West Seneca Town Supervisor Gary Dickson will run for a state Assembly seat in Western New York in 2026.
The Republican lawmaker said he will run for the 142nd state Assembly District, currently held by Democrat Pat Burke.
“I am running for the same reason that I ran for Supervisor – there are serious problems that need to be fixed,” Dickson wrote on Facebook Monday. “West Seneca is doing much better now than when I took over as Supervisor. Our finances are in good shape, we passed term limits, and economic development has really taken hold. I want to use the same skills at budgeting and leadership that I practice in West Seneca to better the lives of the residents of the 142nd Assembly District and the state as a whole.”
Dickson, a retired FBI special agent, has served as West Seneca town supervisor since 2020.
He was the Republican nominee in the April 2024 special election to replace Brian Higgins in New York’s 26th Congressional District after Higgins left Congress to be the new president and CEO at Shea’s Performing Arts Center. Dickson lost handily to Democrat Tim Kennedy in that race.
The 142nd Assembly District includes Buffalo’s southern districts, the town of West Seneca, the village of Orchard Park and most of Lackawanna.