NEWS

Duffy, in interview, details RBA flirtation

Brian Sharp
@SharpRoc

Lt. Gov. Robert Duffy confirmed Friday that he interviewed for the top job at the Rochester Business Alliance on Oct. 5, but said he voluntarily withdrew a week to 10 days later as rumors intensified about his interest and possible ethics issues.

He also has recused himself from anything related to the RBA, he said, but it has not yet been determined whether that means he will cease to oversee the Finger Lakes Economic Development Council. Duffy, who previously served as Rochester's mayor and police chief, spoke to the Democrat and Chronicle on Friday morning

Duffy said he had fully reviewed ethics matters before interviewing and those were never a concern, responding to a suggestion in the Times Union of Albany on Tuesday that such matters triggered his withdrawal — possibly at the urging of the governor's office.

"I stepped away on my own," Duffy said. "There was no prodding, no pushing. ... I was not asked to do that (withdraw). The governor did not ask me to do that. It was my decision."

Though he did not tell Gov. Andrew Cuomo until after the interview, Duffy said, Cuomo never pressured him to withdraw. As for why he did, Duffy said "a lot of things being put out there (were) compromising the process. The inferences being made, I thought, were counterproductive ... to the organization, to me, and to my family."

The confidential search limited his ability to respond, he said, explaining why he has repeatedly declined to comment. Cuomo this week told reporters that he hadn't had any conversations with Duffy about pursuing the RBA job.

RBA, which acts as the local Chamber of Commerce, has one of 25 seats on the Finger Lakes Economic Development Council and is a registered lobbyist with the state. RBA President and CEO Sandra Parker is not. She had intended to retire at year's end but changed her mind in a decision announced earlier this week.

Duffy said while he knew of Parker's retirement, he only saw the job announcement over the summer in the Rochester Business Journal. He clipped the notice and deliberated for some time. Asked whether he spoke to Parker or others on the committee about applying, Duffy said he did not.

"I live in a world where I would not be calling a lot of people asking things. I make my own decision. I don't like to think out loud," he said, adding later: "There was no backroom dealing, no insidious conversations. It took me a long time to make a decision (to apply)."

Parker said Friday that she was unaware Duffy was applying. "I'm not part of the process," she said, adding that the RBA board search committee didn't meet at the RBA's State Street offices. "I don't know who the finalists are. I have deliberately tried to keep myself out of this."

As to why Duffy did not notify the state about his interviewing for the job, Parker said "You've got to ask him that question," but then talked about how employees often don't notify their bosses when job hunting.

"I think he would've been a good candidate," Parker said. "He's not the only one. I'm not irreplaceable."

So why did Duffy apply? A contributing factor could be that Duffy has developed a medical condition and is in almost constant pain from the rigorous travel schedule, which requires sitting in a car for hours at a time. While Monroe County Democrats chairman and Assemblyman Joseph Morelle, D-Irondeqouit, would not connect the two, he said Duffy had been "a trouper," that the two had talked about the wear and tear of the travel schedule and his "back difficulties."

Duffy said he has always planned to return to the Rochester area.

The RBA position, he said, "was an opportunity to be considered for a great position with a great organization in my hometown," he said.

Duffy said he did not make his initial inquiry until early September. Speculation of his seeking the job began in August, however, about the time it became public that he had purchased a three-bedroom home that Parker owned on Keuka Lake.

Parker has said those talks began in summer 2012 at a social event when she mentioned her intent to sell the house. She was recently married, and her husband also had a lake house, his being on Canandaigua Lake. The conversation led to a negotiated below-market price sale in May, the difference attributable almost entirely to what would otherwise have been paid in real estate broker fees. Duffy said the two are not connected.

Duffy said the interview earlier this month was general in nature, never mentioned a possible start date or salary (he said he learned of the $300,000-plus in compensation reading the newspaper), and that there was no follow-up until or after his withdrawal. He did not know, he said, what if any connection his bowing out had on Parker's decision not to retire.

Parker announced plans to retire in May. She said Friday her decision to postpone that retirement was in part response to issues that have developed since then, such as Rochester Mayor Thomas Richards losing the Democratic primary, raising the likelihood the city will have a new mayor in in 2014; increased movement on redevelopment plans for Eastman Business Park; and more clarity on the big negative impact the federal Affordable Care Act could have on the RBA's health insurance broker business.

The public speculation in recent weeks about Duffy being a candidate for the job also was a factor, she said.

"When I began to see all the muck being thrown around on this issue, I didn't think it'd be fair to anybody (to take over the job) where there a cloud over," Parker said. "So I said 'Screw it, I'll stay.' I'll sit here until things slow down and other issues become more resolved."

Duffy, citing a state ethics commission opinion, said he was not allowed to discuss a job with RBA within 30 days of a his office making any decisions affecting the group. That opinion also requires state employees "to promptly report all such post-government employment-related communications to his or her supervisor and ethics officer.

"Nobody has offered me a job now, and I have not been offered a job in the future," Duffy said. He did not rule out applying for the job again.

RBA has not had any business before him "for 30 days, or 30 months — nothing," he said, explaining that he convenes the council meetings but those are chaired by others, and he does not score proposals for funding. He also noted that he oversees no departments. Nonetheless, Duffy said, he has compiled all correspondence between his office and the RBA of his own accord and provided it to general counsel.

He added: "The questions were not being raised inside the capital. The questions were being raised outside."

Other ethical questions raised involve his purchase of the Parker home, which the good government group Citizens Union reviewed and concluded Duffy had complied with state ethics rules, so long as he discloses the value of the home in his next ethics filing. Another ethical consideration is a stipulation that might bar Duffy for two years from any employment that would have him appearing before the state or lobbying on behalf of any organization with which he currently does business. There are differing opinions on whether that rule applies to the lieutenant governor, however, and is moot now that he withdrew.

"The governor fully understood why I chose to pursue this," Duffy said. "He understood, and accepted the fact. ... (But) I'm committed to stay with the governor, as long as the governor wants me to stay."

Duffy's term concludes at the end of 2014, and the governor wants Duffy on the re-election ticket next year, as his office previously told the Democrat and Chronicle. Cuomo spokeswoman Melissa DeRosa confirmed that Duffy had committed at least to serve out his elected term.

Said Duffy: "There is no doubt about the strength of our relationship from the beginning until today." He said he never had decided to leave before the end of his elected term. Matters never reached that point, he said, and "it was never my intention to step away at this time. The governor knows that."

BDSHARP@DemocratandChronicle.com

Twitter.com/sharproc