On March 9th there is a special election to fill a vacancy in the state assembly. There is only one candidate with the experience and ability and that is William Funk. We need real representation in Albany and not a place-holder waiting for a local position to open up. We need the personal and professional expertise of Bill Funk, not a no-show political appointee.

As long as I have known Bill Funk I have been impressed with his knowledge of the issues and the ability to do the job. Bill did a great job of ridding Farmingdale of the Ravens Nest eyesore. His work with the Friends of the Massapequa Preserve getting his hands dirty cleaning up our local treasure shows he is not a man of photo-ops but a man of action.

Bill Funk is an independent not beholden to a political party for his position. He will go to Albany where he has worked before as a strong voice for the district. Bill Funk will fight against the Pataki unfunded mandates and ill-conceived budgets which increase our local taxes. He also wants to make sure that education funding is preserved without resorting to an adversarial "us versus them" attitude towards New York City. Bill Funk can go to Albany as a partner in downstate affairs with Speaker Silver and secure more state aid for our area.

With Bill Funk we will get effective leadership and an assemblyman who places doing what is right above what is politically expedient. I am proud to know Bill Funk and prouder still to cast my vote for him on the 9th.

John Rennhack