Mark C. Walczyk (; born July 3, 1985) is an American politician and

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officer serving as a member of the

New York State Senate The New York State Senate is the upper house of the New York State Legislature, while the New York State Assembly is its lower house. Established in 1777 by the Constitution of New York, its members are elected to two-year terms with no term l ...

for the 49th district since 2023. A Republican, he won the seat in 2022 after serving a term in 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 ...

Career

Watertown City Council

In 2015, Walczyk was elected to the city council of Watertown. His campaign focused on issues such as combating the " drug epidemic,” fixing roads, and rebuilding a pool in Thompson Park. He was sworn in on January 1, 2016. In 2017, Walczyk was rebuked by mayor Joseph M. Butler and city councilmembers Teresa R. Macaluso and Stephen A. Jennings after he missed the brunt of the city's budget deliberations while on deployment then tried to make changes to it at the last minute. He ultimately did not cast a vote. He served on the council for three years before taking office in the

in 2019.

New York State Assembly

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

, Walczyk that he would run for the

in the 116th district, challening incumbent

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

Addie Jenne. Walczyk defeated Jenne with in the general election with about 54% of the vote.

New York State Senate

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

, Walczyk announced his campaign for the

in the 49th district following incumbent senator Patty Ritchie's retirement. After securing the Republican nomination, Walczyk won the general election unopposed.

Tenure

Walczyk called on Governor Kathy Hochul to pause the installation of new

solar farm A photovoltaic power station, also known as a solar park, solar farm, or solar power plant, is a large-scale grid-connected photovoltaic power system (PV system) designed for the supply of merchant power. They are different from most building ...

s in the state following a battery fire at a plant in Jefferson County. Walczyk has also worked to strengthen

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the Commerce, commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. World Tourism Organization, UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as ...

and the local agriculture industry in parts of his district. In 2021, Hochul signed a piece of legislation sponsored by Walczyk that added two

wineries A winery is a building or property that produces wine, or a business involved in the cultivation and production of wine, such as a wine company. Some wine companies own many wineries. Besides wine making equipment, larger wineries may also feat ...

in Jefferson County to the Thousand Islands-Seaway Wine Trail. He criticized the

New York State Education Department The New York State Education Department (NYSED) is the department of the New York state government responsible for the supervision for all public schools in New York and all standardized testing, as well as the production and administration ...

for releasing guidance that would diminish

parental rights Parental responsibility refers to the responsibility which underpin the relationship between the children and the children's parents and those adults who are granted parental responsibility by either signing a 'parental responsibility agreement' ...

. Walczyk and

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

Elise Stefanik Elise Marie Stefanik ( ; born July 2, 1984) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for . As chair of the House Republican Conference from 2021 to 2025, she was the fourth-ranking House Republican. Stefanik's district covers ...

blamed the closure of the

Remington Arms Remington Arms Company, LLC, was an American firearms manufacturer, manufacturer of firearms and ammunition. It was formerly owned by the Remington Outdoor Company, which went bankrupt in 2020 with its lines of business sold to several purchase ...

factory in

Illion , is a Japanese singer, songwriter, musician, record producer and actor. Noda is the lead vocalist, songwriter and guitarist of the Japanese rock band Radwimps and also began a solo project, illion, in 2012. Life and career Early life, Rad ...

on New York’s gun control laws. Walczyk announced his deployment to

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for nine months starting late January 2024, missing the entire year's legislative session. His office stated that he would not be resigning and that staff will continue handling constituent services in his absence. He returned in December 2024 after serving ten months as a

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

of the U.S. Army Reserve 484th Forward Engineer Support Team, overseeing construction projects in the

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. Although he was speculated to be a candidate in the potential 2025 special election following

's nomination to be

Ambassador to the United Nations An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or so ...

, Walczyk said he would not run for the seat. In March 2025, Walczyk and other Republican state lawmakers introduced a bill to implement a state-level

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, pitched as a bipartisan 'Commission On Government Efficiency' to reduce state spending.

Personal life

Walczyk lives in Watertown with his wife, Jessica. He is a four-time participant in the

Ironman Triathlon An Ironman Triathlon is one of a series of long-distance triathlon races organized by the World Triathlon Corporation (WTC), consisting of a swim, a bicycle ride and a marathon run completed in that order, a total of . It is widely consid ...

and an

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Walczyk, Mark Living people Politicians from Watertown, New York Republican Party members of the New York State Assembly New York (state) city council members University at Albany, SUNY alumni 1985 births Republican Party New York (state) state senators 21st-century members of the New York State Legislature