Dan Stec has spent nearly his entire adult life in local and state government, moving from Queensbury town council to town supervisor to chairman of the Warren County Board of Supervisors to eight years in the State Assembly and, since 2021, the State Senate seat covering nearly all of the Adirondack North Country.
So, who is Dan Stec, and what does he actually believe and do with New York’s largest state legislative district?
Quick Facts
- Party
- Republican (Conservative, Independence endorsed)
- Hometown
- Queensbury, N.Y.
- Current Position
- New York State Senate, 45th District
- Background
- Chemical engineer; Navy veteran; former Warren County chairman
- In Office Since
- Jan. 1, 2021 (Senate); 2013 (Assembly)
EARLY LIFE
Daniel George Stec was born Feb. 21, 1969, and raised in Queensbury. He earned a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from Clarkson University and an MBA from the University of Rhode Island, then served eight years in the Navy’s nuclear power program, including service during the Gulf War, working as a nuclear engineer.
LOCAL GOVERNMENT
After the Navy, Stec returned to Queensbury and won five terms as its town supervisor, becoming the youngest supervisor the town had seen in a century. He was also twice elected chairman of the Warren County Board of Supervisors, the same rotating, board elected post Kevin Geraghty holds today and Robert Henke holds in neighboring Washington County.
EIGHT YEARS IN THE ASSEMBLY
State Sen. Daniel G. Stec, official photo, 2021. New York State Senate.
First Bills
Stec was elected to the Assembly’s 114th District in 2012 and served four terms, from 2013 to 2020. He has said his first successful bill was a constitutional amendment stripping convicted, corrupt officials of their taxpayer funded pensions.
The Adirondack Amendments
He went on to help pass three more constitutional amendments benefiting the Adirondacks, and made rural broadband and cell service, long standing complaints in his district, a central focus. Constituent case work and small, district specific bills, such as service credits for local retirees and support for volunteer fire departments, made up much of his Assembly workload, according to legislative tracking records.
STATE SENATE
Stec won the Senate seat in November 2020, defeating Clinton County Treasurer Kimberly Davis to succeed retiring Sen. Betty Little. His district covers all of Clinton, Essex, Franklin, and Warren counties, and parts of St. Lawrence and Washington, making it the largest state legislative district in New York by land area. He won reelection in 2022 and again in 2024 with 99 percent of the vote, essentially unopposed.
In Albany, Stec serves as ranking Republican on the Environmental Conservation and Internet and Technology committees, and also sits on Education, Health, Rules, State Native American Relations, and Veterans committees.
The New York State Capitol in Albany, where Stec serves in the Senate.
PUBLIC SAFETY AND THE NORTHERN BORDER
Heading into the 2025 session, Stec said his priorities were public safety, border security, and keeping rural nursing homes open. “They’ve been throwing around terms, not just in New York, but around here they’re saying they want to Trump-proof the state, whatever that means,” he said of Democratic colleagues, framing border security as an issue that has “started to blend between national and statewide politics” while also being intensely local for a district that borders Canada.
He has called for a full repeal of the state’s 2019 bail reform law and the HALT Act, a solitary confinement restriction he argues has made prisons more dangerous for corrections officers, and has pushed back generally against what he calls executive overreach by the governor’s office.
RURAL HEALTH CARE AND NURSING HOMES
Stec has sponsored bills on nursing home staffing levels and funding for critical access rural hospitals, framing both as survival issues for a district where several small hospitals and nursing homes have closed or nearly closed in recent years. He has also sponsored a bill requiring young skiers to wear helmets, and backs a proposed commission to study a U.S. bid to host the Olympic Games, building on Lake Placid’s history as a two time host.
AFFORDABLE ENERGY
On energy, Stec has circulated a petition titled “We need affordable energy NOW,” arguing the state’s climate mandates are driving up utility bills for a rural district that relies heavily on home heating oil and propane, a frequent theme for North Country Republicans representing a cold weather district far from the state’s natural gas infrastructure.
PERSONAL LIFE
Stec and his wife, Hilary, live in Queensbury and have one child. He is an Adirondack 46er, meaning he has climbed all 46 of the Adirondacks’ high peaks, a credential the Senate’s own biography of him highlights alongside his Navy service.
LOOKING AHEAD
STEC'S SENATE REELECTION MARGINS
Stec is running for reelection in November 2026 against Democrat Melissa Seale in a district that has favored Republicans reliably for years.
His district overlaps with Warren County Chairman Kevin Geraghty and Clinton County Chairman Mark Henry. Readers who want to keep up with North Country politics can check PagPol’s Warren County page or sign up for our newsletter.
