"I’ve never run for public office before ever in my life," Senator-elect Mike Martucci told Capital Tonight. When asked why he decided to throw his hat into the political fray, he said, "I’ve always considered myself an independent, non-partisan person focused on results."

Martucci is one of the few Republicans to unseat an incumbent Senate Democrat this year, in his case, Jen Metzger.

"The approach from my side is not going to be a political one, but really one of getting results for the people who live here," Martucci said.

In 2008, after graduating from Marist’s MBA program, Martucci found himself unemployed in the midst of the Great Recession. Instead of engaging in the seemingly futile exercise of sending out resumes, at the age of 22, he invested his savings in a school bus.

"I did something crazy. I bought a school bus and began driving it myself," he remembers. "After I had enough money to buy a second school bus, my grandmother, who was retired, was my first employee."

Over the next 10 years, Martucci grew the company from a single school bus to a company that employed just shy of 600 people.

"We bussed 12,000 kids every day, primarily here in the Hudson Valley," he said.

While he sold the company in 2018, Martucci’s experience starting a business informed his decision to go into politics.

"I looked at the direction that the state was headed with respect to so many different matters, certainly one of those has to do with folks here in New York who are trying to run businesses," he said. "Susan, my story is unique and people say, 'wow that’s amazing,' but it shouldn’t be that way. Other people who have some ambition and they’re willing to take some risks and put in the hard work should be able to meet with the same success."

But, Martucci says, some New York State policies make it difficult or impossible. When asked to be specific he replied, "(New York’s) very high taxes. Our small businesses carry a tremendous tax burden which makes it very difficult for them to be successful."

Martucci says he’s ready to work with the Democrats, who will have a Super Majority in the State Senate come January. A few items on his agenda include reforming workers compensation and the state’s economic development programs.

One program in particular gets him riled up.

"The film tax credit package is basically corporate welfare for Hollywood," he said. "Before I ask any New Yorker to pay any more money to live here…our obligation is to go through the state budget and really take a critical look at the tremendous waste that exists there."

Martucci lives with his wife and three children, ages five, four and one, in Orange County.