UPDATE, 11/5/2009 – Today, Tom Monaghan announced that Ave Maria secured $4 million from Golisano for a new gym at AMU – “The Tom Golisano Field House” (see Naples Daily News article).

UPDATE, 11/17/09 – Monaghan and Ave Maria University named a new building after Golisano.  Since the article (below) was posted, AveWatch has shown that Golisano not only gave $1 million to the DNC for Barack Obama’s convention, but also financially backed 50 NARAL-endorsed politicians in New York last year.  The New York Times quoted Golisano as saying “… I’m pro-choice.”  Did Tom Monaghan and AMU know that Golisano’s contributions and positions were contrary to this “Catholic” university’s mission?  An internal AMU PR memo suggests as much.  AMU went so far as to issue a campus-wide ban on a reporter from America’s oldest Catholic newspaper ahead of the “Golisano Field House” press conference.  A Fox News reporter was also booted from campus when students tried to talk about AMU being “oppressive and silencing.”

Billionaire Blase Thomas “Tom” Golisano is the founder of payroll service Paychex, owner of the Buffalo Sabres, co-founder of the Independence Party of New York State, and #289 on The Forbes 400 Richest Americans 2009.  He fell short three times running for New York state governor under his Party.  He recently made headlines for changing his primary residence from New York to Florida to avoid taxes.  He has a house in Naples.  In June the NY Post reported that 67 year old Golisano, who was divorced three times, is now dating 35 year old tennis Hall of Famer Monica Seles (excerpt):

He also brought Seles to a Sabres game, where the Tennis Hall of Famer sat with him and former President Bill Clinton. And, when asked in a Forbes.com article last fall what the coolest number in his cellphone was, Golisano crowed, ‘Monica Seles.’

According to the Albany Times Union, Golisano is near the top on a list of contributors to the Bill Clinton Foundation.  Click below for more…

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The social position of Golisano’s Indepdendence Party (IP) platform clashes with the Catholic teaching that Tom Monaghan puts at the center of Ave Maria.  From a press article by the Times Union and reprinted on Golisano’s IP website (February 2006):

Independence members often describe themselves as fiscally conservative and socially liberal, which could appeal to a wide range of voters and candidates. But Independence lacks a single defining issue, unlike the environmentally attuned Green Party, or the anti-abortion Right To Lie [sic] Party, or Working Families, which favors a higher minimum wage and living wage jobs.

“I think they’re seen as broad enough to not be a liability, unlike an endorsement from other third parties might be, like the Right To Life Party,” [Eliot Spitzer] said, adding that even the presence of controversial figures like Fulani is tempered by the diversity of Independence membership.”

Lenora Fulani is a far left political activist who calls Golisano’s IP her home.  Golisano’s philanthropy goes to support both Democrats and Republicans in NY (see also).

New York Times, “Where the politics of abortion stand now” (11/20/02; full text):

Mr. Golisano mailed a flier to Right to Life [Party] voters in the days before the election, presenting himself as the candidate most opposed to abortion, a claim at odds with his usual public stance of favoring abortion rights.

From the New York Times (10/23/1994):

“Where do you stand on abortion?” one woman asked him.

Mr. Golisano responded, “The country has been very clear that it wants choice, and I’m pro-choice.”

Golisano, like Monaghan, also runs his own foundation.  Yesterday, Golisano announced that he is making his largest donation yet to his own Golisano Foundation, much of which funds a Rochester, NY children’s hospital.

The Strong/Golisano Children’s Hospital is part of a hospital that offers abortions.  From Rescue Rochester Pro-Life (May 6, 2009):

Strong/Golisano Childrens Hospital- It is a usual occurrence while we are holding our educational picket at this “revered” hospital and university medical center. “They do abortions here!?” It is hard to fathom that a hospital and teaching medical center will allow the abortionist within its walls to kill the same age child that other doctors are heroically laboring to save in another area of the hospital. [..] Strong is a behemoth. Now the largest employer in the Rochester area and a sponge that sucks up millions of dollars of NYS funds. Strong embraces the abortion mindset, has euthanasia advocates on the medical staff and seeks to pioneer embronic stem cell research in its state of the art Medical Research Wing.

Many news sources point to Golisano’s wallet and hardball tactics as being responsible for a well crafted June political power grab within the NY State Senate.  His PAC is under investigation. Excerpt, Buffalo News (full text; see also):

Sources said planning for the coup began six weeks ago in an Albany bar called Red Square in a meeting involving Pigeon, other Golisano advisers, Skelos and Sen. Thomas Libous, a Binghamton Republican who led Monday’s floor fight.

Golisano, who recently moved his legal address to Florida, was in the Capitol to watch the drama.

“It was obvious to us they weren’t going to keep their commitment, and that was very bad for New York State,” Golisano said of Senate Democrats in an interview. He called Monday “a great day for New York,” and said his disappointment with his financial investment with the Senate Democrats helped force Monday’s coup. “It didn’t materialize,” Golisano said of his donations he thought would fuel change in Albany.

A person involved in the planning said Golisano became convinced six weeks ago after a meeting with Smith that things would not change. Smith kept fiddling with his BlackBerry during the meeting, which angered the billionaire and three-time gubernatorial candidate, the person said.

Governor Paterson bristled at Golisano’s role. “Wealthy donors walking around take credit for it moments after it happened, is that reform?” Paterson said.

Tom Golisano’s move from New York to Florida may be tantalizing to Tom Monaghan for its potential access to money and influence.  From Golisano’s op-ed piece “Adios, New York” published earlier this year (NY Post, 5/20/09; full text)

Combined with spending 184 days a year outside New York, these simple procedures will save me over $5 million in New York taxes annually.  By moving to Florida, I can spend that $5 million on worthy causes, like better hospitals, improving education or the Clinton Global Initiative.

It would be stunning if new local Floridian Tom Golisano got involved in Tom Monaghan’s struggling Ave Maria.  But would Golisano’s social positions and heavy financial support for pro-choice Democrats sit well with Ave Maria donors, employees, and students?

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