As we gather with our families, friends and loved ones this holiday season we are reminded of the many blessings we have to be grateful for. Paramount among those for me is the opportunity to serve as your state assemblyman. Thank you for placing your confidence in me, and I pledge to continue to make my service to you and our community my full-time job. It is indeed the greatest honor to represent you and I am humbled to be able to serve our district in so many ways.

            First and foremost, constituent service is one of my favorite responsibilities as your assemblyman. Every day I talk with residents, business owners, educators, farmers and organizations in our community to help make Western New York a more accessible and efficient place to call home. I am lucky to have the partnership of so many local, state and federal officials, not-for-profits, advocates and citizens who share my determination to make our region more successful, safer and prosperous.

            Thank you to all of my partners who have worked with me to help better our community, especially the volunteer firefighters who worked around the clock, boots on the ground, to protect so many of us from Lake Ontario’s flooding and who continue to sacrifice time from their own lives to keep us safe. I was so proud to be able to deliver $90 million in emergency state aid for those impacted by the floods, but without the hard work of our firefighters and emergency responders, the devastation would have been many times worse. That’s why I fought so hard to expand the Volunteer Firefighters Benefit Law – and I am proud to say my efforts paid off and benefits have been expanded.

I would also like to especially thank the selfless men and women who work in our hospitals, law enforcement, road crews and emergency services who will be away from their homes and loved ones during the holidays in order to serve our community. Every day at our state Capitol I am working to increase the funding for these sectors, and am so proud to have been able to deliver an increase in aid for our local roads and bridges following some tough winters.

            It is also my distinct honor to meet so many dedicated teachers and educators from school districts across our region, so many warm-hearted librarians, and generous advocates such as the women from the YWCA and other domestic violence prevention groups I have gotten to know well as I’ve worked to advance legislation like the Domestic Violence Prevention Act – Brittany’s Law. Working together, we have increased education aid, restored funding for libraries and even implemented opportunities to help our libraries grow and expand.

            I am also proud to work with so many community organizations like Rotary Clubs and Lions Clubs. These organizations do so much to keep our community spirit high. That’s why I sponsored and helped enact legislation to allow them to sell raffle tickets online – so that they can do even more good in our community with the money they raise for local projects that benefit us all.

Most importantly, I am so grateful for the individual men and women who have placed their trust in me. I will continue doing everything I can to assist everyone in the 144^th Assembly District, from those I met going door to door to the many who have participated in our annual events like the Winter Clothing Drive. It is my honor to serve you, to partner with you and to call you my friends and neighbors.

            From my home to yours, I wish each of you a very Merry Christmas and all the best for a safe, healthy and very happy New Year!