17-Term State Senator To Retire At End Of 2020

ONEONTA, NY — A state senator who is being treated for cancer has decided not to run for re-election in 2020. In a statement on his government website, Sen. James L. Seward, 68, R-Oneonta, said he will retire when his current term expires at the end of 2020.

"While I have responded well to cancer treatments, my physicians have advised me that treatments will continue for the foreseeable future limiting my ability to maintain the rigorous schedule needed to campaign for re-election," he said.

"This is the right decision for my health, my family and the people of the 51st Senate District," Seward said.

Sen. Seward is the 7th Republican state senator to announce they won't be seeking reelection https://t.co/aBAjqsb3Jd

— CNYCentral (@CNYCentral) January" class="redactor-linkify-object">https://twitter.com/CNYCentral... 20, 2020

"I am grateful for the opportunity to serve in the state senate and sincerely thank the voters for their support and confidence," Seward said. "The sacred trust bestowed in me by those I have had the privilege to represent has always been foremost on my mind."

Seward was first elected to the state senate in 1986 and is currently serving his 17th term.

He now serves as ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee.

In 2016, Seward was diagnosed with bladder cancer. In November, he said the cancer had reappeared, the Poughkeepsie Journal said.

The 51st Senate District is comprised of Cortland, Otsego and Schoharie counties and parts of Cayuga, Chenango, Delaware, Herkimer, Ulster and Tompkins counties.

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