2 NY Senate races in Ontario County

Nov. 02--Voters across the Finger Lakes region, including Ontario County, will have a choice for state Senate. Republican incumbents face Democratic challengers in the two Senate districts that each cover a portion of the county.

54th District

In the 54th District, Sen Pam Helming, R-Canandaigua, seeks a second term. She faces a familiar challenger: Democrat Kenan Baldridge was a candidate in the three-way race for the seat in the 2016 general election. Helming, a former Canandaigua town supervisor, won with nearly 56 percent of the vote in the contest with Baldridge and Reform candidate Floyd Rayburn.

Baldridge is in his fourth term as Rose town supervisor in Wayne County and chairs the Health and Medical Committee on the county board. He cites ethics reform, landfills, education, safety, and women's rights as key issues.

Helming cites her accomplishments over the past two years advocating for families, farmers, businesses and the environment.

The pair on Oct. 16 debated the issues at an event at Cayuga Community College, which was reported by auburnpub.com (https://bit.ly/2EYWB2d). The candidates addressed a number of key issues involving health care, the economy and corruption.

On health care, Baldridge said he is committed to ensuring that all New Yorkers have health insurance. However, he believes the New York Health Act is flawed and he would focus on coverage for only those who lack insurance under existing plans, by crafting a program or expanding existing programs. Helming opposes a state-run universal health care program. She believes the proposal would offer no guarantee of better health care, would allow critical health care decisions to be made by bureaucrats instead of patients and doctors, and would triple taxes.

On legalizing sports betting, Baldridge said he is not a fan. He doesn't think it adds any value or benefits. Helming said she believes legalized sports betting is likely to happen in New York. If legislation is proposed, she said her focus will be on ensuring it is done in a way that protects consumers and does not promote problem gambling.

On legalizing recreational marijuana, Baldridge said he would survey constituents to see what they want. He also wants to learn more about the effects of marijuana on people and hear more about how the legalization has been going in Colorado. Helming said she supports the state's current long list of approved uses for medical marijuana. She said she has discussed recreational use with numerous members of law enforcement and some members of the medical community. Due to experts having serious concerns, Helming said she does not support legalizing marijuana for recreational use.

On cleaning up corruption, Baldridge said he would start with targeting three areas: Prohibiting outside income for legislators; the certainty of pension forfeiture for corrupt politicians; and the LLC loophole. Helming said she is a co-sponsor of term-limit legislation. She voted to strip pensions from corrupt politicians. In the Senate, she said she has also voted for measures to ensure accountability and transparency with taxpayer funded programs like StartUp NY and she supports legislation to end "pay-to-play" schemes.

Helming said she has held 16 town hall meetings and maintains an open-door policy. She said she fights new taxes, fees and unfunded mandates and supports passing legislation requiring the state to purchase iron and steel made in America, not China. She points to advocacy as Senate vice chair of Crime Victims, Crimes and Corrections; Senate chair of Children and Families, and chair of the Commission on Rural Resources, as well as her being inducted into the NYS Farm Bureau Circle of Friends. On addressing domestic violence, Helming said Ontario and Seneca counties have not had a local shelter for domestic violence victims. But a state grant for Safe Harbors of the Finger Lakes means the area will soon have "a local, safe home for domestic violence victims and their children."

Baldridge said he will tackle issues that have gone unaddressed including environmental protection and the future of landfills in the region. "Seneca Meadows has proposed an extension of their operating permit far into the future. High Acres in Macedon plans yet more trash piled as high as the Sibley Building in Rochester," he said. He will work to transition the region's landfills into recycling facilities with solar arrays on these artificial hills. "The Town of Williamson has done it. We can do it. Recycling and renewable energy is the right business for the Finger Lakes," he said. On women's rights, he said the Democratic minority in the state Senate tried to pass the Reproductive Rights Act as an amendment to another bill (the only way to get it on the floor for a vote) but the Republican Majority voted to block it so that it could not get an up or down vote (June 6, 2018). "I believe in equal rights for women. I will vote to pass it as soon as possible."

55th District

In the 55th district, Sen. Rich Funke seeks a third term against political newcomer Jen Lunsford. Funke is a former broadcast journalist. Lunsford is a lawyer at Segar & Sciortino and co-chair of the progressive legal activist group Lawyers for Good Government.

Funke emphasizes taxes and jobs as top priorities. He mentioned accomplishments such as protecting the STAR program and the economic benefit of the property-tax cap that rewards communities with rebate checks. Funke co-sponsored legislation to make the tax cap permanent.

He chairs the Senate Committee on Cultural Affairs, Tourism, Parks & Recreation and is vice chair of the Committee on Science, Technology, Innovation & Entrepreneurship. He also serves on numerous committees: Aging, Agriculture, Cities, Commerce, Economic Development & Small Business, Environmental Conservation, Consumer Protection and Higher Education.

Among the bills that passed the Senate and were sponsored by Funke: two bills that would boost the tourism industry and the region's economy that depends on tourism and agriculture. One would amend the alcoholic beverage control law as it relates to the delivery or transport of wine. The bill would allow employees at farm wineries to deliver wine in their own vehicles without having to obtain special permits or licenses. Funke said he led the push for this legislation to ensure that farm wineries have the support they need to operate efficiently and remain competitive.

Another bill Funke sponsored would allow people to walk around with alcoholic beverages in designated recreational areas, such as festivals. Municipalities would have the option of designating geographical areas as recreational districts to promote local businesses and overall tourism. Patrons in these areas would be allowed to walk around with their beverage in these designated areas.

On the education front, Funke sponsored a bill he said would provide financial stability to all public schools in the state. The Senate approved S.1020, which would assist school districts struggling with costly mandates. Under the bill, any new law or regulation that imposed spending requirements on a school district would be forbidden in that fiscal year once a school budget had been adopted. "This bill protects public schools by assuring them that they won't have to figure out how to pay for a state mandate that wasn't budgeted into their plan because of poor planning on the state's part," Funke said.

Lunsford emphasizes healthcare, environment and economy as major issues. Advocating for children and families, she said that as a working mother of a toddler she understands the challenges. She is "committed to partnering with private sector employees to find solutions to our childcare problem and to streamline the bureaucracy so that families that qualify for childcare subsidies actually receive those subsidies," she said.

She supports the Child Victims Act. For years, she has fielded calls in her law office from people in their 40s and 50s who are only just now finding the strength to confront their abusers, she said. She said New York's statute of limitations on child molestation, abuse, and incest cases is far too short given the nature of this abuse and so she is committed to changing this law.

On the environment and climate change, she said this is "the single greatest threat to our world." She supports investment in green energy and powering the region through at least 50 percent renewable energy sources by 2030. "Monroe and Ontario counties are already ahead of other parts of the state thanks to our hydroelectric plants, wind and solar farms. But we can do better," she said.

On gun safety, Lunsford received the Gun Sense Candidate Distinction from Moms Demand Action, a gun violence prevention and gun safety organization. Lunsford said she respects the Second Amendment and the rights of responsible gun owners, along with criminal background checks on all gun sales to keep guns out of the hands of dangerous, violent people.

On health care, Lunsford pledged to co-sponsor the New York Health Act. It would provide coverage for all New Yorkers with no out-of-pocket cost, she noted. "This bill would effectively create a Medicare-for-All system for New York state residents which would increase efficiency, lower the cost of delivering care, and increase access to medical treatment for everyone. It would also lower property taxes by completely removing Medicaid from the county budgets," she said.

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