Gerald Steven Pigeon, usually cited in newspaper accounts as Steve Pigeon, is a Democratic politician from Western New York

Western New York

Western New York is the westernmost region of the state of New York. It includes the cities of Buffalo, Rochester, Niagara Falls, the surrounding suburbs, as well as the outlying rural areas of the Great Lakes lowlands, the Genesee Valley, and the Southern Tier. Some historians, scholars and others...

. One of the most controversial figures in contemporary Western New York politics, Pigeon was Erie County

Erie County, New York

Erie County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2010 census, the population was 919,040. The county seat is Buffalo. The county's name comes from Lake Erie, which in turn comes from the Erie tribe of American Indians who lived south and east of the lake before 1654.Erie...

 Democratic Chairman from 1996 to 2002.

Today, Pigeon is a political consultant, consultant at the Buffalo law firm of Underberg & Kessler, and counsel to New York State Senate Majority Leader Pedro Espada Jr. He also directs Tom Golisano

Tom Golisano

Blase Thomas Golisano is an American businessman and philanthropist. He is the founder of Paychex, the second-largest payroll processor in the United States and former co-owner of the Buffalo Sabres hockey team and of the Buffalo Bandits lacrosse team...

's Responsible New York political committee.

Early life and career

Pigeon was born in 1960 in St. Louis, Missouri. His uncle was Donald Gralick, the majority leader of the Missouri State Senate, and as such, Pigeon was around politics from an early age. In 1972, Pigeon's father, an air traffic controller, was transferred to Buffalo, and the family moved to West Seneca. Pigeon's first campaign was in 1972, where he stuffed envelopes for Assemblyman Vincent Graber.

In 1977, at the age of 17, Pigeon worked on Mayor James D. Griffin's successful campaign for mayor. Griffin ran for mayor in opposition to party boss Joseph F. Crangle, and this began Pigeon's life-long feud with Crangle and his supporters.

In 1984, aged only 24, Pigeon managed Gary Hart

Gary Hart

Gary Hart is an American politician, lawyer, author, professor and commentator. He served as a Democratic Senator representing Colorado , and ran in the U.S...

's presidential primary campaign in upstate New York. This was in opposition to Crangle, who was a key supporter of Walter Mondale

Walter Mondale

Walter Frederick "Fritz" Mondale is an American Democratic Party politician, who served as the 42nd Vice President of the United States , under President Jimmy Carter, and as a United States Senator for Minnesota...

 both in New York and nationally.

Pigeon was elected to the Erie County Legislature from West Seneca

West Seneca, New York

West Seneca is a town in Erie County, New York, United States. The population was 44,711 at the 2010 census. West Seneca is a centrally-located interior town of the county, and a suburb of Buffalo...

 in 1988, following a special election. In 1989, he won a full (two-year) term. He won controversy during his term for pushing an industrial park development in that town, which later was called North America Center. This began his association with future State Senator Anthony Nanula

Anthony Nanula

Anthony Nanula is a political leader and businessman in Buffalo, New York. He has served as a state senator and city comptroller.Nanula, a local businessman, was elected in a 1994 special election to serve in the State Senate, succeeding Anthony Masiello who resigned from the Senate to become...

, who developed the project.

Pigeon was defeated for re-election in 1991 by Republican Sandra Lee Wirth, and went on to work for the Nixon Hargrave law firm.

Pigeon was a key player on Bill Clinton

Bill Clinton

William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...

's 1992 presidential campaign in upstate New York. He served on the Clinton transition team and was appointed special assistant to Secretary Donna Shalala

Donna Shalala

Donna Edna Shalala served for eight years as Secretary of Health and Human Services under President Bill Clinton and has been president of the University of Miami, a private university in Coral Gables, Florida, since 2001. She was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest...

 at the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services.

In 1994, Pigeon joined with Jimmy Griffin in an attempt to recall Buffalo Mayor Anthony Masiello

Anthony Masiello

Anthony M. Masiello was mayor of Buffalo, New York from 1994 to 2005. Prior to being mayor, he served as a New York State Senator.-Personal and Educational Background:...

. Pigeon ran for State Assembly the same year, but lost to his old opponent, Sandra Lee Wirth.

