Dale Volker

For the fictional character in Stargate Universe, see Dale Volker (Stargate)

Dale Volker (born August 2, 1940) is a New York State Senator representing the 59th Senate District, which comprises Wyoming County, as well as portions of Erie, Livingston and Ontario Counties. Volker is a Republican.

Senator Volker was first elected in a special election held in 1975 to fill a vacancy created by State Supreme Court Justice Thomas McGowan. Prior to this, Volker had served as a member of the New York State Assembly for two years.

Volker serves on the Codes Committee and is the "Chairman" of the Western New York Delegation, member of the Senate Subcommittee on Alcoholism, and member of the Senate Public Protection Subcommittee.

Prior to 1987 he was Chairman of the Senate Standing Committee on Energy.

His other committee assignments include the Senate Standing Committees on Banks, Cities, Crime Victims, Crime and Corrections, Finance, Judiciary, Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities and Rules.

Prior to his election the New York State Legislature, Volker worked several years as a member of the Depew Police Department.

He holds a J.D. from the University at Buffalo Law School, and is a graduate of Canisius College.

On April 30, 2010, Senator Volker announced his retirement from the New York State Senate.^[1]

Criticism

An April 26, 2007 article in the Times Union, noted that Volker is a vocal opponent of Rockefeller drug law reform in the state. Volker helped put the original Rockefeller laws in place as a way of combating the commutation of drug sentences by downstate, and particularly NYC circuit judges. Gabriel Sayegh, author of the piece and project director of New York City's Drug Policy Alliance office, explains that Volker's district is heavily benefited by the state's prison industrial complex.^[2]

Volker has also suffered criticism for the use of private investigators to harass and intimidate^[3] voters who had signed petitions for his opponents. Volker also subpoenaed over 90 petition signers as part of a lawsuit to have challenger Kathy Konst removed from the ballot. Volker has also hired investigators to sift through Konst's records in Palm Beach County, Florida, for use in attack ads.

2008 Re-election campaign

Volker narrowly defeated a challenge in the 2008 Republican primary by former mayor David DiPietro, who ran on a platform charging that Volker has failed to serve the needs of western New York. Volker actually lost Erie County, but won on strong turnout in the more rural areas of his district.

Volker faced Kathy Konst, running on the Democratic ballot line, in the general election. Volker defeated Konst by a margin of 55.5% to 44.4%, losing the populous Erie County but faring well on high turnout in the rural areas.

Three Republicans were said to be challenging Volker for re-election in 2010.

See also

• 2009 New York State Senate leadership crisis

References

1. ^ [1]
2. ^ Gabriel Sayegh (2007-04-26). "Spitzer must lead drug law reform". Times Union. http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=584144&category=OPINION&newsdate=4/26/2007. 
3. ^ Josh Boose (2008-09-27). "Konst To Volker: "Call Off Your Goons"". WGRZ-TV. http://www.wgrz.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=60949. 

External links

• Project Vote Smart page on Volker

New York Assembly
Preceded by Frank Walkley	New York State Assembly, 148th District 1973–1974	Succeeded by Vincent Graber
New York State Senate
Preceded by Thomas McGowan	New York State Senate, 58th District 1975–1982	Succeeded by Anthony Masiello
Preceded by Walter Floss	New York State Senate, 59th District 1983–2010	Succeeded by Patrick Gallivan

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Name	Volker, Dale
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Date of birth	August 2, 1940
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