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Electing Lobbyist David Catalfamo to the NY Assembly Could Set A Dangerous Precedent in NY Politics [1]

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Date: 2022-11-03

Career lobbyist-political operative David Catalfamo (R) is challenging State Assemblywoman Carrie Woerner (D) for a second time in the 113th Assembly District, which includes portions of Saratoga, Warren and Washington Counties, including the Cities of Saratoga Springs and Glens Falls. To date, Catalfamo refuses to say whether he will resign from his position as the Managing Director of the D.C.-based lobbying firm, Park Strategies, if elected to the Assembly. According to a recent article from The (Albany) Times Union, the Republicans have spent more money trying to unseat Carrie Woerner than any other Democratic member of the chamber.

With a number of high-profile races this year in New York, there are perhaps a number of smaller, local races that are now being overlooked, with the potential negative consequences that may occur based on their outcome largely being ignored by the general public. One of these races is the contest for the 113th Assembly District between incumbent Carrie Woerner (D) and challenger David Catalfamo (R) north of Albany. Perhaps many of you may now even be asking why anybody outside of the Saratoga Springs-Glens Falls area should even care who ultimately wins this seat.

David Catalfamo once lobbied for ExxonMobil, insurance giant Aetna, as well as Altria (Philip Morris)….

David Catalfamo, the Republican candidate for the 113th District is a long-time lobbyist and Republican political operative who currently serves as the Managing Director of Park Strategies, a high-profile D.C. lobbying firm founded by former U.S. Senator Alfonse D’Amato (R-NY). Catalfamo’s lobbying work for Park Strategies includes work for big tobacco, gambling casinos, insurance companies, banks, as well as gas and fossil fuel interests.

The government watchdog site, FollowTheMoney.org, has a complete list of the clients that Catalfamo served while working as a lobbyist for Park Strategies.

The big problem is that Catalfamo continues to refuse to say whether he would resolve his conflicts of interest and immediately resign from his position as the Managing Director of Park Strategies if elected to the New York State Assembly next week. Essentially, we could potentially end up with a principal of a major national lobbying firm with a seat in the New York State Legislature. This could potentially set up a new precedent in New York politics where other individuals employed by lobbying firms could decide to seek seats in the New York State Legislature and retain their positions with these firms after being elected. Is a “pay-to-play” legislature really what we want?

Here are pieces of two diaries that I wrote back in 2020, when Catalfamo first challenged Woerner unsuccessfully:

Republican State Assembly candidate David Catalfamo always loves to talk up his work in economic development many years ago while he served as a top official in the administration of former New York Governor George Pataki (R-NY). But what about the last fourteen years? What exactly has Mr. Catalfamo been doing since Pataki left office in 2006? Why does there seem to be such an enormous gap on his resume? Perhaps does Mr. Catalfamo have something to hide? As I’ve mentioned before in two previous blogs, Catalfamo has pretty much spent the last decade serving as the Managing Director of Park Strategies, the Washington D.C. lobbying firm founded by former U.S. Senator Alfonse D’Amato (R-NY). Just recently, though, while I was conducting some more research into Catalfamo’s background, I stumbled across some even more peculiar information. According to data obtained from the campaign finance watchdog site, FollowTheMoney.org, David Catalfamo has lobbied on behalf of 143 clients between 2009-2018, some of which include casinos and gambling, big tobacco, big insurance, as well as gas, energy and fossil fuels. Throughout his lobbying career, Catalfamo has represented Aetna insurance, ExxonMobil, Fortuna Energy, the Hess Corporation, Off Track Betting and the GreeneTrack casino in Eutaw, Alabama. Most noteworthy was that Catalfamo’s longest serving client was the tobacco giant Altria (formerly Philip Morris), which he spent nine years lobbying for from 2009-2018.

Now that Catalfamo wants to serve in the New York State government, one can only wonder who he would actually serve? Would it be the people of the 113th District or his former clients? Would Catalfamo author bills that might indirectly benefit some of the businesses or interests that he previously lobbied for? Would some of Catalfamo’s former associates at Park Strategies be given special access to his office? In addition, Catalfamo still has yet to say whether, if elected, he has any plans to step down in his role as the President of Capitol Public Strategies, the government consulting firm which he founded that is now owned by Park Strategies. (Theoretically, if Catalfamo wanted to, he could serve in both the legislature and continue to work as a consultant for Park Strategies/Capitol Public Strategies because New York State law doesn’t forbid legislators from holding outside professions.) All in all, there still are many unanswered questions that Mr. Catalfamo needs to clarify to the voters in the short period of time between now and election day.

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[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2022/11/3/2133437/-Electing-Lobbyist-David-Catalfamo-to-the-NY-Assembly-Could-Set-A-Dangerous-Precedent-in-NY-Politics

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