OUR ELECTED OFFICIALS
Your Representation
Thomas F. O'Mara
New York State Senator, District 28
Thomas F. O'Mara was first elected to the New York State Senate on November 2, 2010 and has been re-elected by the voters of the 58th Senate District to five consecutive, two-year terms.
The 58th District covers all of Chemung, Schuyler, Seneca, Steuben, Tioga and Yates counties, and a portion of Allegany County (the towns of Alfred, Almond, Amity, Andover, Birdsall, Burns, Grove, Independence, Scio, Ward, Wellsville, and Willing).
Prior to the start of the 2021 legislative session of the Legislature, Senator O'Mara was appointed as the Ranking Member on the Senate Finance Committee. He also continues to serve as the Ranking Member on the Senate Investigations and Government Operations Committee. In addition to his ranking positions on the Finance and Investigations committees, he serves as a member on the following committees: Codes; Energy and Telecommunications; Insurance; Judiciary; and Rules. He has also served as one of five state senators on the joint, bipartisan, 10-member Legislative Commission on the Development of Rural Resources, and as a member on the following Senate Task Forces: Heroin and Opioid Addiction; Lyme and Tick-borne Diseases; and Workforce Development.
Prior to his Senate election, he represented the 137th Assembly District comprising Chemung and Schuyler counties as well as part of Tioga County for three consecutive, two-year terms. He was named Assistant Minority Leader Pro Tempore for the 2010 legislative session, the third-highest ranking position in the Assembly Republican legislative conference. In addition to his leadership role, he also served as a member of the Assembly Committees on Ways and Means, Energy, Banks, Ethics and Guidance, Judiciary and Tourism.
Christopher S. Friend
NYS Assembly, District 124
A native of Big Flats and a 1991 graduate of Horseheads High School, he completed a B.S. in chemistry at the University of New Hampshire before earning Master's and Ph.D. degrees in chemistry at the State University of New York at Buffalo. He was named a National Science Foundation IGERT Fellow and has published more than 20 scientific papers and symposia.
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In 2006, he was elected to the Chemung County Legislature. In 2010, he won election to the State Assembly after winning Republican and Conservative party primaries against Chemung Town Supervisor George Richter, the endorsed candidate, who later endorsed Friend. The seat had become vacant after former Assemblyman Tom O'Mara ran successfully for the New York State Senate.
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Friend resides in Big Flats with his wife Renée and their four children: Brianna, Joshua, Ashley, and Elijah.