Business is bullish on Spitzer - Survey finds many executives expect new governor to be good for region's economy

Gov.-elect Eliot Spitzer will have a positive impact on business in the state, according to a survey of Capital Region business leaders conducted for Capitaland Quarterly by the Siena Research Institute.

"Eliot Spitzer does OK. About half think he's going to be good for business in New York," said Douglas Lonnstrom, director of the institute and a professor of statistics at Siena College in Loudonville.

They also think he'll be good for the regional economy, judging by the 130 business executives who responded to the Siena poll. "They are experts. They are CEOs, presidents, owners," Lonnstrom said.

When queried about Spitzer's impact on business, 47.7 percent of the respondents expressed confidence in the new governor. That's compared with 27.7 percent who believe he will have a negative impact and 19.2 percent who said he will have no effect.

"In public opinion polls, he's got a 77 percent approval rating. This is positive news for Spitzer when he's got nearly half of the business leaders. This is a guy who made his reputation attacking Wall Street," Lonnstrom said.

Spitzer does even better when it comes to local issues.

The business community is confident he'll follow through on the development of the Luther Forest Technology Campus in Malta and Stillwater, where Advanced Micro Devices Inc. plans to build a $3.2 billion computer chip factory.

More than 83 percent of the respondents believe Spitzer will continue to support this major industrial development in the Capital Region, which is expected to receive $1.2 billion in state incentives.

The planned Albany Convention Center and hotel complex in downtown Albany -- which will benefit from nearly $250 million in extra payments-in-lieu-of-taxes aid from the state -- also is seen as staying on the state's radar under Spitzer. More than 65 percent of those surveyed agree the new governor will follow through on that project.

And Spitzer is seen as continuing to encourage the redevelopment of the Harriman State Office Campus in Albany, with 55.4 percent of respondents saying he will help shepherd through the plan to turn the former home to state agencies into a research and technology complex.

The only project that could be in jeopardy under the new administration, according to respondents, is high-speed rail service between Albany and New York City. Only 37.7 percent anticipate Spitzer will have a positive impact there, compared with 54.6 percent who don't.

"The business community is certainly going to let Spitzer come in with a honeymoon period," Lonnstrom said of the poll's general indications.

That feeling applies, too, to what might happen to the state work force.

"If we look at our region, nearly 4 out of 10 think he's going to have a positive impact on state employment. He's probably not going to cut employment in the area or move jobs out of this area to New York City," Lonnstrom said.

Among the business leaders surveyed, 38.5 percent took this view, compared with 18.5 percent who felt there may be a negative impact and 30.8 percent who believed there would be no effect on the state payroll under Spitzer.

"State employment is big in this area," Lonnstrom said. "Almost 50 percent of our economy is government, health care and education. It gives us a lot of stability."

Other issues of concern among respondents were people and jobs leaving the state, which was cited by 35.4 percent; Medicaid costs and their impact on local property taxes, 18.5 percent; reforming the state Legislature, 13.8 percent; the cost of workers' compensation, 12.3 percent; and health insurance for workers, 10.8 percent.

"The business community wants to give him a chance," Lonnstrom said of Spitzer. "They're hopeful that he will do some things that will help our economy."