By CHRIS CHURCHILL, Business writer
First published in print: Thursday, February 11, 2010
ALBANY -- Gov. David Paterson received $25,000 in campaign contributions from a large liquor-industry distributor shortly before he announced his plan to allow the sale of wine in grocery stores.
The donations were all recorded Jan. 11, eight days before he unveiled the wine plan as part of his proposed budget. The five $5,000 contributions came from subsidiaries of Constellation Brands, a Rochester-area company. And some of those subsidiaries have big names in the wine world -- like Franciscan Vineyards and Robert Mondavi Corp.
Richie Fife, spokesman for Paterson's re-election effort, on Wednesday said Constellation has a long history of contributing to campaigns, and he said there is no connection between the governor's announcement and the donations.
Eric Thomas, spokesman for Constellation, said the same. He added that the company, which also distributes beer and liquor, is officially neutral on the wine-in-grocery-store proposal.
But for some people, the timing and size of the Constellation contributions raise concern.
"It's a deliberate effort by this group to influence the governor," said Blair Horner of New York Public Interest Research Group, a good government group. "You don't happen to wake up one day and say, 'Our five corporate subsidiaries are each going to contribute $5,000 on the same day.'"
Under current law, only the state's roughly 2,700 liquor stores statewide can sell wine. But Paterson's proposal would put wine in about 19,000 supermarkets and convenience stores -- an expansion likely to boost wine sales.
Constellation's donations were not the only recent contributions to Paterson from segments of the liquor industry likely to benefit from an expansion of wine sales.
On Jan. 8, for example, Harter Sechrest & Emery, an upstate law firm that represents the Alliance of Fine Wine Wholesalers, gave $4,000, according to the campaign's filings with the state Board of Elections.
Likewise, Southern Wine & Spirits, a Florida company that is one of the nation's largest wine and liquor distributors, gave $500 on Jan. 11.
Opponents of the wine proposal say it would be devastating to small liquor stores. They've frequently criticized the measure by saying it would overwhelmingly benefit large corporations, including big-box and supermarket retailers.
Michael McKeon, spokesman for The Last Store on Main Street, a coalition of stores fighting the wine proposal, said Constellation's brand portfolio is heavy on California wines and predicted those wineries would get prime play on supermarket shelves.
"The timing, obviously, is eye-opening," McKeon said of the Constellation donations, which also included $5,000 contributions from subsidiaries Alcofi Inc., Hogue Cellars Inc. and R.H. Phillips.
All the subsidiaries share Constellation's address in the town of Victor, in Monroe County. Constellation is a Fortune 1,000 company that has about 100 brands in its portfolio, including Black Velvet Canadian Whisky and Svedka Vodka.
Paterson first proposed selling wine in grocery stores last year, but that plan died during budget negotiations last spring.
This recent proposal from Paterson, unveiled last month, contains perks for liquor stores that were absent from his last push. Most notably, it would allow the stores to sell some food items and open multiple locations.
It would also raise a substantial amount of money for the state. In fact, on Tuesday Paterson proposed raising the franchise fees required of any store that wants to sell wine.
Under the higher fees, the proposal to allow wine in grocery stores would raise about $300 million over the next two years, the governor says.
Last Store on Main Street Coalition disputes that revenue projection, and on Wednesday it filed a Freedom of Information Law request that the governor's office release the studies that led to the estimate.
Chris Churchill can be reached at 454-5442 or cchurchill@timesunion.com.
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