Chairmanship, 1996-2002

Pigeon was elected chairman of the Erie County Democratic Committee in 1996. He was 36. Pigeon's election was engineered by County Executive Dennis Gorski

Dennis Gorski

Dennis T. Gorski is a retired politician in New York and an ex-Marine. A resident of Cheektowaga, New York, Gorski is a former County Executive of Erie County, New York, which includes Buffalo, New York and many of its suburbs. He was the first Democrat elected Erie County Executive and the first...

, who at the time was consolidating his influence in the Democratic Party over rivals like Mayor Anthony Masiello

Anthony Masiello

Anthony M. Masiello was mayor of Buffalo, New York from 1994 to 2005. Prior to being mayor, he served as a New York State Senator.-Personal and Educational Background:...

. Pigeon replaced James Sorrentino, another Crangle opponent who had opposed Gorski's re-election as chairman and thereby lost Gorski's support.

Pigeon's tenure as chairman was mixed. While he personally gained influence through the support such political figures as Charles Schumer

Charles Schumer

Charles Ellis "Chuck" Schumer is the senior United States Senator from New York and a member of the Democratic Party. First elected in 1998, he defeated three-term Republican incumbent Al D'Amato by a margin of 55%–44%. He was easily re-elected in 2004 by a margin of 71%–24% and in 2010 by a...

 for U.S. Senate, Eliot Spitzer

Eliot Spitzer

Eliot Laurence Spitzer is an American lawyer, former Democratic Party politician, and political commentator. He was the co-host of In the Arena, a talk-show and punditry forum broadcast on CNN until CNN cancelled his show in July of 2011...

 for Attorney General and Alan Hevesi

Alan Hevesi

Alan G. Hevesi is a Democratic politician whoserved as a New York State Assemblyman from 1971 to 1993, as Comptroller of the City of New York from 1994 to 2001, and as State Comptroller for the State of New York from 2003 to 2006...

 for State Comptroller, the party suffered a number of losses on the county and local levels. Gorski himself lost his seat in 1999 to Joel Giambra

Joel Giambra

Joel Giambra is the former County Executive in Erie County, New York. The county seat is Buffalo, New York, where Giambra currently resides.-Early life:...

, and Republicans won a number of county and judicial offices during this period. Republicans also carried the county for statewide office on multiple occasions. At the same time, Pigeon became known for supporting billionaire Tom Golisano

Tom Golisano

Blase Thomas Golisano is an American businessman and philanthropist. He is the founder of Paychex, the second-largest payroll processor in the United States and former co-owner of the Buffalo Sabres hockey team and of the Buffalo Bandits lacrosse team...

, who had run as a third-party candidate (i.e. not a Democrat) in statewide elections.

All these actions generated considerable opposition to Pigeon's chairmanship among many Democratic leaders, such as Assemblymen Arthur Eve and Robin Schimminger, County Clerk David Swarts, and Amherst Democratic Chairman Dennis E. Ward

Dennis E. Ward

Dennis E. Ward, usually cited in newspaper accounts as Dennis Ward, is a Democratic politician from Western New York. He is currently the Commissioner of the Erie County Board of Elections.-Recent controversies:...

. After the losses in the 1999 election, Pigeon was continually and publicly opposed by various factions in the party. In 2002, Masiello and Assemblyman Paul Tokasz decided to remove Pigeon, and he was replaced as chairman by Len Lenihan.

Post-Chairman career

In 2002, Byron W. Brown was elected to the State Senate with Pigeon's support, and appointed Pigeon as a top aide. Brown later disassociated himself with Pigeon in the run-up to the 2005 mayoral election in Buffalo, which Brown won. Pigeon left the Senate payroll in 2004. Pigeon later became a consultant to the Underberg & Kessler law firm in Buffalo.

Pigeon was the top fundraiser in Western New York for Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign in 2008, and later raised money for Barack Obama

Barack Obama

Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...

's campaign.

Pigeon was a major player in the 2009 New York State Senate leadership crisis

2009 New York State Senate leadership crisis

The 2009 New York State Senate leadership crisis was a political dispute in New York that began on June 8, 2009. The State Senate was controlled by Democrats with a 32-30 majority, when a bipartisan coalition of all 30 Republicans and two Democrats, Hiram Monserrate and Pedro Espada Jr., voted to...

