David DiPietro is a Republican assemblyman, a former East Aurora mayor and a dry-cleaning business owner who has represented the 147th Assembly District since 2013. His district covers southern Erie County and most of Wyoming County. He is on the Nov. 3, 2026 ballot for an eighth term, and he has no opponent.
So who is David DiPietro, what has he done, and what do his critics say? The record runs through a family business in Amherst, a village hall in East Aurora, a failed state Senate bid, seven Assembly wins, a long campaign against the SAFE Act and a 2024 primary in which local leaders backed his challenger.
Quick Facts
- Party
- Republican (also on the Conservative line)
- Hometown
- East Aurora, N.Y.
- Date of Birth
- Not confirmed in official sources reviewed
- Current Position
- Member of Assembly, 147th District
- Background
- Dry-cleaning business owner; East Aurora trustee and mayor
- In Office Since
- January 2013
EARLY LIFE AND FAMILY
DiPietro attended East Aurora High School and earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Wittenberg University, according to his Assembly biography. He worked in the trust division of M&T Bank in Buffalo and as a computer and accounting consultant to small businesses in Western New York.
His wife, Theresa, and his daughter, Ava, joined him when he took the oath of office in Albany in January 2013, according to an Assembly swearing-in release. Ballotpedia says the couple has three children. PagPol could not confirm his date or place of birth or his parents’ names, and found no record of military service.
The former Bank of East Aurora building on Main Street in East Aurora, the village DiPietro served as trustee and mayor. (Photo: Andre Carrotflower, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons)
SPARKLE CLEANERS AND VILLAGE HALL
His biography says he took over the family business, Sparkle Cleaners in Amherst, in 1989 and tripled its sales within three years while doubling its staff. A 2013 Assembly release instead says he had run the business since 1991. He also served as an East Aurora village trustee and then as mayor.
As mayor, his biography says, he “cut taxes 3 consecutive years” and was recognized by Erie County as a state leader in merging and consolidating government services. PagPol could not confirm the years he served in either village office. He has also belonged to the local Moose lodge, American Legion post and Rotary Club.
THE SENATE BID, 2010
When Sen. Dale Volker retired in 2010, DiPietro entered the Republican primary for the 59th Senate District as a former East Aurora mayor, according to WBFO. Former Sheriff Patrick Gallivan and former county party chairman James Domagalski also ran, and Domagalski held the Erie County Republican endorsement.
Gallivan won the September 2010 primary, according to state election records, and now represents the 60th Senate District. DiPietro stayed on the November ballot on a minor-party line and lost to Gallivan again, according to Ballotpedia. PagPol could not find his vote total in either contest.
THE 2012 RACE
In 2012 DiPietro ran for the newly drawn 147th District. He won a four-way Republican primary with 2,751 votes, or 43.8 percent, over David Mariacher’s 2,387, Daniel Humiston’s 821 and Christopher Lane’s 315, according to Ballotpedia. That November he beat Democrat Christina Abt, 32,401 to 26,109.
Vidler’s 5 and 10 and its street clock on Main Street in East Aurora, DiPietro’s hometown. (Photo: Andre Carrotflower, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons)
He also took the oath in his hometown of East Aurora that January. “Limited taxation accompanied with a smaller, more efficient government is the only way to stimulate long-term jobs and invest in New York State,” he said, according to an Assembly release. He was named the top Republican on the Small Business Committee.
THE EARLY TERMS, 2013 TO 2018
DiPietro told WBFO in January 2013 that his first legislative priority was a bill requiring drug tests for people on welfare. He still carries a version of that bill, A1998, in the 2025 to 2026 session. Two months later he filed a bill aimed at the state’s new gun law, which had passed that January.
In March 2013 he introduced A6238 to repeal Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s NY SAFE Act. “The Second Amendment has nothing to do with hunting,” he said, according to an Assembly SAFE Act release. The bill went to the Codes Committee, chaired by Brooklyn Democrat Joseph Lentol, and never reached the floor.
He ran unopposed in 2014 and 2016, according to Ballotpedia. In May 2015 the Assembly unanimously passed a bill, his office said, extending sexual harassment protections to workers at the smallest businesses. “The women of New York deserve these workplace protections regardless of the size of the business that employs them,” said DiPietro, a sponsor of A5360. It became law that October.
