West Seneca, N.Y. (WBEN) - Nearly two years ago, West Seneca Town Supervisor Gary Dickson (R) took an ambitious run at the 26th Congressional district, where he was defeated by Democrat Tim Kennedy in a special election.
In 2026, Dickson is setting his eyes on a run for the 142nd State Assembly District, a seat currently held by Democrat Pat Burke in Albany. Burke has been serving in his State Assembly seat since 2019.
The district covers parts of the City of Buffalo - including South Buffalo and parts of the Fillmore and Lovejoy districts - as well as the City of Lackawanna, the towns of West Seneca and Orchard Park, and the Village of Orchard Park.
Dickson strongly feels this November's race for the 142nd State Assembly District is a winnable one.
"I think over the last six years, we've gotten things pretty well in order in West Seneca, both with finances and development. But I still keep getting calls from residents complaining about things that, unfortunately, we have no control over. Particularly the cost of electricity or the state roads, things like that," said Dickson in an interview with WBEN. "I just think, in a way, what caused me to run for supervisor was that I thought things needed fixing, things were kind of messed up. And I certainly think that's what's going on in the state now."
Dickson feels much of what's happening in Albany is driven by decisions from lawmakers Downtstate and in New York City.
"Spending is out of control, costs are out of control. There's mandates that are being imposed on us, there's attempts to ban natural gas, and I think a lot of it comes out of New York City," he said. "New York City is driving a lot of the policies in the state, and I just think we need a representative who represents our values, and doesn't vote almost entirely with New York City."
One of the driving forces for Dickson with his decision to run for the 142nd Assembly District is the costs that trickle down, either intentionally or unintentionally, from the state down to local government.
"The aid that the state gives to the towns hasn't increased in, at least, 10 years, and I think people need some relief," Dickson said. "The high costs, the affordability crisis has been going on for a lot longer than just now that politicians want to start talking about it. Things have been getting unaffordable for a long time."
Dickson points to the efforts he has put forth over the last several years in the Town of West Seneca as a blue print for success.
"We kept town taxes at no increase for individual taxpayers for five years. People paid the same tax bill for the town in 2025 as they paid into 2020. But we can only do so much," Dickson noted. "I think the state spending is kind of out of whack, and I think the rest of the state needs to take control, or at least to have significant input into the way things are being run, and how our money is being spent."
Dickson knows well that in order to serve as a government official, especially in the state legislature, you have to be a voice of the people you represent.
"If you just sit back and do nothing and just go with the flow, then you're going to have very little influence. You have to get out, you have to talk to other people, you have to try to form coalitions," Dickson said. "Frankly, the interests of Upstate are often not the same as the interests of New York City. So I think there's a natural alliance between people, whether they're in the Finger Lakes or in the North Country, or in the Southern Tier, or in Western New York. We all have more things in common than you would think, and certainly more things in common than Downstate."
And while listening to the public and hearing their concerns is one element of the job, Dickson knows it's also coming up with proposals and solutions that satisfy as many people as possible.
"Every decision is a balancing act, there's always pros and cons. So you have to use your experience, you have to use your understanding of the people in your district to try to come up with solutions that satisfy or that are best for everybody," Dickson said.
When taking what he learned from his most recent run for Congress in 2024, Dickson knows the voting in the 142nd State Assembly District is more conservative than people tend to think.
"I think people in South Buffalo, even though there may be a registration advantage for the Democrats, it's the same thing in West Seneca, and I've won pretty handily twice," Dickson noted. "The entire Town Board is Republican, even though the largest party is Democrats. So I think, in general, they're all people with common sense, people who understand their issues in their own hometowns or in this region."
While his campaign for the 142nd State Assembly District is just getting underway, Dickson does have an early message for residents and voters he would be representing.
"We deserve a voice in Albany that looks after our interests," he said. "Whether it's respect for law enforcement, whether it's affordability. It's easy for somebody with no experience in budgeting to say they're for affordability. I have put forth six town budgets, I know what it takes to give a budget that doesn't increase taxes. I know what it takes to look after the public's money as if it was my own. Now, certainly the state budget is a completely different animal, but the same concepts are there. We have to recognize it's the taxpayers money that we're spending, and we should be spending it wisely, and for the benefit of as many people as possible."
Dickson is an Army veteran and a retired FBI agent, and has served as West Seneca Town Supervisor since 2020.