News from Assembly Minority Leader Brian M. Kolb
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For Release: IMMEDIATELY, January 3, 2012
Joshua Fitzpatrick, (518) 455-3751
Assembly Minority Leader Brian Kolb & Assembly Minority Conference Welcome Assemblyman Raymond Walter To Albany

Assembly Minority Leader Brian M. Kolb (R,I,C-Canandaigua) and his colleagues today welcomed Assemblyman Raymond Walter (R,C,I-Amherst) at a public swearing-in ceremony at the New York State Capitol in Albany. The Hon. Bernard J. Malone, Jr. of the Supreme Court Appellate Division Third Judicial Department presided over the event. Assemblyman Walter was joined by his family at the ceremony and his wife Jennifer held the Bible as the Assemblyman took his oath of office.

Walter represents the 148th Assembly District, which includes the Towns of Amherst and Pendleton and the Martinsville section of the City of North Tonawanda.

"Our Conference and I are proud to welcome Ray to Albany, and I am confident he will continue the tradition of proudly representing his Western New York constituency here at the Capitol," Kolb said. "Ray's expertise, commitment to his community and can-do attitude will serve as valuable assets in advancing the Assembly Minority Conference's agenda of providing lower taxes, unfunded mandate relief and common-sense regulatory reform so our job creators can create more private sector jobs for struggling Western New York families."

As a practicing attorney at Magavern Magavern Grimm LLP focusing on elder law and estate planning, Walter observes first-hand how our high taxes hurt the most vulnerable members of our community and force the most successful to leave the state. In 2009, Walter was elected to the Erie County Legislature to ensure that future generations will be able to raise their own families in Western New York. In the County Legislature, Walter served on the Economic Development, Health and Human Services and Government Affairs Committees.

"I am committed to using my experiences in both local government and as a legal professional to serve the 148th Assembly District and its constituency," said Walter. "As an Assemblyman, I will focus on helping New Yorkers get back to work, fighting for a state spending cap and reforming the Medicaid system."

For nearly ten years, Assemblyman Walter built a successful career in the private sector before going back to school and pursuing a law degree at the University at Buffalo, where he graduated magna cum laude. During Walter's time in law school he was very active, serving as a representative to the Student Bar Association and as President of the local chapter of the Federalist Society. Walter also clerked for the United States Attorney's Office, the Erie County District Attorney's Office and for an area law firm, after serving as a research assistant for the Erie County Charter Revision Commission.

Assemblyman Walter is an active participant in numerous civic and charitable organizations, including the Amherst Senior Citizens Foundation Board and Amherst Youth Basketball. He previously served on the County Executive's Council on Economic Development, the Amherst Traffic Safety Board and the Erie County Cultural Resources Advisory Board.


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