[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 86 (Wednesday, May 21, 2025)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E465-E466]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
HONORING STATE SENATOR MARK WALCZYK
______
HON. ELISE M. STEFANIK
of new york
in the house of representatives
Wednesday, May 21, 2025
Ms. STEFANIK. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor State Senator Mark
Walczyk from New
[[Page E466]]
York. State Senator Walczyk started his political career in 2007 as an
intern for the New York State Senate while he was a student at SUNY
Albany. After graduating, he worked on then-State Senator Patty
Ritchie's campaign before being named her Legislative Director and
eventually becoming District Director in 2013.
Mark successfully ran for Watertown City Council in 2015, serving for
three years before his election to the New York State Assembly for the
116th Assembly District in 2018, and his subsequent reelection in 2020.
In 2022, when State Senator Patty Ritchie retired, Mark announced his
candidacy for the seat and won the general election unopposed.
State Senator Walczyk serves as the Ranking Member of the Senate's
Elections Committee, Cities 2 Committee, and the Legislative Commission
on Rural Resources. Additionally, he sits on five other committees
which are the Banks, Telecommunications, Internet and Technology,
Energy, and the Housing Committees.
Mark enlisted in the Army Reserves in 2012 and currently serves as an
U.S. Army Reserve Engineer Officer and team leader for the 791st
Forward Engineer Support Team with the rank of Captain. In 2024, Mark
was deployed to a base in Kuwait spending 290 days in the Middle
Eastern theater, participating in multiple engineer reconnaissance
missions throughout the theater, including sites in Jordan, Kuwait,
Saudi Arabia, Syria, and Iraq. Upon completing his mission, Mark
returned home to Watertown in December 2024 where he lives with his
wife Jessica and their children.
Mark is well known as a man dedicated to his family and his country.
He is a leader to his constituents delivering results for his district
and fighting for the future of New York State. On behalf of New York's
21st Congressional District, I want to thank Mark for his years of
dedicated public service to his constituents and our country.
____________________