Green Group to Support O'Brien in Key State Senate Race

State Sen. Ted O’Brien, one of three Democratic incumbents in battleground races this fall, will once again have the backing of the New York League of Conservation Voters—including an expected six-figure sum spent on television ads, campaign mailers and voter engagement efforts.

The organization’s political action committee, NYLCV PAC, is set to announce its support for O’Brien on Wednesday, making him the first candidate designated as a top priority by the environmental group so far this cycle.

A new television advertisement tied to the PAC’s campaign launch takes aim at O’Brien’s rival, former TV anchor and sportscaster Rich Funke, linking him to the failure to pass the Child Safe Products Act during the 2014 legislative session.

“When chemical industry lobbyists marched into Albany last spring to stop a bill that would ban toxic chemicals in children’s toys, Republican Rich Funke’s cronies in the Senate rolled out the red carpet and let them right in,” the ad’s narrator says during the 30-second spot.

O’Brien, the ranking member of the Senate Environmental Conservation Committee, was a champion of the Child Safe Products Act, which has garnered bipartisan support but was never brought to the Senate floor for a vote. O’Brien also appeared recently with the NYLCV to call for the passage of legislation to protect against the risks of hydrofracking waste.

The Rochester-area lawmaker certainly can use some assistance. A recent Siena poll showed O’Brien down 25 points against Funke, although Democrats insist that he has time to gain ground. In the latest campaign finance filings, O’Brien had nearly $110,000 on hand while Funke had more than $85,000, although Funke took in more than twice as much as O’Brien and spent substantially more during the filing period.

The NYLCV has taken steps in recent years to get more involved by supporting candidates in key contests through its PAC, and is once again focusing on the state Senate, where a handful of races could determine which party is in power next year.

In 2012 NYLCV PAC spent more than $300,000 in state Senate races, and expects to spend even more this year. Two years ago it paid for television commercials, online ads and mailings on behalf of O’Brien, who came from behind to win his first term in office.

Despite the new O’Brien ad that attacks Senate Republicans, the NYLCV makes a point of straddling party lines, and has been a staunch advocate of state Sen. Mark Grisanti, a Republican. Recently the NYLCV again endorsed Grisanti, who lost the Republican primary but is running on the Independence Party line.

The PAC expects to identify at least one more priority race before the November elections.