Assemblyman Brian Kolb was recently named Assembly Minority Leader by his Republican colleagues, making him the longest-serving conference leader in Albany.
Assemblyman Brian Kolb, R-Canandaigua, was unanimously re-elected leader of the Assembly Republican Conference on November 27, 2018.
Kolb was first elected to the Assembly in 2000 and has served as minority leader since 2009. This makes Kolb the longest-tenured legislative leader in Albany.
Kolb’s district includes all of Ontario County and parts of Seneca County.
“It is a profound honor to have the trust and support of my colleagues in the Assembly Minority Conference, and I’m excited to work alongside them as minority leader,” Kolb said following the conference’s decision. “As the 2019 legislative session approaches, I know the distinguished members of our conference will continue to build on our collective goals and expand on our efforts to move New York in the right direction.”
The Assembly Republican Conference gained a total of two seats on Election Day, while maintaining five seats that were open, for a total of 43 Republican seats in the 150-seat Assembly this coming session.
This growth in their conference comes even as the state Senate turned Democratic and Republicans lost the House of Representatives on Nov. 6.
“With a changing dynamic in the Legislature, our voice and our role has never been more critical,” Kolb said. “We have been in the minority all the way back to the 1970s, it is a role we are familiar with, and we believe that we have significant influence on public policy… Our priorities are the generally the same year in and year out, and we try to push whoever is in the majority.”
Looking ahead to the 2019 Legislative Session, Kolb aims to be a loud and strong advocate for what he calls “kitchen table issues” that directly concern New York families; reducing the cost of living and working in New York, lowering property and school taxes, and spurring economic development in New York.
“I am enormously proud of the work the Assembly Minority Conference has done to… relieve the financial and regulatory burden of small businesses; and devise solutions to the looming infrastructure and transportation crises that affects every region of the state,” said Kolb, who has been honored repeatedly by the National Federation of Independent Business and the New York Farm Bureau during his time in the Legislature.
Kolb earned an associate’s degree from Saint Petersburg Junior College and both his bachelor’s degree and master’s degree from Roberts Wesleyan College, where he also teaches.
Kolb serves as a major in the New York Guard, is a consultant for Stone Bridge Business Partners, and was the former president of the Refractions Technologies Corporation, and the former vice president of operations and co-founder of North American Filter Corporation in Newark, New York.
