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Former NYS Assembly Minority Leader Not Seeking Reelection

New York State Assemblyman Brian Kolb
NYS Assembly

Former New York State Assembly Minority Leader Brain Kolb has announced he will not be seeking reelection. The Republican of Geneva stepped down from his leadership post after he was arrested for drunk driving on New Year’s Eve.

Kolb, who was first elected to the Assembly 20 years ago, led the minority party Republicans for nine years, and was well regarded at the Capitol. He resigned from the leadership post in early January, after he crashed his state issued car into a ditch on New Year’s Eve and was charged with drunken driving.  

The accident came a week after Kolb wrote an op-ed warning of the dangers of drinking and driving.  

Kolb gained even more attention when police records included a witness report from a tow truck driver. He said Kolb initially told him it was the assemblyman’s wife who had been driving. “You know how women drive," Kolb said, according to the records.   

Kolb says in a statement that he made his decision not to seek reelection “after a great deal of consideration and discussions with my family." he says his two decade long state political career would not have been possible without the “love, patience and sacrifices” of his wife and other family members. Kolb says he hopes to remain active in the community.

Kolb was replaced as Minority Leader by Assemblyman Will Barclay, who represents a district near Watertown.

Karen DeWitt is Capitol Bureau chief for New York State Public Radio, a network of public radio stations in New York state. She has covered state government and politics for the network since 1990.
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