We continue our series of conversations with candidates running for office.
We talk with Jen Lunsford, New York State Assemblymember for District 135 about her goals for another term, if re-elected.
Our guest:
- Jen Lunsford, candidate for New York State Assembly District 135
Key issues raised by candidate during "Connections" appearance:
- Lunsford and Dawson talked about immigration issues, and she said asylum-seekers are not here unlawfully: "They are here through the process that the federal government allows. They were, for the most part, put on buses from the southern border and just shipped randomly to New York."
- With that, she said Gov. Kathy Hochul put money in the state budget to prevent a humanitarian crisis that would arise if individuals and families were "on the street." Ultimately, though, she said what's happening at the borders is a "federal question" that "needs a federal solution."
- On bail reform, Lunsford said it was passed before she took office, but it has since been amended three times. "We have given judges all of the discretion our sheriff and our (district attorney) asked for last year." She also said bail reform "isn't an umbrella term for all criminal justice reform. It's very specifically about a set of nonviolent misdemeanors for which one can be given an appearance ticket."
- To address crime, she said: "What happens in the courtroom doesn't reduce crime, what happens in the communities reduces crime." Lunsford said anti-poverty and anti-gun violence funding, as well as investments in grass-roots organizations and youth programs, are key tools. "We get these kids into work, we get young people involved in productive activities that help them build a skill in a career. That's how you stop crime, not with changing bail reform."
- She expects to see a "big fight" to keep foundation aid level for school districts and will make universal pre-K rates a priority.
- She also said increasing Medicaid for nursing homes and direct service providers is important to "unclog the pipeline from our hospital systems by freeing up space in our nursing homes."
*Notes: Lunsford's opponent, Kimberly DeRosa, did not respond to multiple invitations to join this program.
You can read more about this race and others you'll see on your ballot in the WXXI Local Elections Guide.
