LBANY, April 16 — B. Thomas Golisano, the
Rochester billionaire who has twice run for governor as an
Independence Party candidate, said today that he was leaning heavily
toward running a third time and would make a formal announcement in
three weeks.
Speaking at a fund-raiser in Albany, Mr. Golisano said the only
development that could keep him out of the race would be the
Independence Party's choosing a strong candidate not affiliated with
a major party. A majority of the party's leaders have already
decided to throw their line on the ballot to the Republican
incumbent, Gov. George E. Pataki.
"To turn the nomination over to another major party today would
be a huge mistake," he said.
Mr. Golisano, whose personal worth is more than $1.7 billion,
said he would challenge Mr. Pataki in a primary for the Independence
line if the party nominated the governor. If he lost the primary, he
said, he would circulate petitions and run as an independent
candidate in the general election. He would need at least 15,000
signatures to do that.
If he ran, Mr. Golisano could hurt Mr. Pataki among upstate
conservatives and independents. He attracted about 4 percent of the
vote in 1994 and twice that in 1998 with a message of lower taxes,
limits on campaign contributions and better schools.
Mr. Pataki has wooed the Independence Party's leaders
successfully, promising to support a constitutional amendment
allowing citizens to put legislation on the ballot through petition
drives. That proposal is critically important to the party rank and
file.
"The party's going to nominate George Pataki this year," said
Jeffrey E. Graham, a member of the executive committee and a former
mayor of Watertown. "It's pretty much a lock."
But Mr. Golisano said he was disappointed in Mr. Pataki's record
in helping the upstate economy and lowering taxes.
