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Ossenfort Says State Senate Run Would Be A Stretch

Matt Ossenfort
Lucas Willard
/
WAMC
Matt Ossenfort

State Senator George Amedore of New York's 46th District announced last week that he will not seek re-election. Prior to serving in the Senate, the Republican served in the State Assembly.

Montgomery County Executive Matt Ossenfort previously served as Amedore's chief of staff in the Assembly. He discussed Amedore's intention to not seek another term on Thursday:

Senator Amedore was, prior to that, the Assemblyman, and I was his chief of staff. And George has become a...not just a colleague but a really close personal friend and someone that I admire and respect a great deal. And I just...it's going to be such a loss for us because he was always a fighter for Montgomery County and you could always count on him to be there and, you know, obviously moving forward, you've got to wonder how it's going to go in such a big district and so on and so forth.

So, obviously there is some concern there, there is some sadness there, but George is a type of guy that's always going to do what's best for him and his family first. And, you know, from my conversations with him it was the time, the right time for him to take a step back. And like he said from the beginning, you know, he never wanted to be a career politician and so I'm not surprised but disappointed, obviously, because he's just been so good to us….

So to not have him there it's going to be a loss but, you know, hopefully moving forward there will be some good candidates and we can see how it goes as the weeks go on.

Any interest in the position yourself?

You know, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't, the thought didn't cross my mind. And I would love to serve in the state legislature. I'm not sure that now is the right time for me. You know, right now I have a job I love, doing work I love, with people I love. So I'm not sure it's the right time for me, but I'm certainly going to...you know, always keep an open mind and see how the process goes.

But, you know, I came from the state legislature. I started out as an Assembly intern. So just to even be thought of in the discussion is kind of an interesting idea for me. And I'd be, you know, certainly would consider it but, you know, I just...things like the Beech-Nut — Exit 29 project — and the Amsterdam $10 million DRI and a lot of the good things we have going on.

This would be a hard gig to leave because I just truly love it so much. And that's kind of where I'm at right now. But, you know, I've had a number of conversations with folks and we'll continue to do that, but, you know, it'd be a long stretch for me to throw my hat into that ring, I think, at this point.

Lucas Willard is a reporter and host at WAMC Northeast Public Radio, which he joined in 2011.
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