Carl Paladino Quotes

Paladino was raised in the Lovejoy District of Buffalo and attended Bishop Timon – St. Jude High School in South Buffalo. Paladino attended St. Bonaventure University and the Syracuse University College of Law. He received his Juris Doctor degree in 1971. He spent three months on active duty in the United States Army and approximately ten years in the reserve, separating in 1981 at the rank of Captain. Paladino founded Ellicott Development in 1973; the company buys properties, builds stores, and leases them to national retail outlets and government agencies. The company has operations in Western New York, Central New York and portions of Pennsylvania. In addition to his business developments, Paladino also is a senior managing partner in the law firm of Paladino, Cavan and Quinlivin, a firm that specializes in corporate and real estate law.
Paladino registered with the Democratic Party in 1974 and remained there until 2005. Later that year, after the retirement of Buffalo mayor Anthony Masiello, Paladino changed to the Republican Party, which is his current affiliation. Paladino and several limited partnerships controlled by him have donated to numerous political candidates and organizations, both Democratic and Republican. During his time as a Democrat, he generally considered himself a conservative Reagan Democrat in the mold of former Buffalo mayor James D. Griffin and former New York governor Hugh Carey; Paladino's campaign site features a 1980s picture of himself alongside former President Ronald Reagan.
In 2009, Paladino involved himself on behalf of South Buffalo councilman Michael Kearns in Buffalo's Democratic primary mayoral election, campaigning against incumbent Byron Brown. He again endorsed Kearns in the New York State Assembly race to replace current Buffalo city comptroller Mark J. F. Schroeder in 2012.