FROM THE NEW POOL AT MARTIN LUTHER KING PARK TO THE DEM SENATE MAJORITY TO GREEN JOBS FOR ALL WHO NEED THEM, SENATOR ANTOINE THOMPSON LOOKS BACK ON A PAST FULL OF ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND FORWARD TO AN AGENDA  FULL OF HOPE

As NYS Senator Antoine Thompson looks forward to his birthday celebration this Saturday night at the Pierce Arrow Museum on Michigan (His actual birthday was a week ago), he looks back on a busy career that has been full of 7 day a week action. What has meant the most to him amidst all the speechmaking and bustle...the long days of legislative negotiations and the long nights of legislative research?

"It's been the opportunities I've had to help people that have meant the most to me," he quickly replies. "Helping people has really been the key to my career and really to my entire life...It meant a lot to me that we were able to do what was needed so that our kids can enjoy the pool at Martin Luther King Park every summer. It meant a lot to me that we were able to build the library on Jefferson that has been such a positive influence on so many people's lives. It meant a lot to me that I was able to help secure a Democratic majority in the Senate, which has given people like those in my district a much bigger voice in Albany."

Still, at the end of the many long days the Senator works, sometimes it's the little, every day achievements that mean the most.

"Sometimes, it's the little things you are able to do that you think about he most," he acknowledges. "The time you were able to help this person get a good job so he can support his family or the help you were able to give that organization so its employees and volunteers can continue to fulfill a vital need in the community. Those are the things that really mean the most to me."

Does this mean that Senator Thompson is an old fashioned, look 'em in the eye, one person at a time political leader of the kind that dominated the Buffalo political world in decades past? Certainly, upcoming events such as his traditional St. Joseph's Table, scheduled for Friday, March 19 at the Mahoney State Building, 65 Court St., would seem to bear that characterization out.

On the other hand, Senator Thompson's next scheduled event after that one, his Buffalo Niagara Green Expo, set for Sat., April 17 10am-6pm at the Walden Galleria, reveals a 21st Century, high tech aspect to his ongoing agenda.

"It's very important to me that our workforce is ready for the green jobs that will be the key to the economy of the rest of this century," he declares. "That's why our Green Expo events mean a lot to me. They allow us to give our workers access to these jobs. They also allow us to unite WNYers who have good ideas for the green technologies of the future with people who have the ability to turn their concepts into the industries that will transform life in America for generations to come."

Still, whether he is working on legislation to facilitate the use of "E-Waste," the recycling of old computers for new high tech purposes (one of his major legislative priorities for 2010) or just helping a community center put in a new pool, the underlying purpose is always the same.

"The opportunity to help people is the most important part of this job to me," he says. "That is what makes everything else worthwhile."