Michael C. Finnegan

For other people named Michael Finnegan, see Michael Finnegan (disambiguation).

Their relationship is organic. It's hard to separate the two personalities. Mr. Finnegan's accomplishments as a negotiator were possible only because of the governing style of Mr. Pataki, who allowed his aide to be an unfettered fact finder and arbitrator.

— John R. Nolan, a professor of law at Pace University who has known both Mr. Pataki and Mr. Finnegan since the early 1980s. ^[2]

Finnegan was Governor Pataki's first appointment in the new administration. ^[4] He served as General Counsel to the Governor from 1995 to 1997, but was also the leading orchestrator of Pataki's measure that cut income tax rates by 25 percent over four years. ^[5] In 1995, Finnegan ended a century-long debate when he successfully brokered the New York City Watershed Agreement by leading negotiations among county, state, federal and New York City governments, and the environmental community. ^{[3] [6] [7] [8]} Finnegan also conceived and negotiated Pataki's $1.75 billion Clean Water Clean Air Bond Act legislation and functioned as executive director of the Bond Act Committee. ^{[9] [10]}

Pataki also named Finnegan to the three-person Commission on Judicial Nominations, which recommends candidates to the state's highest court. ^[11] He resigned as General Counsel in 1997 to take a management position with JPMorgan Chase. Upon Finnegan's departure, politicians and political analysts agreed there was a substantial void in the Pataki administration, as Finnegan was a practical negotiator with whom even Pataki's greatest opponents said they could work. Finnegan's allies and foes said "he had a rare talent for overcoming partisan barriers, forging compromise, and keeping the spotlight on his boss when something concrete was achieved". ^[2]

Michael Finnegan has been a key part of virtually every major achievement of my administration. I wish him well.

—  George Pataki, Governor of New York ^[3]

In 2006, State Comptroller Alan Hevesi took criticism after approving a no-bid contract to JPMorgan, which was negotiated in part by Finnegan, although no wrongdoing was found on Finnegan's part. ^[12] Hevesi would later resign over a separate incident after he pleaded guilty to a defrauding the government. ^[13]

2008 congressional run

See also: New York's 19th congressional district election, 2008

There was speculation that Finnegan was being recruited by the National Republican Congressional Committee for a run against freshman incumbent John Hall in New York's 19th congressional district. ^[14] Finnegan was described as one of the strongest potential challengers to Hall. ^[15]

Finnegan was described as a moderate Republican. ^{[16] [17]} He was a delegate for John McCain to the Republican National Convention during the 2008 Republican Presidential Primary. ^{[18] [19]}

Notes

1. Archdeacon, Thomas. "The Irish Famine in American School Curricula". Eire-Ireland:Journal of Irish Studies. Spring-Summer, 2002.
2. Revkin, Andrew. "Pataki's Chief Deal Maker Departs". New York Times . October 2, 1997.
3. Hernandez, Raymond. "Pataki's Counsel to Resign For Post at J. P. Morgan". New York Times . August 15, 1997.
4. "Michael C. Finnegan, Business Leader, Irish Recipient 1997 Archived 2008-11-21 at the Wayback Machine ". Ellis Island Medal of Honor . Retrieved on February 29, 2008.
5. Dao, James. "Longtime Adviser Is Chosen To Serve as Pataki's Counsel". New York Times . November 30, 1994.
6. Revkin, Andrew. "Chasing a Deal on Water With a Few Pitchers of Beer". New York Times . November 5, 1995.
7. LaGrasse, Carol. "The Brave, Hopeful Watershed Settlement". New York Property Rights Clearinghouse . Vol. 2, No. 3. (Property Rights Foundation of America). October, 1995.
8. Revkin, Andrew. "A Protest Threat, Then a Plan to Ease River Access". New York Times . August 8, 1997.
9. Finnegan, Michael. "What is Our Clean Air Policy?". Pace Environmental Law Review . Vol. 14, Number 1. (Pace University School of Law). Fall 1996.
10. Dao, James. "Financing for Environmental Act Shows D'Amato's Influence". New York Times . November 4, 1996.
11. Hoffman, Jan. "Pataki Names Close Adviser to Judicial Screening Panel". New York Times . September 14, 1996.
12. Gershman, Jacob. "Jibe at Faso May Singe Democrats". New York Sun . September 25, 2006.
13. Jochnowitz, Jay (November 22, 2006). "Hevesi's Ride Ends". Albany Times Union . Archived from the original on October 10, 2007. Retrieved 2008-03-01.
14. Benjamin, Elizabeth. "Former Pataki Aide Mulls Congressional Bid Archived 2010-01-13 at the Wayback Machine ". Daily News . November 26, 2007.
15. "Hall admits '07 had its pitfalls". Poughkeepsie Journal . December 27, 2007.
16. Roessle, Lyn. "Irvington Reclaims Hudson River Land Archived 2007-10-13 at the Wayback Machine ". Half Moon Press Archived 2006-03-27 at archive.today . June 1997.
17. Dao, James. "Governor-Elect's Loyal Aide Likes the Sidelines, Away From the Crowd". New York Times . November 20, 1994.
18. Hanchette, John. "Mountain Views: Giuliani pinned hopes on Florida; McCain made hay and headlines". Niagara Falls Reporter . January 29, 2008.
19. Hicks, Jonathan. "A Nixon Grandson Leads McCain's New York Effort". New York Times . January 29, 2008.

External links

• Irish-American Republicans
• JP Morgan Chase

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Michael Finnegan
General Counsel to the Governor of New York
In office 1995–1997