Assemblyman Wright steps up for top campaign contributor

Posted December 12, 2014 By Mariana Palau

New York Assemblyman and Democratic power broker Keith Wright has repeatedly supported legislation that directly benefits one of his top campaign contributors.

Over the past four years the New York State Podiatric Medical Association has contributed $8,600 to Wright, and, as the association’s documents reviewed by The New York World detail, the podiatrists view Wright as an ally they can ask to sponsor legislation and assist the association in persuading his colleagues in the Assembly to support their priorities.

When, in 2011, the podiatric association was lobbying to push through legislation in Albany that would expand the scope of services podiatrists could offer patients, the group ran into a problem. It needed the support of a key committee chair, Assemblywoman Deborah Glick, who opposed the legislation.

So the association went to two supporters of the bill, Wright (D-Manhattan) and Assemblyman Gary J. Pretlow (D-Westchester County), to help them persuade Glick (D-Manhattan) to take another look.

A report from the association’s legislative action committee dated July 20, 2011, spells out its efforts to “aggressively” educate Glick regarding the importance of the bill. The report states that because of the association’s lobbying efforts and the “efforts by our Assembly sponsor, Gary Pretlow, [and] Assemblyman Keith Wright, for the first time we were able to open an extensive dialogue with Assemblywoman Glick.”

A second podiatric association document from October 2011, this one a report from the group’s then president, Vito Rizzo, says that two leaders of the association planned on “attending a fundraiser for Assemblyman Keith Wright. Assembly[man] Wright has been a strong advocate of our Scope Bill.”

Both documents were posted on the association’s website. See here and here.

“No matter what the benefit might be in the community, it still signals a pay-to-pay cult,” said Lauren George, associate director of Common Cause New York, a government watchdog organization. “Organizations, associations, and donors from any special interest group can curry favor with our elected officials to get what they need passed.”

Pretlow has also received substantial campaign contributions from the association—$6,100 over the past four years. Glick received two contributions totaling $2,000, one in 2011 and one in 2013. She received $5,500 in contributions over the past four years from the Medical Society of the State of New York, which opposed the passage of the scope bill.

The medical society and other organizations such as the American Medical Association and the New York State Society of Orthopedic Surgeons have consistently opposed legislation that would expand the scope of services offered by podiatrists, stating that podiatrists’ training is not sufficient.

For example, in a 2011 memorandum critical to expanding the scope of practice for podiatrists, the New York State Society of Orthopedic Surgeons opposed podiatrists providing care in emergency hospital rooms, stating that although they provide excellent foot care, they are not trained to treat the entire body, which can complicate the treatment of systemic health conditions that manifest in the foot, but have links to larger health issues.

Joseph Sciandra, president of the podiatric medical association, says, however, that podiatrists’ training has changed significantly in the past 20 years. Residency training, for example, to be one year; it is now three years. This training, says Sciandra, is comparable to that received by medical practitioners whose practice overlaps with that of podiatrists, such as orthopedic surgeons.

Glick, who chairs the committee on higher education, eventually relented and allowed the scope bill to get a hearing. Although Glick voted against it, the bill was passed and became law in 2014.

Wright, Pretlow and Glick did not respond to repeated requests for comment.

In addition to the $8,600 to Wright from the podiatrists’ political action committee, the association’s lobbying firm, Greenberg Traurig, donated $3,500 to him.

And the timing of the contributions from the podiatrists to Wright, who has represented Harlem in the Assembly since 1992 and is chair of the New York County Democratic Party, is noteworthy.

The podiatrists donated $2,500 in May 2011 and $1,000 that July, around the time that the group was seeking Wright’s assistance in persuading Glick reconsider the scope bill.

Then, in 2013, Wright went to bat for the podiatrists once again. This time he sponsored legislation that would “change the name of practitioners of podiatry from podiatrists to podiatric physicians in numerous provisions of law.”

The bill, which did not pass the Assembly, would have required private insurance companies and Medicaid to cover physician services provided by podiatrists.

Wright introduced the bill in January 2013. Four months later the association contributed $4,100 to him.

“Yes, he’s been very helpful because he truly understands what is going on,” said the podiatrist association’s Sciandra. “He understands the education process that podiatrists go through. So, yeah, our members do attend his fundraisers.”

