Steve Pigeon has spent over a decade as one of the most dominant and controversial Democratic names in Western New York politics. This year, he may become more dominant and controversial than ever.

As the chief political advisor to billionaire Tom Golisano and co-chair of his Responsible New York committee, Pigeon will help shape this year's battle for individual State Senate races across New York, as well as the control of the majority-a stark change for a man who left office as Erie County Democratic chair in 2002 after two years under fire from multiple factions in the party.

Pigeon's relationship with Golisano began through a very unlikely set of circumstances. During Golisano's first gubernatorial campaign in 1994, Pigeon, then a county party vice chairman and former deputy to Clinton Health and Human Services Secretary Donna Shalala, saw one of Golisano's commercials and decided to call the Rochester businessman seeking a meeting.

"He said, 'What are you doing tomorrow?' I got there at 11 AM and I didn't leave until 3 PM," Pigeon said. "It was one of those meetings where we felt we had known each other a while."

Pigeon started to boost Golisano's fortunes to other Democrats statewide. After becoming Erie county chair in 1996, Pigeon began to lobby other party leaders to give the party's 1998 gubernatorial nomination to Golisano instead of the eventual nominee, then-New York City Council Speaker Peter Vallone of Queens.

Pigeon argued that Golisano, though a registered Republican, would be a strong Democratic candidate based on his ability to self-fund and renown upstate. Democrats were not convinced. Pigeon sees a deeper rationale than most: he says other leaders wanted to run Vallone for governor to harm Vallone's chances in the 2001 New York mayoral election.

Pigeon was in Golisano's corner again in 2002, when he was assisting Golisano's third run for governor, while simultaneously positioning himself as the biggest upstate backer of Andrew Cuomo's gubernatorial primary campaign for the Democratic nomination. According to Pigeon, Cuomo was aware of his work with Golisano but gave him a pass.

In the weeks leading up to the primary, Cuomo's campaign melted down and Pigeon departed as Erie County Democratic chair. He spent the rest of the campaign season working to elect Golisano, and in the years since-between working as a lawyer and political consultant in Buffalo-has been involved with several of Golisano's endeavors, including the billionaire's sponsorship of the Clinton Global Initiative. Pigeon has himself kept up a close relationship with Sen. Hillary Clinton (D), fundraising for her presidential run, and traveling to several primary and caucus states to campaign for her.

Pigeon said the idea for the Responsible New York committee came out of Golisano's brainstorming about reforming state government and stimulating the upstate economy. The idea of supporting Senate candidates quickly emerged.

"He saw that you have a State Senate that is very close and a few targeted races can make the difference," Pigeon said.

Pigeon will be working with Golisano and the committee's other co-chair, former state Independence Party Chairwoman Laureen Oliver, on all factors of the campaign effort, including selecting candidates and making decisions on what resources to use in various districts, though he has recused himself from any decisions involving Buffalo-area Senate candidate Joe Mesi, given their close friendship. Still, that has not halted the critics: Erie County Legislator Michele Ianello, who is running in the primary against Mesi for retiring State Sen. Mary Lou Rath's (R-Genesse/Erie) seat, has charged that there may be what she calls possible illegal coordination with the Mesi campaign.

And then there are those who claim Pigeon is only working for Golisano and Responsible New York as a plan to reclaim the county chairmanship from Len Lenihan. Pigeon denies this, saying he is too busy with statewide and national political work and his private law practice in Buffalo for that job.

This is far from the first brush with controversy for Pigeon, who has been mixed up in local political clashes ever since the 1987 primary for Erie County Executive, when then-Assembly Member Dennis Gorski defeated then-Buffalo Council Member Jim Keane for the nomination. Keane was aligned with longtime party boss Joe Crangle, and Gorski represented a new younger wing of the party. One of Gorski's first acts was to take control of the party and install his own chairman, Jim Sorrentino. Pigeon, then a county legislator, was aligned with Gorski and became a party official under Sorrentino.

Then in 1995, Sorrentino backed then Erie County Clerk David Swarts (now state motor vehicles commissioner), for county executive over Gorski. Pigeon, however, stuck with Gorski. After Gorski defeated Swarts in the primary, he helped oust Sorrentino and awarded the chairmanship to Pigeon.

Pigeon's opponents said his approach to the chairmanship divided the county party, with the term "Beirut on the Lake" being thrown around for years before, during and after his tenure.

Several of those who battled with Pigeon place the blame for the situation squarely on his shoulders.

Assembly Member Sam Hoyt (D-Erie) said he was one of those who battled with Pigeon, when in 1994 he resisted Pigeon's pick of Anthony Nanula for a vacant State Senate seat. In the years since, Hoyt insisted, Pigeon has been more interested in nursing a grudge than reconciling.

"Steve Pigeon would rather fight than get along," Hoyt said.

Hoyt is feeling the brunt of the anger this year, with Golisano giving both personal donations and Responsible New York money to his primary opponent, former Buffalo Council Member Barbra Kavanaugh, a longtime Pigeon associate. Pigeon denied he has any personal stake in the matter, insisting instead that Kavanaugh is more in line with Golisano's reform agenda than Hoyt.

Hoyt sees the support for Kavanagh in the race as a vendetta against him. Pigeon's allies, on the other hand, see him steering support to an old ally as another instance of his being loyal to old friends and willing to work hard on their behalf. After all, Pigeon has been promoting Kavanagh since he tried to get her on the 1998 ticket as the candidate for lieutenant governor.

She also represents the continuation of another theme of Pigeon's approach to politics, which allies say is evident in the overall effort behind his work for Golisano this year: getting Democrats to pay more attention to upstate, especially Western New York.

But Nanula, who credits Pigeon with getting him involved in politics originally, helping him win the 1994 special election for Senate, then helping his successful1999 run for Buffalo city comptroller, said that by helping craft Responsible New York, his old friend has, not surprisingly, seized an opportune moment in the most opportune way.
"There has never been a better time for this," he said. "Steve has to be given a lot of credit for this."
And his friends do not expect he will leave the legwork to others.

"He can strategize and come up with themes," said Buffalo Deputy Mayor Steve Casey, who was executive director of the party under Pigeon. "He will also knock on doors, he will do the work."