara Falls." Furthermore, he stated that "this shows them there are things to do here beyond the falls. By the time they get to the hotel room and read the brochures, it's too late."
Too late for what? A trip outside of Niagara Falls to spend their limited dollars elsewhere? Take it from someone who has spent the better part of his adult life dealing with Niagara's tourists: We are a long way from becoming Orlando, Fla. People come here for a day or two, tops. Not a week or more like they do in sunny Florida. The idea that this region can hold folks' interest for extended stays is one that is far from becoming a reality.
The more pressing need for Niagara Falls is to hold tourists here before they hit the bridge to Canada. In case the good folks at NiagaraCulturalTourism.com haven't noticed, downtown Niagara Falls is a ghost town hanging on by the thinnest of threads. We have to be proprietary about our visitors and are not in the prosperous position of sharing their wealth with any other municipality, period.
Here's another clue as to the real intentions of the new Web site. The press conference to make the announcement of the launch was held not in Niagara, as the site name might suggest, but at the Erie County Historical Society Museum.
Here's hoping that Francine Del Monte and Christopher Glynn take my words to heart and get on the short list of Spitzer's "friends." If they do, there might be a favorable outcome for Niagara Falls. If not, you might want to get used to hearing these words: Uh-oh!
| Niagara Falls Reporter | www.niagarafallsreporter.com | January 23 2007 |