Capitalizing on Differences on Capital News 9
Bellafiore and Greenberg miss the collegiality, but say the rancor is good for business
Fri, 13 Jun 2008 15:42:00
Steven Greenberg and Robert Bellafiore, regular political commentators on “Capital Tonight,” rarely see eye-to-eye on the issues.
Greenberg likes the Yankees and the Rangers, Bellafiore prefers the Mets and the Islanders. Greenberg drinks Pepsi. Bellafiore drinks Coke. Greenberg is a Democrat, while Bellafiore is a Republican.
Their clients do not agree with each other either.
“His first clients in the private sector were the tenants in rent control,” said Greenberg. “And my first client in the private sector was the landlord in rent control.”
But every Tuesday, they join forces for “Take Two,” their segment of political commentary for viewers in Albany, Syracuse, Rochester, Binghamton and Buffalo. Despite their many differences, Greenberg and Bellafiore’s partnership works because they are able to distinguish between their personal and professional lives, they said.
“There are two kinds of people in this town. There are those that are true believers. Like, ‘I’m a Democrat, I can’t socialize with a Republican,’” Greenberg said over sandwiches at the Capitol cafeteria. “And then there are the people that recognize there’s what you do and then there’s who you are.”
Even in college at SUNY Albany, where they first met, Bellafiore and Greenberg were on rival sides of the dorm where they lived.
Greenberg wound his way through various positions in the Assembly, culminating as press secretary for two speakers—Mel Miller (D) and Saul Weprin (D). For nine years, he also served as press secretary for State Comptroller H. Carl McCall (D). He left to work on McCall’s 2002 gubernatorial campaign.
Today, he is president of Greenberg Public Relations, with clients including the New York Stock Exchange, the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers and Siena College.
Bellafiore, true to form, went in a slightly different direction. He covered state government for the Associated Press and the now-defunct Knickerbocker News for several years. He spent eight years as a senior aide to Gov. George Pataki (R) and worked on the campaigns of Pataki and Sen. Alfonse D’Amato (R).
He is now a senior partner at Eric Mower and Associates, a marketing and communications firm.
“We’re friends first,” Bellafiore said. “We never let our jobs get in the way of anything.”
On the contrary, they found a way to capitalize on their ideological differences. Three years ago, they pitched the idea of “Take Two” to Capital Tonight host Brian Taffe as a more collegial version of Curtis Sliwa and Ron Kuby’s old political radio show.
“We didn’t want it to be a food fight,” Bellafiore said. “We wanted it to be useful to regular people.”
Taffe said he was instantly intrigued by the idea.
“What they do is pretty obvious but also increasingly rare,” Taffe said. “There is this great friendship between two people who disagree together more in the world of politics, but who somehow are able to not simply agree to disagree, but sometimes even agree.”
The ability to influence each other’s outlook and opinions, Taffe said, is a commodity in political commentary.
Greenberg and Bellafiore look back fondly on the days when it was more common for politicians to battle each other over legislation, but still have a drink together at the end of the day.
There is an upside, though. The rancor and dysfunction in Albany has made their jobs as political commentators easier.
“There’s so much static that I think we, who have the government experience and the experience of watching government from the outside, can help to cut through the static,” Greenberg said. “We can help tune it in and make it clearer.”
Greenberg likes the Yankees and the Rangers, Bellafiore prefers the Mets and the Islanders. Greenberg drinks Pepsi. Bellafiore drinks Coke. Greenberg is a Democrat, while Bellafiore is a Republican.
Their clients do not agree with each other either.
“His first clients in the private sector were the tenants in rent control,” said Greenberg. “And my first client in the private sector was the landlord in rent control.”
But every Tuesday, they join forces for “Take Two,” their segment of political commentary for viewers in Albany, Syracuse, Rochester, Binghamton and Buffalo. Despite their many differences, Greenberg and Bellafiore’s partnership works because they are able to distinguish between their personal and professional lives, they said.
“There are two kinds of people in this town. There are those that are true believers. Like, ‘I’m a Democrat, I can’t socialize with a Republican,’” Greenberg said over sandwiches at the Capitol cafeteria. “And then there are the people that recognize there’s what you do and then there’s who you are.”
Even in college at SUNY Albany, where they first met, Bellafiore and Greenberg were on rival sides of the dorm where they lived.
Greenberg wound his way through various positions in the Assembly, culminating as press secretary for two speakers—Mel Miller (D) and Saul Weprin (D). For nine years, he also served as press secretary for State Comptroller H. Carl McCall (D). He left to work on McCall’s 2002 gubernatorial campaign.
Today, he is president of Greenberg Public Relations, with clients including the New York Stock Exchange, the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers and Siena College.
Bellafiore, true to form, went in a slightly different direction. He covered state government for the Associated Press and the now-defunct Knickerbocker News for several years. He spent eight years as a senior aide to Gov. George Pataki (R) and worked on the campaigns of Pataki and Sen. Alfonse D’Amato (R).
He is now a senior partner at Eric Mower and Associates, a marketing and communications firm.
“We’re friends first,” Bellafiore said. “We never let our jobs get in the way of anything.”
On the contrary, they found a way to capitalize on their ideological differences. Three years ago, they pitched the idea of “Take Two” to Capital Tonight host Brian Taffe as a more collegial version of Curtis Sliwa and Ron Kuby’s old political radio show.
“We didn’t want it to be a food fight,” Bellafiore said. “We wanted it to be useful to regular people.”
Taffe said he was instantly intrigued by the idea.
“What they do is pretty obvious but also increasingly rare,” Taffe said. “There is this great friendship between two people who disagree together more in the world of politics, but who somehow are able to not simply agree to disagree, but sometimes even agree.”
The ability to influence each other’s outlook and opinions, Taffe said, is a commodity in political commentary.
Greenberg and Bellafiore look back fondly on the days when it was more common for politicians to battle each other over legislation, but still have a drink together at the end of the day.
There is an upside, though. The rancor and dysfunction in Albany has made their jobs as political commentators easier.
“There’s so much static that I think we, who have the government experience and the experience of watching government from the outside, can help to cut through the static,” Greenberg said. “We can help tune it in and make it clearer.”