In 2018 Democrat Luke Wochensky toured the district by tractor. “While he’s out riding on a tractor, I’ve been sponsoring the most farm and agriculture fighting for the farmers,” DiPietro said, according to WKBW. He won that November, 32,757 to 21,052, or about 61 percent of the vote.
SPLITTING THE STATE, 2019 TO 2023
After Democrats won the state Senate, DiPietro in 2019 introduced A5498, a constitutional amendment to divide New York into three regions, with most of upstate called New Amsterdam. “Without New York City, the rest of this state will take off like a rocket,” he said, according to Fox News. That April a Senate version was introduced.
That October he proposed a bill to restore the religious exemption from school vaccine requirements, months after the Assembly voted 84 to 61 to end it, according to the Post-Journal. His 2025 bills include another religious exemption measure and one requiring providers to list vaccine ingredients.
In March 2020 the regions bill, which Rob Ortt carried in the Senate, was held in committee. That year his Republican colleagues chose him as minority whip, according to his biography. DiPietro won reelection unopposed in 2020 with 56,854 votes, according to Ballotpedia, and in 2022 with 47,136, according to certified state results.
In January 2023 he voted against the state Equal Rights Amendment, which passed the Assembly 97 to 46, according to Assembly roll calls in PagPol’s Data Spine. That June he voted against the Clean Slate Act, which passed 82 to 65 and lets many older criminal records be sealed.
THE 2024 PRIMARY AND RACE
In 2024 Mitch Martin, a chief in the Erie County Sheriff’s Office who had worked for Gallivan, challenged him. “I’ve been called the conscience of the Assembly by our leaders and I’m very proud of that,” DiPietro said, according to Spectrum News. Martin argued that local officials backed him because he gets things done.
Donald Trump endorsed DiPietro late in the race, while Sheriff John Garcia and several mayors and supervisors backed Martin, according to WBFO. DiPietro won the June primary 5,712 to 1,290, about 81 percent, according to Ballotpedia. Certified Wyoming County results gave him 1,300 votes to Martin’s 324. He moved on to face Democrat Darci Cramer.
In October he did not attend a disability rights candidate forum where Cramer spoke, according to WBFO. That November he beat Cramer 52,247 to 24,555, according to certified state results. He carried the Erie County portion 40,806 to 21,431 and Wyoming County 11,441 to 3,124.
The former Eden Center depot of the Erie Railroad in Eden, one of the southern Erie County towns in the 147th District. (Photo: Andre Carrotflower, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons)
THE SEVENTH TERM, 2025 TO 2026
In 2025 DiPietro carried A7452 to dedicate the Rice Hill Road bridge over Route 219 in Boston to four volunteer firefighters who died in 1978. Gallivan’s Senate version passed 59 to 0 on June 13, the Assembly passed it June 17, and Gov. Kathy Hochul signed it Sept. 10, 2025, as Chapter 386.
In February 2026 he received the American Farm Bureau Federation’s Friend of Farm Bureau award, which his office says he has won every year in office. On May 21 he voted against the main 2026 budget bill, S9005, which passed 93 to 47, according to PagPol’s Data Spine roll calls.
The state Board of Elections certified him unopposed on the Republican and Conservative lines and listed no Democratic candidate, so the June primaries were canceled. At a bridge dedication his office announced June 30, he and Gallivan appeared together. “These four heroes ran toward danger, and their sacrifice will never be forgotten,” DiPietro said, according to an Assembly dedication release.
THE DISTRICT AND THE PARTY MATH
The 147th District takes in towns in southern Erie County, including Boston, Eden, Holland and North Collins, along with most of Wyoming County. Countywide, Wyoming County had 12,563 active Republicans and 4,554 Democrats out of 24,949 voters in February 2026, according to state enrollment figures in PagPol’s Data Spine.
The upper falls of the Genesee River at Letchworth State Park, which straddles Wyoming and Livingston counties. Most of Wyoming County lies in the 147th District. (Photo: Daniel Christensen, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)
PagPol could not find enrollment figures for the Erie County towns alone, or presidential results by Assembly district. Democrats hold a supermajority in the Assembly, and DiPietro sits in the Republican minority. Neighboring Republican Paul Bologna represents the 144th District, which is also in Erie County.
