Both the Democratic and Republican conferences in the New York State Assembly met this week and voted to re-elect their leaders for the next legislative conference.

On Monday, Assembly Democrats voted once again for Carl Heastie to be Speaker of the Assembly. Heastie was first elected as Speaker in 2015.

"It is an honor and a privilege to have been nominated by my colleagues in the Assembly Majority to serve as speaker of the People’s House. It has undoubtedly been a challenging year for our state and the nation, but New Yorkers are no stranger to adversity and we always rise to the challenge," he said.

Looking to the future, Speaker Heastie continued in a statement, "We will work to get New York in a sound fiscal position while maintaining our commitment to delivering our children a quality education and ensuring access to affordable housing, higher education, and health care. We will continue to build on our ground-breaking criminal justice achievements to help build a more just and fair society. And we will continue our work to make New York a national model when it comes to preserving and protecting our environment."

On Tuesday, the Assembly GOP voted to re-elect Will Barclay as the State Assembly Minority Leader for the second time.

"I am honored to have the confidence of my colleagues and greatly appreciate their support as Minority Leader. This has been a year unlike any other. And I profoundly appreciate the efforts of our members, the dedication they show every day and their commitment to helping the people of this state. I will never be able to thank them enough," Barclay said.

In his statement, Barclay urged for political agendas to be set aside, and for the Assembly to be focused on helping those hardest hit by COVID-19.

"We can no longer adhere to the same practices that resulted in a toxic climate for job creators, oppressive taxes for families and sent more than a million New Yorkers to other states for a better quality of life."

Both conferences met virtually.