Assemblyman Brian Maher announces reelection campaign

Assemblyman Brian Maher (R-101) announced on January 21 that he will seek a second term to represent the 101st District of the New York State Assembly. Maher was surrounded by his family and supporters at the campaign kickoff event.

“It has been an honor representing the 101st Assembly District this past year,” said Maher in his announcement. “Being able to advocate for more than 130,000 New Yorkers from different counties and regions has been a rewarding experience and I have learned so much about communities I have been recently introduced to. My team and I are excited at the prospect of continuing to advocate for those we represent for many years to come.”

Maher currently serves as the ranking minority member of the Committee on Social Services and also serves as a member of the NYS Assembly Standing Committees on Mental Health, Drug and Alcohol Abuse, Children and Families, Economic Development and Consumer Protection and Affairs.

“When I was given my committee assignments, my first action was to get to know the members I would be working with, regardless of their political party,” continued Maher. “There are plenty of bills that I disagree with, but I found out quickly that there are opportunities to work with the other side of the aisle on issues that matter. During my first legislative session I was proud to co-sponsor legislation with Democrats that I knew would have a positive impact on those I represent and New Yorkers everywhere.”

In his reelection announcement, Maher noted that he co-sponsored legislation that provided free healthy meals for school districts throughout New York State. He also co-sponsored legislation that would ensure biomarker testing was available to more cancer patients throughout New York State. Both bills were sponsored by Democrats and passed in both the Assembly and Senate before being signed into law by Governor Kathy Hochul.

Maher also worked with fellow Republican and Democrat Social Services Committee members to pass legislation that would create a task force to study fiscal cliffs within our social services system, a bill that was passed unanimously in the Senate and the Assembly but vetoed by the governor.

“I was very disappointed with the governor’s veto of our task force on fiscal cliffs,” continued Maher. “We must work to improve our social services system to identify disincentives that exist that force people to choose between taking a job or a raise or retaining their government benefits. There are a lot of ways we can fix our system and whether this task force gets created or not, my team and I will work together to obtain the data, come up with potential solutions and then work with my colleagues to pass bipartisan legislation.”

Along with continuing to push for the study of fiscal cliffs and social services reform, Maher’s announcement said he plans to focus on mental health, addiction, addressing the issue of youth flight through career paths and workforce development, Emergency Medical Services (EMS) and human trafficking.

This year the primary election is slated to take place on June 25, with the general election set for November 5.