Banker to Lead State Agency for Economic Development
June 6, 2008
Gov. David A. Paterson named a prominent banking executive, Robert G. Wilmers, on Thursday as chairman of the state’s economic development agency.
Mr. Wilmers, who is the chairman and chief executive of M&T Bank Corporation, will remain in that position, said Errol Cockfield, a spokesman for the Paterson administration, a move that could raise potential conflicts of interest. A spokesman for the Commission on Public Integrity, Walter Ayres, said that because Mr. Wilmers would not receive a salary, he would not need to seek approval from the commission for his outside business interests, as paid employees do.
“However, all state employees, paid or otherwise, would be expected to recuse themselves if a conflict arose,” Mr. Ayres said.
Mr. Cockfield said Mr. Wilmers intended to do so.
The Paterson administration has been criticized in some editorial pages in upstate newspapers for scrapping former Gov. Eliot Spitzer’s move to divide the management of the agency, the Empire State Development Corporation, in two by appointing separate leaders of the upstate and downstate operations.
Administration officials have argued that the structure put in place by Mr. Spitzer was not effective.
The two chairmen resigned following Mr. Spitzer’s resignation in March, after he was tied to a prostitution ring. The departure of the upstate chairman, Daniel Gundersen, was announced on Thursday, and the downstate chairman, Patrick J. Foye, left shortly after Mr. Paterson took office.
Mr. Wilmers will not run day-to-day operations; he will take part in a search for two executives to take those responsibilities, one focusing on upstate and another on New York City, Long Island and the suburbs.
His nomination must be approved by the State Senate.
“Bob Wilmers is one of the most respected figures in the New York State business community,” the governor said in a news release. “Not only is he a successful banker, but he also has a long and impressive record of civic engagement.”
Mr. Wilmers has run M&T, one of the nation’s 20 largest banks, since 1983. He once served as a deputy finance commissioner under Mayor John V. Lindsay and currently serves on the board of the Business Council of New York State.
He has also been a prolific campaign contributor to both political parties and donated $40,000 to the Spitzer-Paterson campaign.
Assemblyman Richard Brodsky, a Westchester Democrat who is chairman of a committee overseeing public authorities, said the development corporation needed new direction.
Source: NY Times
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