ALBANY– State Sen. Neil Breslin awaits his next chapter. He is just not sure what will be written. After 28 years as the 46th district’s state senator, Breslin will retire this January 1 at the end of his 14th and final term.
Breslin, 81 and the Senate’s longest tenured member, said during an interview at the Capitol, “I looked at my birth certificate and realized there is an opportunity to move on and do something else, but I reject the word retire.” He plans to volunteer, but undecided where. “I will work to assist people in need and hope it will be as rewarding as my time here.” Serving since 1997, Breslin says he is leaving the Senate now because ‘there is a new group of senators. The most impressive group of senators in 28 years – bright, committed and can make change.”
“I realize how much older I am than they are and I think they have the opportunity to do so much more to make the world a better place,” Breslin said. “28 years is a long time and it is time to see others in my place.” Still, leaving the Senate is “bittersweet” for him because “you can make a difference in people’s lives here.” His greatest enjoyment as a state senator came from making that difference. “I know this may sound corny, but just to make the lives of people in New York State have a better day today than they had yesterday meant the most to me.”
One way Breslin made that difference was by distributing member items to not-for-profit organizations. “That money hopefully made people’s lives better.” “I leaned more towards social services organizations, not that I don’t love opera or music. It’s just that they should be okay without me,” he said. “There are only so many places government can fill a hole and so many holes and that’s where the not-for-profits take the place of government.”
Breslin credited his mother Mary Breslin with instilling the value of quiet giving. He described how she modeled behavior by spending every weekday – even into her 90s – helping at Hope House, Arbor House and other similar organizations. “She thought it was an obligation to do that,” Breslin reminisced. “My mom always said you don’t tell people about what you did because if you do then you are doing it for the wrong reasons.”
That’s probably why despite his long tenure, he never sought to be majority leader. “That was not my purpose here. My purpose was to do what I said. I had no intention of being a politician seven days a week. My purpose was being a good senator for the people seven days/week.”
Acknowledging politics is also part of the job, he spoke about where the Democratic Party is today. “I very much accept my role as a democrat, but the definition has expanded to both the left and the right – some democrats have become more liberal and now we have a menu in the party.” He said that ‘for the most part I am in synch with where the democratic party is in New York state today.” For example, he agrees with the bail reform laws. On the most recent redistricting map, he said “I think they got it right and wrong. It is a little less political this time.”
“The party in power will always have a slight advantage on everything.” Breslin recalled, a petty example, when he arrived in the Senate, the democratic members were given inferior paper, pens, and pencils. “The unfairness of those days has been emblazoned in me since that time.” “He who forgets the past is doomed to repeat it, so you try to be fair but there are still inequities that arise because one party has the majority and one doesn’t.”
He also believes the Republican Party in New York state is “for the most part is dead.” “Ultimately, I think it will be like the tea party and move so far to the right that they will not attract a majority or a minority.” He realizes that some rural areas are very conservative and “are not dismayed by Trump”, but hopes that the party will “resurface with old time republicans.”
Regarding legislation, Breslin focused on health care and the continuing need to improve access and reduce costs by increasing regulation. His most significant legislative accomplishment? A law requiring HMOs to obtain state approval before implementing rate increases. “The health plans didn’t think I was a very nice person, but it worked,” he said. Breslin also pointed to legislation allowing consumers to refill multiple drug prescriptions simultaneously. Citing passage of a pharmacy benefit management law that requires PBMs to be registered and licensed with the State, he said, “pharmaceuticals are not regulated to the point they should be, but we have a good start.”
As a state senator, he also bore witness to history. He recounted how, when he was democratic floor leader, New York’s Marriage Equality Act almost went down, but eked it out at the last moment. He and Sen.Tom Libous, the republican floor leader, spent the morning of a vote scheduling speakers. Speakers continued until about 11 p.m. when Sen. Dean Skelos asked Libous how many speakers left.
Breslin responded five more democrats and Skelos threatened to pull the bill. “Senator John DeFrancisco, who was standing next to us, started saying, ‘pull it, pull it’,” recalled Breslin. Breslin met with then majority leader John Samson and told Samson “I think they’re bluffing but I don’t want to give them the opportunity to pull the bill and blame us.” They agreed Breslin would tell their members no more speakers. “They were upset with me, but we got it through and then as soon as it passed I heard the loudest noise in my years in the Senate with applause and people being much happier than they were the year before. That sound stayed with me all these years.”
Asked about the differences between 2024’s and 1997’s Breslin, he responded immediately. “I never realized how important government could be to so many people and as an elected official that you have an obligation to spend as much time as possible making decisions that have a positive effect on the people you represent.” He continued, “Before I was a senator, I was somewhat dismissive of the importance I could play in the lives of my constituents and that has changed.”
Looking to the future, Breslin will endorse Assemblywoman Patricia Fahy to be his successor. “She is very competent and will do an excellent job,” he said. His advice to Fahy? “Because of redistricting the district will be bigger and you will have more obligations placed upon you to provide services for the most in need.” He also warned redistricting means it is not a “safe seat” for democrats anymore because it now encompasses conservative areas west of Schenectady and excludes democratic areas like the City of Schenectady. On whether he will campaign for Fahy, he said that is no longer his decision to make, but “I will help as much as I can.”
Personally, Breslin will wait and see. He wants to spend time “reflecting” and more time with his family. He grinned, saying, “I can’t wait to go into Stewart’s in Lake George and have a cup of coffee with the Post Star and talk to people who don’t know I was a state senator.”
He hopes to engage with not-for-profits. “But no memoirs, no writing,” he said. “And then there’s always unfinished business. I’m always on call – depending on what it is,’ Breslin said, still smiling.