New leadership for state economic-development efforts
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- October
- 9
ÂÂ Gov. David Paterson today took another step in trying to unify the formerly divided state economic-development structure today,ÂÂ naming a new commissioner to the Department of the Department of Economic Development.
His choice is Marisa Lago, whom he named earlier this year as head of the Empire State Development Corp. The new title gives her more clout to oversee economic-development activities around the state.ÂÂ She is to make $215,000 a year.
Over the summer Paterson named Dennis Mullen, former president of Greater Rochester Enterprise, to the $200,000-a-year head upstate economic-development activities. He’s still looking for someone to fill the same role downstate. Both Mullen and the as-yet unnamed downstate will report toLago.
Paterson has scrapped the idea of having separate hierarchies for economic-development efforts upstate and downstate – an arrangement former Gov. Eliot Spitzer set up to try to focus attention on upstate.
Just one more pecking-orderÂÂ wrinkle: the unpaid chairman of the whole operation is Robert Wilmers of M and T Bank in Buffalo.
One insider said Lago has provided “real leadership’ since she started work a couple of weeks ago, and is “a qualified adult who understands the role of government as it relates to the private sector.’’ That’s been a big change, the insider said.
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on Thursday, October 9th, 2008 at 4:44 pm by Jay Gallagher.
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Refreshing to hear that the Guv has named a “qualified adult” as the new “Commissioner to the Department of the Department of Economic Development.” Soon he’ll have Commissioners Upstate, Downstate, Sidestate, Deepstate, Shallowstate, Interstate and Intestate, all drawing a couple hundred grand a year each with rented penthouses, ten million dollar staffs, SUVs, credit cards and state police bodyguards. One hopes they are all “qualified adults, not just the newest Commissioner to the Department of the Department of Economic Development.”