Why I’m not voting for Anthony Coates
Anthony Coates gets the prize for best speech-maker in this campaign. He’s great at speechifying. But we don’t need speeches, we need substance. And there he comes up woefully short. He’s far more comfortable with generalities — things nobody can pin down.
He was unable to provide any specifics, when I asked, for changes to the town budget proposed by the supervisor. He’d do an accountability audit, he says. I tried rephrasing the questions. If you were on the town board right now, what would you be doing?
“I’d roll up my sleeves and get to work.”
All right, then.
He has even more trouble with details than his opponent Giglio, especially when it comes to his own background.
Tony was a FINRA- registered broker from 1993 to 2002. He was not registered from 2002 until February 2015. From 2003 to the present, according to his resume, he has been an independent consultant. He writes on his resume, “I am an independent consultant offering investment, insurance and public affairs advisory services. My clients are public and privately held corporations, municipalities, not-for-profits, elected officials and individuals.”
He says he does business under the names Commonwealth Advisers (investment advisory services) and Conscience Bay Strategies (public affairs consulting).
But neither entity is registered to do business in New York State. Why, I asked?
“Commonwealth Advisors” and “Conscience Bay Strategies” are both “essentially what I termed a “trade name,” Coates said in an email response to my questions. “I have been paid as a 1099 worker.”
There is no assumed name certificate for either entity on file with the Suffolk County Clerk, as required by NYS General Business Law for someone doing business under a trade name.
“If I am required to file such paperwork [and I was advised by my accountant and attorney that I am not] then no I have not filed such paperwork. I have always been paid for the consulting services I provide as an individual,” he wrote.
My suggestion: Get a new lawyer.
His FINRA registration makes no mention of Commonwealth Advisors, though it does list Conscience Bay Strategies and describes it as a non-investment-related public affairs consultancy.
If, as his resume states, he is “an independent consultant offering investment, insurance and public affairs advisory services” why isn’t Commonwealth Advisors registered as an investment advisory firm, as required by the SEC?
“I could not place orders as a broker, manage money or offer formal advisory services as a non-registered representative,” Coates answered.
But he could, apparently, describe himself on his resume as “an independent consultant offering investment…advisory services.” And that’s different — how?
“I have assisted businesses in strategic planning and general consulting services, not brokerage services,” he wrote in the email to me.
Ah… Maybe it just depends on what the definition of is…is.
The discrepancies between his resume and the public record of his professional license and work history don’t stop there. No siree.
Here are the firms listed on his resume:
Morgan Stanley, 1993 – 1998
Smith Barney, 1998-2001
Fleet Investment, 2001-2003
Which are very different from those on his FINRA registration:
Dean Witter Reynolds, 4/1993- 1/1995
Smith Barney, 3/1995-2/1996
Coburn & Meredith, 2/1996- 4/1997
People’s Securities, 4/1997- 8/1997
FIS Securities, 5/1998-8/2000
Fleet Enterprises, 2/1999- 8/2000
Citizens Financial, 8/2000- 1/2002
When I questioned him about these discrepancies, he answered: “My [FINRA] licensing indicates where and when I was registered and should be considered to be the authoritative document of dates and places.”
So, in other words, his resume is false.
And that’s not all.
His resume says that from 1980-81 he was “executive assistant to the chairman of the Bank of Los Angeles” in California.
“I was front line assistant to Mr. Sheldon Andelson, the nationally recognized investor/ developer and Chairman of the Board of the Bank of Los Angeles,” he wrote in his resume.
But wait. According to federal government records (FDIC) the Bank of Los Angeles wasn’t established until May 6, 1982.
His response to that?
“As for Sheldon W. Andelson; I worked for Mr. Andelson while the Bank of Los Angeles was ‘in organization’ and Mr. Andelson was its Chairman…as I understand banking regulations Mr. Andelson was still the Bank’s Chairman, he certainly was referred to as such in corporate documents, at Bank Board meetings and in communications, in the formal ‘in organization’ process and after the stock offering…Yes, the formal offering took place in 1982 [I’ll take your word for the date]. I’m not sure I get the point, Mr. Andelson was as I described him in my brief blurb on my resume. While Mr. Andelson was Chairman of the Board as I described, I would also think that even if Mr. Anderson’s ‘Chairmanship’ was a credential that came after I left his employment, it would still be an honest description of who he was.”
Yep. That explains everything.
According to California records online, the Bank of Los Angeles was incorporated in that state in May 1981. So at least until then, there was no board to be chairman of.
I’m not comfortable with a candidate that can’t be truthful about his own personal and employment history. Period. Especially when the candidate is seeking an office that would place him in charge of the town’s fiscal future.
It’s that trust thing again.
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