Election preview: Funke and Lunsford vie for 55th State Senate district

When he entered politics after 40 years as a broadcaster, Rich Funke said he was motivated in part by his daughter's decision to move out of state to pursue career opportunities.

"(It) makes me want to do all I can to recharge our economy and help create better jobs for all, right here," he said during that first campaign.

After four years in office, Funke says that jobs and taxes remain his top priorities.

"We have made some progress by reducing state income tax rates by 25 percent. That's the lowest since World War II." Funke said. "This is something I worked hard on in the 2016 budget and I'm pretty proud of that."

He also points to his work to protect the STAR program and provide tax rebate checks to communities that stay under the 2 percent property tax cap.  He has co-sponsored legislation to make the cap permanent.

"On the jobs front I disagree with the governor's strategy of handing out taxpayer dollars in the form of incentives to certain businesses. I don't believe in picking winners and losers," Funke said. "I support lower taxes and more reasonable regulation for all businesses. We know that is what truly works."

Funke says that Gov. Andrew Cuomo's economic development programs have provided few benefits.

"The governor's way does not make our economy better but it has led to corruption in the procurement and bidding process with several of his top aides facing significant jail time," Funke said. "We need to end the special deals and pass legislation to bring greater oversight and transparency to all of the governor's economic development programs. "

Funke is seeking re-election to a third term in the 55th State Senate District, which encompasses the eastern Monroe County towns of Irondequoit, Penfield, Perinton, Pittsford, Mendon and Rush and the western Ontario County towns of Victor, East Bloomfield, West Bloomfield, Richmond, Bristol, South Bristol, Canadice and Naples.

Party enrollment in the district leans Democratic, but Funke, 69, unseated a Democrat when he first won election in 2014, then the Perinton Republican ran unopposed two years later.

This time, he's being challenged by Jen Lunsford, a Penfield attorney and a working mother.

Lunsford, who grew up on Long Island and has lived in the local area since 2009, is making her first foray into politics.

If elected, Lunsford said one issue she would focus on would be the cost of child care, seeking a public-private partnership that would encourage businesses to offer on-site day care, flex spending accounts or direct subsidies.

"When I look at this community I see people just like me — working parents waking up every day trying to balance their careers and their families," Lunsford said when she kicked off her campaign. "And while I see a community full of people like me, when I look at the State Senate I see something very different. There are 63 senators in the state Senate; only 14 out of them are women and not one of those women has young children."

Lunsford said she would address the actual causes of the gender wage gap, not just pass bills that provide a remedy after someone has already been discriminated against. 
"That means ensuring that shift workers are given a fair, predictable schedule and figuring out how to bring down the debilitating cost of child care so that women who want to stay in the workforce can," she said.

Lunsford says that since the indictment of Rep. Chris Collins, R-Clarence, Erie County, she's heard from more voters that corruption is a major concern.

"Our community is sick and tired of losing elected officials to the prison system," she said. "We need to restore some sanity and ethics to Albany.  We need to pass electoral reforms like early voting, automatic voter registration and no-excuse absentee voting. We also need campaign finance reform like closing the LLC loophole and increasing transparency in fundraising and elections."

Voters head to the polls on Nov. 6.

Rich Funke

Age: 69

Hometown: Perinton

Family: Had two children with wife Pat.

Party lines: Republican, Conservative, Independence, Reform

Background: Former broadcast journalist, has served in State Senate since 2014.

Jen Lunsford

Age: 36

Hometown: Penfield

Family: Married with one child

Party line: Democratic

Background: Lawyer at Segar & Sciortino and co-chair of the progressive legal activist group Lawyers for Good Government..

SLAHMAN@Gannett,com