Marchione challenger announces candidacy in 43rd district

PHOTOGRAPHER: Stephen Williams

Democratic state Senate candidate Shaun Francis listens during a campaign announcement in Saratoga Springs, Jan. 28, 2016.

Democrat Shaun Francis officially announced Thursday that he will be challenging incumbent state Sen. Kathy Marchione in the 43rd Senate District this fall.

While he will be taking on a well-known incumbent, Francis expressed confidence he would win a fight he portrayed as being about tainted decision-making in Albany.

“I will be there to change the culture in Albany and be part of a new generation of leaders,” said Francis, 36, a labor union representative and former professional minor league baseball umpire.

“I hope none of you has been booed by an entire stadium of people, but I have,” Francis told supporters during a campaign event at the Saratoga Hilton in Saratoga Springs. “I’m not afraid to make hard decisions under pressure.”

Francis, in his first bid for elected office, will be taking on a two-term Republican incumbent who has held various elected offices in Saratoga County for most of the last 35 years.

Marchione, R,C-Halfmoon, was elected to the Senate in 2012 after defeating Republican incumbent Roy McDonald in a primary. She said Thursday that she is already in the process of lining up support for her re-election bid.

Francis has been campaigning for the seat since the middle of last year, though the events he held Thursday in Saratoga Springs and Hudson marked his official announcement.

Francis said too much campaign contribution money comes into Albany, and he’s starting the campaign with a tiny fraction of Marchione’s bankroll.

The January financial disclosure reports filed with the state Board of Elections show that Marchione has a $218,774 campaign balance, while Francis is starting with $6,211.

Francis vowed that his money would come from small donations, not wealthy contributors.

“I don’t have the opportunity to have a Rollodex of big-money donors,” he said. “I know we will get the funding we need to compete in this race.”

Marchione said she’s represented the public honorably throughout her long career, and in the Senate she’s supported tax cuts and other measures that have helped working families.

“I have been part of the political system since 1980 as a public servant, and I have always represented the people I serve honorably,” the 61-year-old Halfmoon resident said. “I represent all of the public.”

The 43rd Senate District includes parts of Saratoga, Washington and Rensselaer counties and all of Columbia County.

Reach Gazette reporter Stephen Williams at 395-3086, [email protected] or @gazettesteve on Twitter.