The New York State Association of Counties has a new president and he hails from the Mohawk Valley.
Oneida County Executive Anthony Picente was unanimously selected as the organization's next president, and will replace Steuben County Manager Mark Alger.
Picente says during his one-year tenure as president, he wants to address issues like unfunded mandates and help educate residents statewide about their county governments.
"We need to work on some other legislative issues that are important to counties in terms of social services, in terms of the balance of funding and responsibilities between the state and the counties in those costs," Picente said.
"We have a heroin epidemic that seems to be attacking a lot of our cities, and we need to be strong on the public safety side and the public health side in combating that."
Picente also says he's interested in helping veterans get the services they need quickly. The Oneida County executive was elected during the association's annual fall seminar held earlier this week in Erie County.