Assemblyman-elect Mark Walczyk (R -Watertown) is slamming a state commission’s recommendation to raise state lawmakers’ salaries from $79,500 to $120,000 by 2020.

The first hike would raise wages to $110,000 in January, according to various media reports.

"When I decided to run for State Assembly, I did so to improve the lives of Northern New Yorkers. While on the campaign trail, I sat in the kitchens of countless middle-class working families and their stories continue to motivate me to get to work serving them. Providing meaningful tax relief, cutting a bloated budget, and making it easier for businesses to grow in NNY need to be the priority. I ran to serve, not to improve my wallet.”

“I do not agree with the decision that was handed down by the Commission on Thursday. I’m opposed to the offensive amount they’ve recommended legislative pay be raised. As lawmakers, it's our job to make sure that the individuals we represent have the chance to prosper and lead successful lives, not to ensure we become the highest paid legislators in the country."

“As families across the North Country are struggling to pay for groceries and many cannot afford the Christmas gifts the good girls and boys in our community deserve, I’d put coal in the stockings of the Pay Commission and any legislator that thinks it’s responsible to give themselves a Christmas bonus on the back of the taxpayer,” Walczyk concluded.

Walczyk defeated Democratic incumbent Assemblywoman Addie Jenne of Theresa in last month’s election in the “River District,” the 116th, which includes all St. Lawrence County towns along the St. Lawrence River (Massena, Ogdensburg, Louisville, Waddington, Lisbon, Oswegatchie, Morristown, and Hammond) plus the towns of Canton, Potsdam, Rossie, Macomb, and DePeyster, and part of Jefferson County.

For more on the New York State Commission on Legislative, Judicial, & Executive Compensation, click here: http://nyscommissiononcompensation.org/