Christian Yunker is an Elba farmer and Cornell graduate who became chair of the Genesee County Legislature in January 2026. A Republican first elected in 2019, he represents the towns of Elba, Byron and Bergen. He is not on the Nov. 3, 2026 ballot, because his current term runs through 2027.
So who is Christian Yunker, what has he done, and what do his critics say? The record runs through a family farm founded in 1951, an open seat in 2019, an unopposed reelection, a chairmanship that opened after his predecessor lost a primary, and a first year shaped by water lines and a disputed data center.
Quick Facts
- Party
- Republican
- Hometown
- Elba, N.Y.
- Date of Birth
- Not listed in official biographies reviewed
- Current Position
- Chair, Genesee County Legislature; Legislator, District 2
- Background
- Managing partner of CY Farms, Batavia Turf and CY Heifer Farm; former Farm Credit East credit officer
- In Office Since
- January 2020 (legislator); January 2026 (chair)
EARLY LIFE AND FAMILY
Yunker comes from a farm family in Elba. CY Farms was founded in 1951 by Carl Yunker, who moved with his wife Bernice to the Merriman Farm on Transit Road that year, according to The Batavian. Carl Yunker died in 2021 at 97. The Batavian describes Christian Yunker as a third-generation farmer.
He earned a bachelor’s degree in applied economics and management from Cornell University, according to his county biography. He also completed the LEAD NY agribusiness leadership program at Cornell and an executive program for large agricultural producers at Texas A&M University. He lives in Elba with his wife and three daughters, according to a 2024 bank announcement.
His father, Craig Yunker, led CY Farms as chief executive in 2017, and Carl Yunker’s obituary lists a son, Craig Yunker of Elba. PagPol could not confirm Christian Yunker’s date or place of birth, his wife’s name or his daughters’ names, and found no record of military service.
FARM AND BUSINESS CAREER
Before joining the family business, Yunker worked at Farm Credit East as a credit officer and relationship manager. He returned to the farm in 2008, according to a bank announcement published by The Batavian. He is managing partner of CY Farms, Batavia Turf, CY Heifer Farm and CY Properties, all based in Elba.
In December 2017 the GLOW Workforce Development Board named CY Farms the Genesee County Business of the Year, according to The Batavian. The board cited the farm’s work in agriculture, the business community and employee development, including tailoring a job for an employee with disabilities. Craig Yunker accepted the award as chief executive.
Yunker has also served as president of the Genesee County Farm Bureau, treasurer of the county’s Cornell Cooperative Extension board, and vice chair of United Memorial Medical Center in Batavia. He chairs the Oak Orchard Watershed Conservation Committee, according to his county biography, and served on a Cornell experiment station strategic direction committee.
Farmland in the Town of Bergen, one of the three towns in Yunker’s District 2. (Photo: Andre Carrotflower, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons)
THE 2019 RACE AND FIRST TERM, 2019 TO 2023
On Feb. 17, 2019, The Batavian reported that the Genesee County Republican Committee had endorsed Yunker for District 2, which covers the towns of Bergen, Byron and Elba. He sought the seat of Legislator Robert Bausch, who was retiring after 10 years. He won that November, but PagPol could not find the vote totals or whether he had an opponent.
He was sworn in on Jan. 9, 2020, as the newest member of the Legislature, according to The Batavian. At the same meeting Rochelle “Shelley” Stein of Le Roy was sworn in as chair. His county biography lists service on the Public Service and Jail Construction committees, the Agriculture and Farmland Protection Board and the Water Resources Agency.
In November 2023 Yunker won a second term, a four-year term, with no opponent. “All positions on the council were unopposed, as were all Genesee County legislator positions,” The Batavian reported on Nov. 8, 2023. PagPol could not find his vote total for that race.
Downtown Bergen. Yunker’s district covers the towns of Bergen, Byron and Elba. (Photo: Daniel Case, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons)
On Dec. 13, 2023, Yunker spoke out at a Legislature meeting against the Birds and Bees Protection Act, which would ban the sale of corn, soybean and wheat seed treated with five neonicotinoid pesticides. “This would have devastating effects for farmers in New York State,” he said, according to The Batavian. Stein also opposed the bill.
At the same meeting he abstained on Resolution 71, which appointed members to the Oak Orchard Small Watershed Protection District board. It passed with 174 weighted votes in favor and none against, according to the meeting minutes. Yunker chairs the Oak Orchard Watershed Conservation Committee.
