About this series: Several state Senate and Congressional candidates have been invited by Cornell's Office of Government and Community Relations to meet with faculty and staff at a series of informal luncheons on campus. The Chronicle will publish profiles of these candidates leading up to the Nov. 4 election.

Candidate: James L. Seward

Party: Republican

Seeking: New York State Senate's 51st district (incumbent). The district includes the towns of Groton, Dryden, Caroline and Danby in Tompkins County; several towns in northern Chenango County; and all of Cortland, Herkimer, Otsego, Schoharie and Greene counties. The district comprises the central Adirondack Mountains to its north, the Hudson Valley to its east and eastern Tompkins County to its west.

Opponent: Democrat Don Barber, town of Caroline supervisor, businessman and farmer.

BACKGROUND

Age: 57

Education: B.A., political science, Hartwick College, 1973; attended Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government, State University of New York at Albany.

Employment: Town justice, Milford, N.Y, 1975; legislative staff member to New York Assemblymen Donald Mitchell and Peter Dokuchitz and Sens. Charles D. Cook and L.S. "Steve" Riford. First elected to New York State Senate, 1986. Appointed majority whip, 2007. Committees: agriculture, education, finance, higher education, insurance (chair), rules, transportation.

QUOTES

On higher education: "Since entering the Senate 22 years ago, I have always served on the Higher Education Committee. We have recognized higher education and its contribution to us in this district both in terms of quality of life … in terms of cultural events and related educational opportunities, but then of course tangible benefits: jobs, payroll, purchase of goods and services, drawing people to the area."

"We must rebuild and diversify our economy, particularly in the upstate region. I see higher education as being a key component in doing that ... A skilled and educated workforce; that's your product. And that special component that you have here at Cornell, the research component."

On Cornell: "We're very excited by all the research that goes on in Cornell --related facilities and the spillover, ripple effect in terms of new products, new processes and what that means to this region and to society as a whole. That's why quite frankly when it comes to budget time, we fight hard for higher education dollars."

On voters' concerns: "You're hearing about property tax relief. The upstate economy continues to be a big concern, particularly as we see this financial meltdown that's going on. Obviously, energy issues and the spike up in cost … I hope that with the dip in prices people will not lose interest in moving forward aggressively in the area of alternative fuels and domestically produced fuels to reduce our dependence on foreign oil. I hope New York can be a real leader in this alternative domestic fuel area because I think that would be good energy policy, good environmental policy and good for our economy."

On the future: "There is a huge challenge before us, but if we do it right, we can emerge as a state stronger and better than ever. That's going to take some tough choices, but I think higher education can be one of those entities in our state that can help lead the way to recovery."