“A Conversation with Stan Lundine” Featured as part of SUNY Fredonia’s Constitution Week Activities
Former New York State Lieutenant Governor Stan Lundine will speak with students and community members about local government efficiency, electoral participation, and civic engagement as part of SUNY Fredonia’s Constitution Week events, sponsored by the campus American Democracy Project (ADP) and the Political Science department. “A Conversation with Stan Lundine” will be held from 4:00 to 5:30 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 20 in Room S-104 of the Williams Center on the SUNY Fredonia campus. Refreshments will be provided.
As a former lieutenant governor of New York, a U.S. Congressman, and Mayor of Jamestown, Lundine has a wealth of local, statewide and federal experience in elected office and governance. Lundine will discuss his work on local government efficiency and provide valuable insight on the electoral process, politics, and democracy in a question-and-answer session with the campus community.
Lundine served two terms as New York State Lieutenant Governor under Governor Mario Cuomo from 1987 until 1994. Prior to this, he was elected six times to the U.S. House of Representatives where he served from 1976 to 1987, chairing a subcommittee of the House Banking Committee. Lundine began his career in elected office at age 30 as the Mayor of Jamestown, serving three, two-year terms. As Mayor, he made landmark reforms leading to greater labor/management cooperation.
In 2006, he was tapped by Governor Eliot Spitzer to chair the New York State Commission on Local Government Efficiency and Competitiveness, also known as the “Lundine Commission.” The commission was established to “examine ways to strengthen and streamline local government, reduce costs and improve effectiveness, maximize informed participation in local elections, and facilitate shared services, consolidation and regional governance.” The Commission’s recommendations were released in April 2008 identifying over $1 billion in savings.
“It’s a wonderful opportunity for our campus community to have this public conversation with Stan Lundine at this time, to learn from his extensive experience, and to hear his thoughts on the possibilities and challenges of electoral politics, governance, and civic engagement,” said Dr. David Rankin, chair of SUNY Fredonia’s Political Science Department, and campus representative for the ADP.
The ADP is a nationwide initiative to identify and develop campus strategies and approaches for undergraduates as informed and engaged citizens in our democracy, and is coordinated though the civic engagement efforts of the Fredonia Academic Community Engagement (FACE) Center. The Lundine event is also sponsored by SUNY Fredonia’s Center for Regional Advancement (CRA), a major catalyst for regional collaboration, governance innovations, community outreach and economic development. It engages the intellectual and analytical human resources of SUNY Fredonia to enhance the region's governance and economic development capacity.
