State Assemblyman Will Barclay (R-Pulaski) said when he first ran for office in 2002, he expected to spend about six years in state government. But when he gives up his seat at the end of the year, he will have 24 years in the New York State Assembly under his belt.
Speaking to Grant Reeher on “The Campbell Conversations,” Barclay said his decision to give up his position as Minority Leader and not run for reelection was mostly for personal reasons.
"The timing just seemed right from a personal perspective,” Barclay said. “I'm 57, so I'm older, but not so old that I can't do other things in my life, and I figured if I kept running for reelection, some of those other things that I would like to do, I'd have a shorter time period to accomplish them."
Looking back, Barclay is reflecting on what he sees as his accomplishments in the Assembly. At the top of that list, the Pulaski native mentions his role in saving the James A. FitzPatrick Nuclear Power Plant.
"Albeit, I didn't do that alone, but I certainly played, I think, a large role in being able to save that,” he said. “(We) ended up saving thousands of jobs, and lo and behold, now, we're even looking at possibly getting another new plant here in Oswego County."
But he said there are also a few areas where he would vote differently if the legislation came before him today, including the indoor smoking ban and the legalization of gay marriage.
"The country's evolved substantially, and I think our party's evolved substantially, since (the same-sex marriage) vote,” he said. “But that was another one that I voted opposed to, and maybe, if it was today, I would support gay marriage."
And while some of the issues have shifted, Barclay said so has the nature of politics in general.
"I mean, when I started, you used to put a press release out, probably get some coverage on it. Now, you really have to do social media. You have to react quickly, and sometimes I think, with that quick, fast reaction, you don't always get maybe careful consideration of the issues,” Barclay said.
Barclay said he doesn’t have plans to seek office in the future, although he said he never rules anything out. But he does have advice for people who are considering going into politics.
"Anything you can do to help your community, I think fighting for public policy issues that you believe in, is a very honorable and worthwhile thing to do. And when you see you can make changes, it makes the 23 years, 24 years, that I will be doing this, all worthwhile."
