OUR ELECTED OFFICIALS
Your Representation
Thomas F. O'Mara
NYS Senator
Thomas F. O'Mara was first elected to the New York State Senate on November 2, 2010 and has been re-elected by the voters of the 58th Senate District to five consecutive, two-year terms.
The 58th District covers all of Chemung, Schuyler, Steuben and Yates counties, and a portion of Tompkins County (the city and town of Ithaca, and the towns of Enfield, Newfield and Ulysses).
Prior to the start of the 2021 legislative session of the Legislature, Senator O'Mara was appointed as the Ranking Member on the powerful Senate Finance Committee. He also continues to serve as the Ranking Member on the Senate Investigations and Government Operations Committee. In addition to his ranking positions on the Finance and Investigations committees, he serves as a member on the following committees: Codes; Energy and Telecommunications; Insurance; Judiciary; and Rules. He has also served as one of five state senators on the joint, bipartisan, 10-member Legislative Commission on the Development of Rural Resources, and as a member on the following Senate Task Forces: Heroin and Opioid Addiction; Lyme and Tick-borne Diseases; and Workforce Development.
Prior to his Senate election, he represented the 137th Assembly District comprising Chemung and Schuyler counties as well as part of Tioga County for three consecutive, two-year terms. He was named Assistant Minority Leader Pro Tempore for the 2010 legislative session, the third-highest ranking position in the Assembly Republican legislative conference. In addition to his leadership role, he also served as a member of the Assembly Committees on Ways and Means, Energy, Banks, Ethics and Guidance, Judiciary and Tourism. As the ranking member on the Assembly Energy Committee, he worked to provide lower cost, more competitively priced energy for residents and businesses in New York State, while encouraging conservation efforts and fostering the use of renewable and clean energy.
Throughout his public service, Senator O’Mara has been guided by a long-held belief: Government does not create jobs, business does. That's why he’s focused on developing public policies and strategies that allow state government to improve the economic climate for doing business in New York by opposing tax increases, and reducing state spending, mandates, overregulation and oppressive property taxes.
Christopher J. Moss
County Executive
Moss served as the Chemung County Sheriff from 2006-18 and ran for Lt. Governor in 2014 with Rob Astorino. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Moss served as the head of the Southern Tier COVID-19 control board.
Christopher S. Friend
NYS Assemblyman
Christopher Friend is an American chemist and politician who represents the 124th Assembly District of the New York State Assembly. He is a Republican and represents parts of Broome and Chemung Counties, and all of Tioga County. As of March 2020, Friend has sponsored 47 bills.
A native of Big Flats and a 1991 graduate of Horseheads High School, he completed a B.S. in chemistry at the University of New Hampshire before earning Master's and Ph.D. degrees in chemistry at the State University of New York at Buffalo.[3] He was named a National Science Foundation IGERT Fellow and has published more than 20 scientific papers and symposia.
Philip A. Palmesano
NYS Assemblyman
Phil Palmesano was elected to the NYS Assembly in November 2010 and was re-elected to his sixth term in 2020 as the representative of the 132nd Assembly District. The 132nd Assembly District consists of a majority of Steuben County, all of Schuyler and Yates counties, and portions of Chemung and Seneca counties.
Phil was born and raised in the city of Hornell and graduated from Hornell High School in 1987. Phil is a 1991 graduate of St. Bonaventure University.
Prior to his election, Phil worked for 15 years as a local aide for several of the region’s most well-known and widely-respected lawmakers at both the federal and state levels, including Assemblyman Donald Davidsen, Assemblyman Jim Bacalles, Congressman Randy Kuhl, and state Senator George Winner.
In November 2009, Phil was elected as the representative of the City of Corning on the Steuben County Legislature. He served in that position in 2010 before taking office in the NYS Assembly in January 2011.
Phil was appointed Assistant Minority Leader in 2020 and currently serves on multiple committees in the state Assembly. He serves as the Ranking Minority Member on the Energy Committee. He also serves on the Corporations, Authorities and Commissions, Correction, Insurance, and Ways and Means committees.
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Phil’s top priorities include improving the state's business climate, advocating for tax, regulatory, and unfunded mandate relief, investing in local infrastructure, promoting organ and tissue donation, and standing up for our most vulnerable New Yorkers, the developmentally disabled.
Phil resides in Corning with his wife, Laura, and their two children.