Meet the Senator
George H. Winner, Jr. was born in Elmira on July 31, 1949.
He’s a lifelong resident of the district he has represented in the New York State Senate since 2005.
The 53rd Senatorial District, encompassing Chemung, Schuyler, Steuben and Yates counties, and a part of Tompkins County (the city and town of Ithaca, and the towns of Enfield, Newfield and Ulysses), is one of New York’s largest.
George’s district is comprised of small cities and rural towns, small businesses and family farms, colleges and universities, world reknowned corporations, unmatched scenic beauty, first-class tourist attractions, and the hub of America’s third-largest wine industry.
And George’s service in New York government has long reflected the fundamental priorities of this diverse, hard-working region of the Empire State: job growth, economic strength, safe communities, rural values, fairness, and common sense.
Elected to the Senate in 2004, he’s represented this region working with community leaders and seeking the suggestions of local citizens to respond to natural disasters, secure better schools, protect the quality of the environment, weather devastating economic downturns, and fight for critical economic victories.
Reflecting on his service, George says, “It’s been a long, hard fight to convince the powers-that-be in New York government that our region, together with all of upstate New York, matters. It’s been a long, hard fight for our fair share of resources, for public policies that help our families and our local economies, and for a government mindset that’s in tune with our values.
Carrying on that fight is more important today than ever before. The stakes are high in New York government this November. "
After graduating from St. Lawrence University in 1971, George soon returned to Elmira as a top aide to former, legendary State Senator William T. “Cadillac” Smith, who was then serving as the Senate’s Deputy Majority Leader.
George’s father was an Elmira attorney and under his guidance, George completed a legal clerkship in 1977 and was admitted to the practice of law. George ran for a seat in the New York State Assembly in November 1978, was elected, and became, at the age of 29, one of the youngest members ever elected to the state Legislature.
He was re-elected to the Assembly for 13 consecutive terms, ultimately serving as the second-ranking leader of the Assembly Minority Conference under four Assembly Minority Leaders: C.D. “Rapp” Rappleyea, Thomas Reynolds, John Faso, and Charles Nesbitt.
In the November 2004 General Election, area voters elected George to represent them in New York State Senate.
George says, “I continue to be grateful for this opportunity to represent a region that I have always called home and whose succcess, I strongly believe, will serve as a harbinger of things to come in this state. I see us as the heartland and the backbone of New York. So for as long as I can, I’ll keep heading to the Capitol to let them know that as the success of our region goes, so will go all of New York.”
In the Senate, George has become known for his willingness to take tough, sometimes unpopular positions, as a government watchdog, as the voice of New York’s wine industry, for an unparalleled commitment to rural New York, and for his steadfast pursuit of government actions that focus on what he calls “the four corners” of future success: lower taxes, lower costs, fewer regulations, and better jobs.
In the Senate, George is currently the Chairman of a leading Senate committe, the Committee on Investigations and Government Operations. He also serves as a member on the following committees: Crime Victims, Crime and Correction; Elections; Energy and Telecommunications; Health; Higher Education; and Judiciary.
Shortly after taking office in the Senate, George was appointed Chairman of the joint, bipartisan Legislative Commission on Rural Resources, a post that he says “gives me the chance to constantly remind the big-city, downstate, urban interests that dominate state government in so many ways that there is a rural, upstate New York region, consisting of 3.5 million residents, that is critical to the future well-being and overall prosperity and success of our state. They forget us sometimes, and we can’t let them.”
George and his wife, Lynn, are the proud parents of three grown daughters -- Catherine, Elizabeth, and Meredith. They reside in the city of Elmira, Chemung County.