This post is Trump-free. I cannot say that it is politics-free, but readers can make their own judgments about that.
One of the earliest posts on this blog reviewed the list of Western New York firms and organizations that employed lobbyists in 2014. You can find that post here. Here are the links for the lists in 2015 and 2016.
Lobbying is a big business in New York State. The Joint Commission on Public Ethics (JCOPE) annually publishes a list of lobbying activity. In 2017, according to JCOPE, a total of $240.1 million was spent on lobbying work in the state. This number was down about $2.6 million from the previous years.
Statewide, the major lobby clients are pretty consistently related to the activities of educational institutions and health care, although in 2017 Uber Technologies ranked number 2 with $2.2 million in spending. In 2017, the Greater New York Hospital Association led the list of clients, spending nearly $2.9 million.
Statewide, the major lobbyist firms move around a bit in the top ten list from year-to-year. In 2017 Kasirer LLC lead the list of lobbyists, ranked by total compensation and reimbursed expenses ($11.5 million).
There are hundreds of lobbyists in the state and thousands of clients. This post drills down to the clients based in Western New York employing lobbyists in 2017. Total spending by local firms and organizations in 2017 was $4.58 million. As has been the case in recent years, the local lobbying business is dominated by the firm of Masiello, Martucci, Calabrese & Associates (MMC).
MMC is owned and operated by former Buffalo Mayor Tony Masiello; former Republican Party leader Vic Martucci; and former Deputy County Executive and Town of Tonawanda Supervisor Carl Calabrese. Their client list has grown substantially both in terms of the number of clients and the revenues that the business produces.
There are other players representing local clients in Albany and in local government business; the JCOPE report deals with both. Some have a significant client list and there are some local connections to the firms as noted below.
Certain firms and organizations basically represent themselves in the lobbying work and are so noted in the following list. As to the firms involved, here is a code for the firms that had local business in 2017, along with some local connections to those firms:
AC Ascension Consulting (George Maziarz)
BA Barrett Associates
BW Brown & Weinraub
BSJ Bolton St. Johns (Jack O’Donnell; Camille Brandon)
CHC Capital Health Consulting
CG Capitol Group
CC Carreau Consulting
CPC Corning Place Communications
DA Dickinson Avella
E3 E3 Communications (Brian Gould)
EA Empire Advocates
FWC Featherstonhaugh, Wiley & Clyne
GT Greenberg Traurig
HH Hadley Horrigan
HSE Harter Secrest Emery
HSA Hinman Straub
JRD J.R. Drexelius
KN Karen Nicolson
LS Lawrence Schillinger
MR Malkin & Ross
MPP Manatt, Phelps & Phillips
MMC Masiello, Martucci, Calabrese
PL Patricia Lynch
PG Parkside Group
PS Park Strategies (Joel Giambra; Alphonse D’Amato)
PBD Pitta Bishop & Del Giorno
RM Richardson Management (Richard Winter)
SA Sheridan Associates
SPA Statewide Public Affairs
UC Upstate Consultants
And finally, here is the list of 110 local firms and organizations that employed lobbyists in 2017:
Client Lobby Firm Total 2017 Expenses
5380 Frontier Ave. Energy BSJ $6,310
Albright-Knox Art Gallery MMC $22,500
Applied Science Group PS $21,067
Archer Daniel Midland MMC $36,000
Assn. for Career & Tech. Education BA $25,410
Assn. of Ambulatory Surgery Centers E3 $46,956
Association of Electrical Workers $146,593
Association of Home Inspectors PG $12,000
Assn. of Plumbing,Heating,Cooling Con. CG $16,261
Athletic Trainers Association CC $39,996
Baker Victory Services BSJ $37,013
Brooks Memorial Hospital (Kaleida) PS $10,540
Buffalo & Erie Co. Naval Military Park BSJ $13,013
Buffalo & Erie Co. Botanical Gardens MMC $4,000