THE SECOND TERM, 2024 TO 2025
In October 2024 Tompkins Community Bank named Yunker to its board for Western New York. In November 2024 the Legislature approved a $189 million budget for 2025 with a levy of $33,630,739, up 2.78 percent, while the rate fell from $8.08 to $7.57 per $1,000, according to The Batavian.
The 2025 election reshaped the Legislature. Stein, the chair, lacked the Le Roy Republican endorsement and faced newcomer Laurie Mancuso in a June primary. “I’m the only candidate who has any sort of county experience or municipal experience,” Stein said, according to The Batavian. She lost the June 24 primary to Mancuso, 343 votes to 121, according to official county results.
On Oct. 30, 2025, County Manager Matt Landers proposed a $205 million budget for 2026 with a 2 percent levy increase and a new housing officer. “Thanks to this hard work, the budget stays under the tax cap while meeting the needs of Genesee County residents,” Landers wrote in his budget message, according to The Batavian.
On Nov. 24, 2025, the Legislature adopted the budget as Resolution 550 by eight ayes, no nays and one absence, with Stein absent, according to the meeting minutes. The levy was $34,303,354 and the rate fell to $7.30 per $1,000. Yunker was among the eight legislators present, and no one voted against it.
THE CHAIRMANSHIP, 2026
On Jan. 7, 2026, Vice Chair Marianne Clattenburg nominated Yunker as permanent chair, Chad Klotzbach seconded, and the vote was unanimous, according to the organizational minutes. He listed water, safe communities, workforce development and economic growth as priorities and cited a recent $10 million federal water grant.
Mancuso and John Borrelli were sworn in as new members that day. “I feel the Chair should serve as the quarterback of the team, facilitating communication and decision-making,” Yunker told The Batavian two days later. “The chair’s role is to lead with transparency and collaboration,” he said. The Batavian noted he was no longer a newcomer after two elections.
The biggest issue of his first year has been the STREAM data center planned for the STAMP industrial park in the Town of Alabama. In January The Batavian reported that the Tonawanda Seneca Nation had asked the state Department of Environmental Conservation, in a Dec. 19 letter, to object to the county’s economic development agency leading the environmental review.
On March 19 more than 200 people attended a hearing on the project that lasted about five and a half hours. Dozens spoke against it and two spoke in favor, according to Investigative Post. The developer, Stream Data Centers, has requested about $1.46 billion in tax breaks for a campus promising 125 permanent jobs.
Yunker defended the project, saying it would “leverage generational private investment” and help pay for water lines, according to Investigative Post. He said county leaders are “keenly aware of any potential environmental impacts.” The outlet reported that his father, Craig Yunker, sits on the agency board that will approve or deny the subsidy package.
A historic building in Elba, Yunker’s hometown and the base of CY Farms. (Photo: Dougtone, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons)
In April Yunker reported that the second phase of the county water project was nearing completion and that the third phase design was about 80 percent done, according to the April minutes. Every item at that meeting passed without a no vote, including an opioid settlement award of $56,100 to the YWCA.
In July Gov. Hochul paused new data center approvals for up to a year, and the Tonawanda Seneca Nation, the Sierra Club and an Alabama resident sued over the 2012 zoning deal behind STAMP, according to Investigative Post. Hochul later said she wants to ban tax breaks for large data centers. As of July 21, the agency had not voted on the subsidies.
THE COUNTY AND THE PARTY MATH
Genesee County had 17,621 active enrolled Republicans and 8,264 Democrats out of 38,932 active voters in February 2026, according to state enrollment figures. Republicans outnumber Democrats by about 2.1 to 1, and 10,268 voters belong to no party. PagPol could not confirm the party makeup of the nine-member Legislature.
Republican share of active enrolled voters, February 2026
Genesee CountyNearby Western New York counties
Source: PagPol Data Spine, from New York State Board of Elections enrollment figures.
Among the eight Western New York counties PagPol compared, Genesee ranked third in Republican share, behind Wyoming and Orleans. Yunker’s District 2 covers three rural towns in the county’s northeast. For another county leader in the region, see PagPol’s profile of Mike Hill, who chairs the Niagara County Legislature.
LEADERSHIP ROLES
As chair, Yunker presides over the nine-member Legislature with Clattenburg as vice chair and Gregg Torrey as second vice chair. He sits on the Ways and Means and Insurance committees and the comprehensive plan steering committee, according to the 2026 brochure. Clattenburg chairs Ways and Means.