, where he acted as Tom Golisano's representative. Pigeon later was hired as counsel to Pedro Espada Jr., who ended up as Senate Majority Leader at the conclusion of the crisis. Pigeon also was instrumental in delivering control of the Erie County Legislature to a Democratic-Republican coalition allied with County Executive Chris Collins in 2009.

Wins & losses

Here is an incomplete list of some candidates Steve Pigeon has supported or opposed, and how the elections turned out.

• Anthony Nanula wins a State Senate Election in 1994 and Buffalo City Comptroller in 1999
• Anthony Masiello survives a 1994 recall attempt by Pigeon
• Barbara Kavanaugh loses her 1997 attempt to unseat Rosemary LoTempio as head of the Buffalo Common Council
• Charles Schumer wins his U.S. Senate election in 1998
• Eliot Spitzer wins his Attorney General election in 1998
• Dennis Gorski loses re-election as County Executive in 1999
• Republicans sweep judicial races in 1999
• Andrew Cuomo loses his 2002 primary challenge for Governor to Carl McCall
• Fran Pordum loses his 2002 primary challenge against County Clerk David Swarts
• Kathy Konst loses in her 2008 challenge to State Senator Dale Volker
• Joe Mesi loses in his 2008 campaign for State Senate
• Barbara Kavanaugh loses in her 2008 challenge to Assemblyman Sam Hoyt
• Christina Bove wins election to County Legislature in 2009
• Tim Kennedy wins election to the State Senate in 2010.

Pigeon himself:

• Won election to County Legislature in 1987
• Lost re-election in 1991
• Lost 1994 race for State Assembly to Sandra Lee Wirth
• Denied an appointment to the board of the Erie County Water Authority in 2000

Controversies

Controversies have dogged Pigeon over his entire political career.

Pigeon's personality has been called abrasive. Some point to major Democratic defeats under Pigeon's leadership, and Pigeon's support for Republican and third-party candidates and his opposition to endorsed Democratic candidates for public office. Others have said that Pigeon mixes his political and business lives in his job as a business development consultant for law firms, where he often wins government contracts from the very officials he supports.

On the other hand, Pigeon's supporters agree with his take-no-prisoners approach to supporting political candidates, and his early support of popular New York officials like Charles Schumer.

Recent controversies

Mr. Pigeon's name has been mentioned in connection with an election scandal in 2007 of the county executive campaign of former West Seneca Supervisor Paul T. Clark.

Assistant Erie County District Attorney Mark Sacha published a complete statement accusing his boss, Frank A. Sedita III, of refusing to prosecute Steve Pigeon for election law violations.

Sam Hoyt's campaign spoksman Jeremy C. Toth filed a complaint against Pigeon and Responsible New York, which he sent to the district attorneys of Erie, Monroe, and Albany counties. Toth hopes that the circumstantial case he makes that Responsible New York staff coordinated its activities with the Barbra Kavanaugh campaign—a felony—will compel the DAs to take a closer look at Pigeon and company.

Erie County’s Republican elections commissioner has alleged that former Democratic Chairman G. Steven Pigeon laundered thousands of dollars from Buffalo Sabres owner B. Tom Golisano

Tom Golisano

Blase Thomas Golisano is an American businessman and philanthropist. He is the founder of Paychex, the second-largest payroll processor in the United States and former co-owner of the Buffalo Sabres hockey team and of the Buffalo Bandits lacrosse team...

’s political committee and others in an attempt to conceal the origin and circumvent contribution limits, in violation of state election law.

In April 2010, Pigeon was linked to a federal probe involving Senator Pedro Espada and accusations and tax fraud and money laundering. News reports linked Pigeon to the investigation based on payments made to an Espada-controlled company by a Buffalo-area firm.

Sources

• "Once again, Pigeon at the center of political storm." The Buffalo News, June 14, 2009.
• "Pigeon is still a player." The Buffalo News, December 21, 2003.
• "Power broker Pigeon still putting clout to work." The Buffalo News, February 10, 2003.
• "Final chapter in Democratic infighting." The Buffalo News, September 8, 2002.
• "You can never county Pigeon out." The Buffalo News, May 12, 2002.
• "Democrats in disarray after debacle." The Buffalo News, November 4, 1999.
• "Pigeon takes party helm, calls for unity." The Buffalo News, September 29, 1996.
• "Pigeon named to assist Shalala." The Buffalo News, January 23, 1993.