Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 5, and early voting is underway. The following candidates were asked by Eagle Newspapers what it was that made them want to run for their desired offices,  how their experience will serve them going forward and why they’re an ideal candidate, what they’d consider the biggest challenges in their community at present, what their ideas are for addressing those challenges, and what they appreciate most about their respective communities. Pamela Hunter, DEM, WOR I was inspired to run for office by my son. There are so many challenges facing our region and our country and I will serve as best I can to leave better opportunities for future generations. As an Army veteran and as a representative with over a decade of service between the NYS Assembly and Syracuse Common Council, I am uniquely qualified to serve our community. Throughout my time in office, I have been able to materially deliver for my constituents and I greatly value their input. As we navigate this period of high inflation and housing insecurity, among many other challenges, I will continue to work to provide relief for those most in need. Housing and inflation are probably our biggest challenges at the moment. Syracuse saw the highest rate of rent inflation in the state and while increases have leveled off, no one anticipates any decreases. Going into next session, I will continue to focus on access to affordable housing and cost of living. First, I’d like to address challenges to providing more affordable housing. New housing developments have gone up, but I wouldn’t classify any of them as affordable. I will be addressing the challenges of providing affordable housing and also exploring financial policies that can empower first time homebuyers. The 128th Assembly District is one of the most diverse and interesting districts in the state. We have farms, towns, villages, the City of Syracuse and the Onondaga Nation. With this variety comes a depth of experiences, which always leaves me with something new to learn from my constituents. While the Assembly has been out of session, for me, the work never stops. I’m looking forward to returning to Albany to advocate on your behalf and continue representing our region. Daniel Ciciarelli, REP, CON The main issues my constituents and those throughout the 128th district have concerns about are controlled at the state level. I will not be someone to sit on the sidelines. The people need to have more than just their voices heard and I will take action to get things done. Outside of my experience of being on the Salina Town Board, I have a background in finance, customer service and business management. This brings perspectives outside of politics to the table and new approaches to legislating. Public Safety – Bail Reform and Raise the Age need further amendments. There are still crimes on the no bail list, such as those related to children and animal abuse, that need to be taken off. Raise the Age does not hold teens accountable. They are being used to commit crimes and recruited by gangs. Accountability is necessary, but alternatives to incarceration should be considered. Cost of Living – We need to do an analysis of our current processes and make them more efficient. Raising taxes and throwing money at issues isn’t the solution. Housing – Developers seek government incentives to provide affordable housing, but we must balance this against potential tax impacts. NYS legislators should work closely with local governments to ensure housing code compliance. The shortage is partly due to unlivable units that could be available if owners were held accountable. We should focus on both repairing existing housing and constructing new units. I love the diversity of this district. You have every walk of life you could imagine from rural farmland to the inner city and everything else in between. By the end of this campaign, we will have delivered 160,000 servings of pasta to 20,000 homes, demonstrating that campaign funds can be used to help people, not just serve personal interests.