He also represents the county on the Water Resources Agency, the Soil and Water Conservation District, the Agriculture and Farmland Protection Board and the Administrative Water Review Board. He also sits on regional planning, transit and intercounty boards. PagPol’s profile of Kevin Geraghty describes a similar leadership post in Warren County.
WHY HE RAN AND WHAT HE BELIEVES
PagPol could not find Yunker’s own account of why he first ran in 2019. As chair he has stressed infrastructure. “The water system is our top priority and will take a significant investment,” he said in January, according to The Batavian. He also promised “strategic investments in public safety and housing initiatives” and outside investment.
“We will listen to constituents, set clear goals and align the legislature, committees, and budget around our priorities,” he said in the same interview. He said he would lean on Landers, the county manager. His committee service has included farmland protection, water resources and construction of the new county jail.
CAMPAIGN FINANCE
PagPol found no campaign committee for Yunker in the state’s campaign finance data, and both of his legislative races drew little or no competition. County races receive no public matching funds. The county budget itself grew from $189 million in 2025 to about $205 million in 2026.
The levy rose 2 percent in 2026, while the average rate fell 3.56 percent. Landers said the levy increase was $439,254 below what the state cap allowed. PagPol could not find a proposed 2027 budget, the first Yunker will oversee as chair. Over the four years through 2025, Genesee’s levy grew more slowly than most of its neighbors’.
Change in county property tax levy, 2021 to 2025
Genesee CountyNearby counties, increase
Source: PagPol Data Spine, from state comptroller county property tax levy data.
CONTROVERSIES AND CRITICISM
PagPol found no ethics complaints, lawsuits or personal scandals involving Yunker. The criticism around him concerns the data center he supports. Bergen resident Kelly Hollenbeck, who lives in his district, told the March hearing that “Secrecy breeds distrust” and called the process “full of secrecy,” according to Investigative Post.
“You’re talking about $1.4 billion for a multibillion dollar company. What sense does that make?” asked Grandell Logan, a Tonawanda Seneca Nation member, at the same hearing. “People are saying this is just an inappropriate project for this area for a lot of reasons,” Tonawanda Seneca Nation organizer Sarah Howard said in March, according to The Batavian.
Supporters argue the incentives bring money the county would not otherwise see. “If they did not receive the abatements, they would not do the project,” Mark Masse, chief executive of the economic development agency, told The Batavian. Investigative Post reported that the agency failed to properly record or livestream a required hearing and had to hold another one.
CLAIMS VERSUS THE RECORD
Yunker calls water the county’s top priority. By April the second phase of the water project was nearing completion and the third phase design was about 80 percent done. He has tied data center revenue to water, but Landers told Investigative Post the project “will be built regardless of the data center,” while the center would affect water rates.
Yunker pledged to lead with transparency. The Legislature chose him unanimously, and every recorded 2026 vote PagPol reviewed passed without opposition. Critics have called the data center review secretive, though that process is run by the economic development agency rather than the Legislature. The 2026 budget, adopted before his chairmanship, created a housing officer post.
STATE COMPTROLLER AUDITS IN THE COUNTY
A November 2024 Oakfield-Alabama audit by the comptroller found that Oakfield-Alabama Central School District officials lacked evidence that $930,806 in goods and services were competitively bought. An April 2026 audit found that a former Town of Alexander clerk did not properly record, deposit or remit collections.
A Genesee County government office building in Batavia, the county seat. (Photo: J. Passepartout, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons)
The county’s 2025 independent audit found an unassigned fund balance of $25.7 million, but auditor Matthew Montalbo warned that spending was growing faster than revenue. “So it’s more of a cautionary tale as you enter into your next budget season,” he said, according to The Batavian in June.
On the comptroller’s 2025 fiscal stress scale, the Village of Alexander scored 58.3, a moderate stress rating. In Yunker’s district, the Village of Bergen scored 3.3 and the Elba Central School District scored 10.0, both with no designation. No county government in the region was designated as stressed, according to FingerLakes1.
LOOKING AHEAD
Yunker is not on the ballot this November, and his legislative seat is next up in 2027. The Legislature’s next big decisions include the 2027 budget, the third phase of the water system, and how the county responds to the state’s data center pause. For more, visit PagPol’s Genesee County page or subscribe to the Genesee County newsletter.
