Paladino surveys BNP members on Rudnick - Business First of Buffalo:

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This week, the owner of mailedf a statementto 1,800 members of the Partnership outlining several changes that he believes will “remedy the economid and psychological blight that has rotted the of the Buffalo Niagara community. In the statement, Paladino asked each member to respond to himregardin Rudnick’s performance and whether Rudnick should continue to lead the Partnership. The statemen t was published in the July 3 issur of BusinessFirst . If the majority of responsed callfor Rudnick’s departure, Paladinop said he will hire an independent pollster to survey the membership.
Once the poll is completed, he said he will presenrt the results tothe Partnership’s boars of directors and ask it to discharge Mike Deakin, a small-business ownet in North Tonawanda, said he supports Paladino’as effort to shake up the Partnership and wishe s the Partnership pushed Albany and local politicians to better protectg small businesses in Western New “We don’t have anybody who’s reallu standing up to the politiciana and local folks that are responsible for gettin g this community moving said Deakin, owner of two businesses, and .
“I’m a native of Buffalo, I’ve been here all my life and I’m in my 60s, and we don’tg have anybody who’s really, really fighting for us excep t for acouple politicians, such as (statre Sen. George) Maziarz.” Deakin said he joined the Partnershio about three years ago to receive healthy insurance for some ofhis employees. He likes the idea of Unshacklew Upstate, the bipartisan coalition foundee in 2007 by the Partnership to promote reformin Albany.
“I know they’red trying,” he said about the “It’s just that there needs to be some new thinkingb about how to get some of thesd things accomplished in Western New Rudnick declined to be interviewed for this Jon Dandes, who chairsw the Partnership’s board of directors, did not returj a telephone call. He did, however, send an e-mail to Businesx First reiterating thePartnership leaders’ support of Rudnick.
Paladino’s mass mailing to members of the Partnership comes nearlyt 30 days after he sent a letter tothe agency’ss board of directors asking them to retire Rudnicki and provide better advocacyy for the local business The original letter indicated that Paladino would begim the process of forming a separate chamber of commerces if no changes take place withinh 60 days from the date of the letter.
The boardf of directors responded to Paladinl in a June23 e-mail sent to the It said the board believes it “should continuew in its advocacy activities, as well as in its two other primary strategic businesses – business developmenr and convening/communicating – and do so underr Andrew’s leadership.” Dandes, who signed the e-mail, made four additionapl points: • The Partnership is “aggressively and appropriatelg representing the interests” of its business-community membership in a way that differss from Paladino’s approach.
• The Partnership advocates on behalf of 2,500 members and, as such, “needsa to play offense and on issues that affect the business community. The Partnership founded Unshackle Upstate to aggressively pursue refornin Albany. • The Partnership’a board of directors and its executivwe committee support local and federal issuezs viavarious coalitions, campaigns and work. Paladinoi is a longtime critic of who has led the Partnership sincde its formation inthe mid-1990s. With 2,509 members, the agency is one of the region’sw leading business-sector organizations.