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<h1>Assemblyman Wright steps up for top campaign contributor</h1>New York Assemblyman and Democratic power broker Keith Wright has repeatedly supported legislation that directly benefits one of his top campaign contributors.
Over the past four years the New York State Podiatric Medical Association has contributed $8,600 to Wright, and, as the association’s documents reviewed by The New York World detail, the podiatrists view Wright as an ally they can ask to sponsor legislation and assist the association in persuading his colleagues in the Assembly to support their priorities.
When, in 2011, the podiatric association was lobbying to push through legislation in Albany that would expand the scope of services podiatrists could offer patients, the group ran into a problem. It needed the support of a key committee chair, Assemblywoman Deborah Glick, who opposed the legislation.
So the association went to two supporters of the bill, Wright (D-Manhattan) and Assemblyman Gary J. Pretlow (D-Westchester County), to help them persuade Glick (D-Manhattan) to take another look.
A report from the association’s legislative action committee dated July 20, 2011, spells out its efforts to “aggressively” educate Glick regarding the importance of the bill. The report states that because of the association’s lobbying efforts and the “efforts by our Assembly sponsor, Gary Pretlow, [and] Assemblyman Keith Wright, for the first time we were able to open an extensive dialogue with Assemblywoman Glick.”
A second podiatric association document from October 2011, this one a report from the group’s then president, Vito Rizzo, says that two leaders of the association planned on “attending a fundraiser for Assemblyman Keith Wright. Assembly[man] Wright has been a strong advocate of our Scope Bill.”
Both documents were posted on the association’s website. See <a onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview('/outgoing/209.235.208.145/cgi-bin/WebSuite/tcsAssnWebSuite.pl?Action=DisplayNewsDetails&RecordID=618&Sections=9&IncludeDropped=0&AssnID=NYSPMA&DBCode=138204');" href="http://209.235.208.145/cgi-bin/WebSuite/tcsAssnWebSuite.pl?Action=DisplayNewsDetails&RecordID=618&Sections=9&IncludeDropped=0&AssnID=NYSPMA&DBCode=138204">here</a> and <a onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview('/outgoing/www.nyspma.org/pdf/all_reports_7_20_2011.pdf');" href="http://www.nyspma.org/pdf/all_reports_7_20_2011.pdf">here</a>.
“No matter what the benefit might be in the community, it still signals a pay-to-pay cult,” said Lauren George, associate director of Common Cause New York, a government watchdog organization. “Organizations, associations, and donors from any special interest group can curry favor with our elected officials to get what they need passed.”
Pretlow has also received substantial campaign contributions from the association—$6,100 over the past four years. Glick received two contributions totaling $2,000, one in 2011 and one in 2013. She received $5,500 in contributions over the past four years from the Medical Society of the State of New York, which opposed the passage of the scope bill.
The medical society and other organizations such as the American Medical Association and the New York State Society of Orthopedic Surgeons have consistently opposed legislation that would expand the scope of services offered by podiatrists, stating that podiatrists’ training is not sufficient.
For example, in a 2011 memorandum critical to expanding the scope of practice for podiatrists, the New York State Society of Orthopedic Surgeons opposed podiatrists providing care in emergency hospital rooms, stating that although they provide excellent foot care, they are not trained to treat the entire body, which can complicate the treatment of systemic health conditions that manifest in the foot, but have links to larger health issues.
Joseph Sciandra, president of the podiatric medical association, says, however, that podiatrists’ training has changed significantly in the past 20 years. Residency training, for example, to be one year; it is now three years. This training, says Sciandra, is comparable to that received by medical practitioners whose practice overlaps with that of podiatrists, such as orthopedic surgeons.
Glick, who chairs the committee on higher education, eventually relented and allowed the scope bill to get a hearing. Although Glick voted against it, the bill was passed and became law in 2014.
Wright, Pretlow and Glick did not respond to repeated requests for comment.
In addition to the $8,600 to Wright from the podiatrists’ political action committee, the association’s lobbying firm, Greenberg Traurig, donated $3,500 to him.
And the timing of the contributions from the podiatrists to Wright, who has represented Harlem in the Assembly since 1992 and is chair of the New York County Democratic Party, is noteworthy.
The podiatrists donated $2,500 in May 2011 and $1,000 that July, around the time that the group was seeking Wright’s assistance in persuading Glick reconsider the scope bill.
Then, in 2013, Wright went to bat for the podiatrists once again. This time he sponsored legislation that would “change the name of practitioners of podiatry from podiatrists to podiatric physicians in numerous provisions of law.”
The bill, which did not pass the Assembly, would have required private insurance companies and Medicaid to cover physician services provided by podiatrists.
Wright introduced the bill in January 2013. Four months later the association contributed $4,100 to him.
“Yes, he’s been very helpful because he truly understands what is going on,” said the podiatrist association’s Sciandra. “He understands the education process that podiatrists go through. So, yeah, our members do attend his fundraisers.”

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