The ride-hailing consultants, though, made no effort to reach out to the head of UB’s College Republicans club, Reed Tighe. Had he been asked, Tighe said, he would have lent his support, too.

Kale Kaposhilin, an Ulster County entrepreneur, organized the phone briefing.

When contacted and asked whether ride-hailing drivers should undergo fingerprint background checks, as is required in New York City, Kaposhilin said he thought anyone wanting to drive for Uber or Lyft should have “no problem with that.’’

The ride-hailing industry, though, is vehemently against the fingerprinting requirement. It says background checks by Uber and Lyft are more comprehensive than what taxi drivers must complete.

An hour or so later, Kaposhilin emailed a reporter, saying he wanted to be “crystal clear” that he does not support a fingerprinting mandate, which he called a “red herring” in the debate.

Disclosure reports

Both Uber and Lyft declined to discuss the specifics of their publicity and political campaign to legalize ride-sharing upstate. But in state lobbying disclosures, they reported lobbying expenses associated with the legislation that died in Albany last June. The next report will be released in January.