COMMITTEE ASSIGNMENTS
The Assembly’s committee listing shows DiPietro on the Aging, Banks, Correction and Labor committees and the Commission on Government Administration. Minority Leader Will Barclay’s January 2025 leadership list named him minority whip and listed him under Correction. His biography still calls him top Republican on Small Business, though Barclay’s list gave that post to Daniel Norber.
Bills prime-sponsored in 2025 and 2026, upstate Assembly Republicans
DiPietroOther upstate Republican members
The ten highest totals among 21 upstate Republican members. Source: New York State Assembly data, compiled in PagPol’s Data Spine.
In the 2025 to 2026 session he is the prime sponsor of 73 bills and a co-sponsor or multi-sponsor of 167, according to his Assembly sponsor page and PagPol’s Data Spine. That ranks him second among the 21 upstate Republican Assembly members PagPol compared, behind Josh Jensen’s 81 and ahead of Brian Slater’s 71.
WHY HE RAN AND WHAT HE BELIEVES
DiPietro’s biography says he “leads the charge for all 2nd Amendment protection issues,” wants to cut taxes and the size of government so small businesses can hire, and is “a champion for the Pro-Life movement.” He also lists protecting family farms among his priorities.
“I’ve traveled the state on the Second Amendment. I’m suing the governor. It’s my bill to repeal the SAFE Act,” he told Spectrum News in 2024. He has also described himself as a grassroots representative who meets voters directly and says he has held more than 100 town hall meetings.
CAMPAIGN FINANCE
DiPietro has no opponent in 2026, and PagPol found no public matching fund payments to his campaign in the state Public Campaign Finance Board distribution reports it reviewed from April 15 through Sept. 1. The Sept. 1 report lists no 147th District candidate.
PagPol could not obtain his 2026 fundraising, spending, cash on hand or top donors from the state Board of Elections reporting system. Among the general elections with published totals, his vote has ranged from 32,401 in 2012 to 56,854 in 2020, according to Ballotpedia and certified state results.
2024 vote share in contested races, upstate Assembly Republicans
DiPietroOther Republican members with a 2024 opponent
Share of the November 2024 general election vote. Source: New York State Board of Elections results, compiled in PagPol’s Data Spine.
CONTROVERSIES AND CRITICISM
PagPol found no ethics complaints or lawsuits against DiPietro. His regions bill drew scorn from Cuomo’s office. “It’s the sort of divisive, unserious and sad pandering that was easy pickings for [Comedy Central’s] ‘The Daily Show,'” adviser Rich Azzopardi said in 2019, according to Fox News, quoting the Washington Times.
In the 2024 primary Martin criticized DiPietro’s confrontational style. “We should be working together. Republicans, Democrats, we’re all Americans and it’s about building relationships,” Martin said, according to Spectrum News. Martin also noted DiPietro has backed term limits; DiPietro said he would not step aside while the rules allow others to stay.
CLAIMS VERSUS THE RECORD
DiPietro calls the SAFE Act repeal his bill, and he has filed repeal bills since 2013, including A2547 in the current session. None has passed, and A2547 was held in the Codes Committee in May 2025. PagPol could not identify the lawsuit against the governor he mentioned in 2024.
His claim that he cut East Aurora taxes three years running comes from his own biography, and PagPol found no independent record of it. His confirmed new laws this session are two bridge dedications signed Sept. 10, 2025: the Boston bridge, Chapter 386, and the Stephen C. Ebling Memorial Bridge in Evans, Chapter 393. His Eden parkland bill, A2071, remains in committee.
STATE COMPTROLLER AUDITS IN THE DISTRICT
Comptroller audits released in January and February 2025 found tax collectors in the Wyoming County towns of Covington, Middlebury, Warsaw and Java did not remit taxes on time. In Warsaw the clerk did not remit about $1.3 million to the supervisor at least weekly, according to the comptroller audit release.
In August 2025 the comptroller found the Town of Wethersfield had no multiyear capital plan for its highway department building and approved about $243,500 for property, goods and services that may not be used. PagPol found no comptroller audits of the district’s Erie County towns released since January 2025 and could not find fiscal stress scores.
LOOKING AHEAD
DiPietro is the only candidate on the ballot for the 147th District on Nov. 3, according to the state Board of Elections certification and Ballotpedia. He will return to a chamber where Democrats hold a supermajority, with SAFE Act repeal, vaccine exemptions and farm issues still on his agenda. For more, visit PagPol’s Wyoming County page or subscribe to the Wyoming County newsletter.