Buffalo City Cemetery FWC $37,247
MMC $24,000
Buffalo Computer Graphics BW $32,956
Buffalo Niagara Association of Realtors $78,943
Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus MMC $36,000
Buffalo Niagara Partnership $12,900
Buffalo Professional Firefighters E3 $24,000
Buffalo Sabres Foundation PS $93,207
Buffalo State College $31,548
Buffalo Zoo MMC $24,000
Canisius College $850
Catholic Health System HH $45,000
Center for Elder Law & Justice KN $137,438
MMC $8,000
City of Lackawanna MMC $36,000
Coalition for Community Building MMC $27,000
County of Niagara MMC $50,000
Creative Structure Services MMC $18,000
Delaware North Companies BSJ $144,763
DA $121,219
Delta Sonic MMC $15,000
Developmental Disability Alliance JRD $40,958
District Council 4, Painters PBD $26,022
D’Youville College MMC $90,000
ECMC Foundation MMC $1,500
Empire State Passengers Association PL $10,022
Enterprise Lumber & Silo UC $12,089
Erie County Medical Center MMC $40,000
Erie County Water Authority HSE $40,348
Evans Bank RM $5,000
Evergreen Health Services of WNY MR $12,000
Fallon Health Weinberg HSA $60,468
Frey Electric RM $7,560
GAR Associates MMC $27,500
Gates Circle Holdings E3 $36,000
Globe Metallurgical UC $62,587
Greenman Petersen MMC $36,000
Hamburg Brewing Company MMC $11,000
HealthNow New York MMP $36,000
Independent Health Association $120,000
SA $52,000
Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries LS $30,040
John W. Danforth Company MMC $36,000
PS $11,064
EA $36,000
Kaleida Health MMC $108,000
Lactalis American Group MMC $60,000
Liberty Communications PS $32,140
Maid of the Mist Corp. PL $50,935
Mensch Capital Partners MMC $36,000
Modern Corp. MMC $22,500
RM $25,060
Monterrey Security BSJ $12,669
Natl. Assn. of Industrial Office Parks MMC $36,000
National Fire Adjustment Company PS $19,640
National Fuel Gas AC $10,000
E3 $24,800
GT $60,205
National Fuel Gas $13,154
SPA $20,928
HSE $4,682
Neighborhood Legal Services BSJ $8,325
New Era Cap Company BSJ $50,910
Niagara County Community College PS $21,276
Niagara Falls Bridge Commission PS $109,013
Niagara Falls Memorial Med. Center AC $14,000
BSJ $3,581
Niagara Falls Water Board E3 $2,200
Niagara Frontier Auto Dealers Assn. HSE $24,748
Niagara Frontier Transportation Auth. MMC $74,000
NOCO E3 $24,000
North Tonawanda PBA CPC $13,477
Parkview Health Services MMC $18,000
People, Inc. BSJ $36,760
People, Inc. Foundation MMC $9,000
Phillips Lytle MMC $36,000
Pyramid Management Group PG $30,382
Postprocess Technologies MMC $6,000
Power for Economic Prosperity E3 $43,500
Prosurix MR $15,073
Public Housing Auth Directors Assn. EA $30,000
Regional Community Service Programs MR $55,680
Rigidized Metal Corp. BSJ $49,255
Riviera Theatre RM $5,000
Rosina Food Products MMC $36,000
Roswell Park Cancer Institute GT $35,047
BW $45,395
Save Ontario Shore, Inc. MMC $30,000
Save Our WNY CPC CHC $12,000
Seneca Nation of Indians MMC $110,000
HAS $120,876
$50
Shea’s O’Connell Preservation Guild MMC $30,000
Sinatra and Company MMC $36,000
Snyder Corp. MMC $36,000
SUNY Fredonia $513
TM Montante Development E3 $42,000
Toski & Co. RM $20,060
Town of Cheektowaga BSJ $37,013
Town of Tonawanda E3 $30,000
Trocaire College E3 $54,000
University at Buffalo $200,960
Upstate Niagara Cooperative $6,105
Raul Vazquez, M.D. MMC $36,000
Villarini & Henry LLP SPA $7,103
Western New York Energy PS $27,187
Western New York Healthcare Assn. $7,400
Western New York Law Center BSJ $37,013
Wheatfield Gardens RM $20,000
William Schutt & Associates MMC $18,000
WNY Women’s Foundation $2,319
Politics and Other Stuff 
Reading this left my head spinning and stomach unsettled.
LikeLike
I don’t much about campaign finance rules, but how can Masiello be a lobbyist but still has like $300K in a campaign account that he uses to donate to candidates? Seems wrong. Or at least it should be.
Sent from my iPhone
>
LikeLike