Salka campaign declares victor in 121st Assembly race
Following a count of absentee and affidavit ballots throughout most of the 121st State Assembly District, campaign officials for Republican John Salka report Salka has defeated 28-year incumbent Democrat Bill Magee.
The District encompasses all of Madison County and portions of Otsego and Oneida counties.
On election night, Salka held a lead of 963 votes out of more than 44,000 votes cast. After absentee and affidavit ballots were counted this week in Madison and Otsego counties, Salka maintained a lead of 508 votes; Bijoy Datta of the Salka campaign said Oneida County has not completed its count yet, but have received fewer than 150 total absentee and affidavit ballots, so it is mathematically impossible for Magee to make up the difference.
“I’m truly grateful to the voters of Madison, Otsego and Oneida counties for entrusting me to represent them in the state Assembly,” said Salka. “I will be a tenacious fighter for our region, working hard to push back against policies that hurt Upstate. We need to focus on cutting taxes, getting rid of needless bureaucracy and red tape and creating an environment to grow good jobs.”
As the first member of his family to attend college, Salka is a licensed medical professional and previously managed his own business, where he said he learned the challenges of doing business in New York state. Salka, who serves as Brookfield town supervisor, made fixing New York’s economy a top priority during his campaign, he said.
Salka previously served as a non-partisan school board member of the Brookfield Central School District, including four years as board president. He was elected town supervisor in 2007, defeating an 18-year incumbent.
Salka resides in Brookfield with his wife, Erin. The couple raised two children. Their daughter Emily passed away in 2015 following a battle with brain cancer.