Chronic NY Gubernator'l Candidate Changing Address

"It strikes me in two ways: One, I regret it because he's a vigorous and energetic and engaged citizen," Benjamin said. "Second, it's a statement on the consequence of our tax policies for retaining people of this sort, people who are affluent and engaged."

Calls to Golisano's office were not returned Friday.

In 2004, Golisano stepped down as chief executive of Paychex to devote more time to political and philanthropic endeavors. He has donated more than $100 million to schools, hospitals and centers for the developmentally disabled as well as showering donations on state Legislature candidates seeking to reverse New York's chronic overspending and overtaxing.

If he's living most of the year in Florida, some critics say he would lose his standing to fault Albany. Others lament that his candidacy wasn't more pragmatic.

"An independent candidacy was very much quixotic, but there were other paths he could have taken," Benjamin said.

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg won "as a Republican and a very rich man where there was a 5-to-1 Democratic advantage. He could have taken a pragmatic approach to involvement with one of the major parties that might have produced a gubernatorial victory in my opinion. But there's no longer a path."