Phil Steck has spent more than a quarter-century in Capital Region politics, first as an Albany County legislator and, since 2013, as the Democratic state Assemblyman representing the 110th District, which stretches from Colonie and Niskayuna into parts of Guilderland and the City of Schenectady. Now serving his seventh term in the Assembly, Steck faces a Republican challenger in 2026 who is betting that affordability concerns can finally flip a seat Democrats have held for more than a decade.
So, who is Phil Steck, what has he built during more than a decade in the state Assembly, and what does the 2026 race mean for his hold on the seat?
Quick Facts
- Party
- Democratic (also Working Families, Independence lines)
- Hometown
- Colonie, N.Y.
- Current Position
- NYS Assemblymember, 110th District (Colonie, Niskayuna, parts of Guilderland and Schenectady)
- Background
- Attorney, Cooper Erving & Savage; former Albany County Legislator
- In Office Since
- 2013 (NYS Assembly); 1999-2012 (Albany County Legislature)
- Born
- July 8, 1959, New York City
EARLY LIFE
Phillip G. Steck was born July 8, 1959, in New York City, the son of Ernest Steck, a high school athletic director, and Roselyn Steck, a middle school teacher. He played varsity football and graduated valedictorian of his class from The Albany Academy in 1977.
Steck went on to earn a degree in government from Harvard University in 1981, where he interned on the staff of Congressman Ben Rosenthal, before earning a law degree from the University of Pennsylvania Law School in 1984, where he served on the Law Review and Penn’s National Moot Court team.
LEGAL CAREER
After law school, Steck worked as an assistant district attorney in New York and Rensselaer counties from 1987 to 1989. In 1990, he joined the Capital District law firm of Cooper, Erving and Savage LLP, where his practice has focused on civil rights and employment law, and where he remains a member of the National Employment Lawyers Association.
ENTERING POLITICS: ALBANY COUNTY LEGISLATURE
Steck was first elected to the Albany County Legislature in 1999, representing a district centered in Menands until 2012. During his time in the Albany County Legislature, Steck focused heavily on government efficiency and progressive economics.
A central pillar of his local legislative work was finding ways to reduce the burden on local taxpayers. He became a vocal advocate for allowing smaller local governments, villages, and school districts to join the county’s self-insured health plans. By pooling resources, municipalities could drive down skyrocketing health insurance costs and, by extension, keep local property taxes in check.
While serving as a part-time county legislator, Steck worked full-time as an attorney specializing in civil rights and employment law. He used this expertise to champion pro-labor policies and defend the rights of workers at the county level.
Photo of Steck at press conference
THE 2008 CONGRESSIONAL BID
When longtime U.S. Rep. Michael McNulty announced his retirement from the 21st Congressional District, Steck was one of five Democrats who entered the September 2008 primary to succeed him, running against Paul Tonko, Tracey Brooks, Darius Shahinfar and Joseph Sullivan. Of the roughly 40,000 primary votes cast, Tonko won with 39.5%, Brooks took second with 30.16%, and Steck finished third with 18.59%, ahead of Shahinfar and Sullivan.
Because Steck had also secured the Independence Party’s ballot line that year, he remained on the November general election ballot even after losing the primary. He finished third behind Tonko and Republican Jim Buhrmaster on the Independence Party line, drawing 7,965 votes, or about 2.9% of the vote, as Tonko went on to win the open seat with 62.1%.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY
In 2012, Steck won both the primary and general election for the 110th Assembly District, succeeding Republican James Tedisco, and took office in January 2013. He has since chaired the Assembly’s Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Committee (also referred to in more recent releases as the Committee on Alcoholism and Substance Abuse) and serves on the Health, Insurance, Judiciary, Labor and Oversight, Analysis and Investigation committees.
Steck describes his major legislative interests as single-payer health insurance, expanding county self-insured health plans to reduce taxpayer-funded health costs, reducing “heavy-handed practices” by state administrative agencies, raising revenue through a stock transfer tax to fund upstate infrastructure, and increasing public education funding.
He has sponsored a range of bills that have become law, including legislation eliminating the subminimum wage for workers with disabilities, a bill combating housing discrimination, and the “TRAPS” law ending predatory training-repayment provisions in employment contracts.
In 2026, he sponsored legislation targeting the herbal supplement kratom, telling a reporter he didn’t see an ability to pass a full ban “at this time.” He endorsed Bernie Sanders in the 2020 primary.
STECK'S ASSEMBLY DISTRICT 110 MARGINS, 2012–2024
Steck has periodically broken from his own Democratic conference, voting against the 2019 bail-reform law, which eliminated cash bail for most misdemeanor and non-violent felony charges, and against a state budget bill providing more than $1 billion in public funds toward a new Buffalo Bills stadium.
CONTROVERSIES AND POLITICAL CLASHES
The Albany County DA Flirtation
In early 2024, Steck briefly considered a primary run for Albany County district attorney against incumbent David Soares, calling on Soares to resign amid allegations that he had given himself unauthorized bonuses using state grant funds.
After the Albany County Democratic Committee declined to endorse either man, Steck announced he would not run and would instead seek reelection to the Assembly, saying he needed to “devote my full time and attention to the Assembly and other things in my life.”
Soares, who had previously accused Steck of belonging to a “Hug-a-thug” caucus over his opposition to repealing pretrial-detention reforms, pushed back on Steck’s account of the episode, saying it had been “well-documented” that Steck intended to run, and in a later, separate race called Steck a “hypocrite.”
The 2026 Republican Challenge
In February 2026, Albany County Legislator Frank Mauriello announced a Republican bid to challenge Steck, framing his campaign around New York’s cost of living and arguing that “downstate politicians” wield too much influence over upstate representatives. Steck dismissed the attack, saying Mauriello was “hurling vague and general accusations” and pointing to population growth in the 110th District as evidence his record on affordability hadn’t driven residents away. At a Latham campaign kickoff, Mauriello called Steck a “liberal elitist,” a jab Steck laughed off while calling Mauriello a Trump supporter out of touch with the district.
As of mid-September 2026, no independent poll of the 110th District race had been publicly released, consistent with how rarely down-ballot state Assembly contests get surveyed. The clearest available signal remains the electoral trend: Steck’s winning margin has generally narrowed over his past three cycles, from 62.6% in 2020 to 57.0% in 2022 to 58.2% in 2024.
Both county Republican committees have already endorsed Mauriello, and he is not expected to face a primary in June, a sign Republicans see this as their best shot at the seat in over a decade.
LOOKING AHEAD
Steck heads into the 2026 election cycle seeking an eighth term representing the 110th District, facing his most pointed Republican challenge in recent cycles from Mauriello even as he continues to press legislative priorities from kratom regulation to health care costs during the current session.
Readers can follow Steck’s ongoing legislative work through his official Assembly page. Additionally, PagPol will be including new information in our newsletters for Schenectady and Albany (below).
