Assembly Candidate Barry Funt to Special Interests: Rejected
Well, perhaps not as brazenly as that. But it’s refreshing to see a candidate for office with enough integrity to turn down potential endorsements from groups who profess to wield significant voting power. Barry Funt, Essex County’s newest conservative defender, has done exactly that, however; in the name of honesty, and neutrality, the candidate for Assembly in District 27 has issued a statement explaining that he refuses to seek the endorsement of any union, political action committee, or special interest group that is a recipient of government funds. This, he believes, is an “unconscionable conflict of interest”:
I am proud of the commitment that our teachers, police, firefighters, and others have made to serve the public. But as an Assemblyman, my duty will be to represent all the residents of my district – not any one organization.
I have therefore advised each of these groups that what I want is to meet directly with their members to discuss my ideas and listen to their concerns. I look forward to doing this during my campaign, and I look forward to a spirited, conflict-free discussion.
In the meantime, Funt has committed to running a transparent campaign. For groups who do not receive public funding, his responses to their questions are all made public on his website.
Watch the full statement here:
Barry Funt may be a newcomer to politics, but he is making a name for himself by running a campaign that “establishment” politicians – both Democrat and Republican – are not used to seeing. In addition to his stance on special interests, he has announced that he will not accept a pension as an elected official:
As an Assemblyman, it would be my job to defend the taxpayer. I want no part in the unnecessary draining of resources from my constituents.
Remarkably, Funt is more concerned with principles and solutions than money.
If this race were solely about dollars, the Democrats would win. But voters want ideas. And I’ve got plenty of those.
To find out more about these “ideas”, visit Barry Funt’s website at www.funtforassembly.org. He also welcomes your emails to bfunt@funtforassembly.org.
Best of luck Barry!
August 7th, 2009 at 10:55 amGood luck Barry! But, I hope he isn’t going to run such a clean campaign that he looses.
August 7th, 2009 at 11:24 amTrevor, I always agree with you. It’s so maddeningly unfortunate that “good guys can’t win.” I’m still trying to figure out how to change that.
Barry, from what I’ve seen, is exactly such a “clean” guy that he’d almost hesitate to promote himself out of his own humility. I can’t think of another politician like that.
August 7th, 2009 at 5:08 pmBTW, this is a great video.
I think anyone, no matter where they reside in this nation, should donate to his campaign. A Funt victory will show everyone that a statesman still can win!
Nicely done!
August 7th, 2009 at 5:14 pmIf a Republican can win in Essex County this November, this will be the start of the Revolution we’ve been waiting for.
August 7th, 2009 at 11:52 pmSharon, Fred & Trevor:
Thank you for your kind words of support. Please send the video around to your friends and contacts. We need all the help we can to spread the word and get people to pay attention to this citizen’s campaign. Feel free to find me on Facebook. If you have time to volunteer in any capacity, we would be pleased to have you join us!
Barry Funt
August 8th, 2009 at 6:14 pmMr Funt,
Is the machine giving you any support at all. I would be happy to assist you regardless but everything I have read tells me you are conservatives which means that the hacks would probably prefer you lose.
Just curious, good luck and I will contact your office after Labor Day.
August 9th, 2009 at 8:19 amFormaja:
In fairness, I haven’t asked for anything, other than some financial support for the school choice rally I co-sponsored in Newark in July. Senator Kevin O’Toole (head of Essex County Republicans) stepped up and helped out. That was it.
I certainly don’t get the impression that as a conservative they prefer I lose. Rather, I think the “professional” view is that a race in Dick Codey’s district is not the place to spend limited resources. I recognize that this is an uphill battle, but what people are missing is that the two incumbent candidates here are extremely vulnerable and can be defeated. I see that every day when I knock on doors and talk to people about the issues impacting their lives. Unfortunately, there is only so much time during the day, and I also have to work during the week to pay my mortgage. When I’m out there though, I can’t tell you how many people tell me that they’ve never voted for a Republican, but once we talk about issues, they recognize that I’m trying to represent something different. By sticking to core conservative principles instead of tired old party rhetoric, we are making an impact.
What people in my district need to know is that they have a real choice that represents a different direction, a direction that is closer to what they really believe, regardless of how the media defines Conservatism. If we can raise enough money and awareness to make that happen, I’m confident we can pull this off, with party support or without it.
I like to tell people that if I win, I won’t owe anything to either party, just the people who supported this citizen’s movement and share our views of individual liberty and a limited, conflict-free representative government.
I look forward to hearing from you after Labor Day. Enjoy the rest of the summer. I’m trying to gear up and reach out to as many contributors and volunteers as possible during this month so we can hit the ground hard in September and October.
August 9th, 2009 at 11:42 amyour site is very great!!!
September 11th, 2009 at 7:14 amgood site, good work, thanks!!!
September 14th, 2009 at 9:44 am