Brian Kolb
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Brian M. Kolb (born August 14, 1952) is an American politician who served as a member of the
New York State Assembly The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature, with the New York State Senate being the upper house. There are 150 seats in the Assembly. Assembly members serve two-year terms without term limits. The Ass ...
for the 131st district from 2000 to 2021. Kolb also served as minority leader from 2009 to 2020.


Early life and education

Kolb was born in
Rochester, New York Rochester is a city in and the county seat, seat of government of Monroe County, New York, United States. It is the List of municipalities in New York, fourth-most populous city and 10th most-populated municipality in New York, with a populati ...
. He received his Associate of Arts degree from Saint Petersburg Junior College in 1980. In 1996, he received his Bachelor of Science from Roberts Wesleyan College, and later earned his Master of Science from Roberts Wesleyan in 1998.


Career

He became an adjunct professor at Roberts Wesleyan in 2000. He was co-founder of North American Filter Corporation and is a former president and COO of the Refractron Technologies Corporation. From 1986 to 1987, Kolb was the town supervisor of Richmond, New York, and served on the Ontario County Board of Supervisors.


New York State Assembly

Kolb was first elected to the New York State Assembly in a February 2000 special election. As of January 2020, he has been re-elected nine times. Kolb represented the 129th assembly district from 2000 to 2012, and represented the 131st assembly district from 2013 to 2021. New York's 131st Assembly District comprises all of Ontario County and portions of Seneca County in Upstate New York. A Republican, Kolb was chosen as Assembly Minority Leader following the resignation of Jim Tedisco. He became Assembly Minority Leader on April 6, 2009. As of December 2018, Kolb was the longest-serving legislative leader in the New York State Legislature. A member of the National Rifle Association of America, Kolb appeared alongside the organization's CEO, Wayne LaPierre, at a 2012 lobby day event in Albany. Kolb is also a member of the New York State Rifle & Pistol Association. In 2017, Kolb was the only one of New York's five state legislative leaders and six statewide elected officials to support New York Proposition 1 (2017), which called for a state constitutional convention. Proposition 1 was defeated at the ballot box, receiving only 16% of the vote. Kolb is a member of the member of the advisory board for the Ontario ARC, a member of the Sons of the American Legion, the Knights of Columbus, the American Irish Legislators Society, Ontario Charities Classic Board of Directors, the Ontario ARC Advisory Board and the New York Farm Bureau. Kolb stepped down from the position of Assembly Minority Leader on January 3, 2020, after having been arrested for driving while intoxicated several days earlier. In February 2020, Kolb announced that he would not seek re-election to the Assembly in the November 2020 election.


Other potential bids for political office

Kolb had been named as a leading Republican contender in New York's 29th congressional district in 2010; however, he declined to seek the seat after becoming minority leader. Though his potential candidacy was never taken seriously, he also declined an opportunity to run against Kirsten Gillibrand for United States Senate and also declined to run for Congress in 2012, this time against Democrat Kathy Hochul. On December 12, 2017, Kolb announced his intent to run for
Governor of New York The governor of New York is the head of government of the U.S. state of New York. The governor is the head of the executive branch of New York's state government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor ...
in 2018. He withdrew from the race in February 2018.


Personal life

Kolb resides in Canandaigua, New York. He and his wife, Lauren, have three children.


References


External links


New York State Assembly member websiteNew York Republican Assembly Campaign CommitteeBrian M. Kolb: 2004 Politician Profile
Campaign funding profile compiled by Opensecrets.org
Response to New York League of Conservation Voters' Questionnaire
, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Kolb, Brian 1952 births Living people Republican Party members of the New York State Assembly Politicians from Canandaigua, New York Politicians from Rochester, New York Roberts Wesleyan University alumni 21st-century members of the New York State Legislature 20th-century members of the New York State Legislature