Elmont Online

ALBANY -- The off-year exodus from the state Assembly has claimed another member: Western New York Republican Jim Hayes, the ranking GOP member on the Ways and Means Committee, will resign his seat after almost 13 years in the chamber.

Hayes is taking a job with Latham-based Ayco Company, a Goldman Sachs-owned firm that provides financial planning and other services to executives. The company maintains seven offices around the nation in addition to two in New York.

"I anticipate I'll be doing a lot of traveling," said Hayes in an interview just after his announcement Monday.

Hayes said his decision was mainly due to the appearance of a rewarding job offer; he noted that his two daughters are approaching college age. But he said he felt better about leaving office after witnessing a cultural shift in the Capitol under Gov. Andrew Cuomo. A frequent sparring partner of Ways and Means Chairman Denny Farrell during floor debates, Hayes pointed to the passage this year of a state budget with no tax increases.

"That had been my argument all along," he said.

A half-dozen Assembly members have resigned since the beginning of the year, including several -- Democrats Darryl Towns, RoAnn Destito, Jonathan Bing and Sam Hoyt -- who have taken positions with Cuomo's administration.

Hayes said that despite the perception that the Assembly GOP's numerical disadvantage makes it the weak partner in any negotiation, "There was never a day when I felt that frustration. ... I always felt completely free to use my voice and my vote the way my constituents wanted me to."

"I'm leaving the Assembly with as much enthusiasm as when I arrived," he said.

Hayes' plan to resign effective Sept. 6 will allow his replacement to be selected during the regular voting on election day, Nov. 8.

Hayes declined to handicap his possible successor in the chamber. "I'm going to leave that to the political leaders," he said.

Possible Republican contenders include Erie County legislators Ed Rath and A.J. Baynes, chief of staff to state Sen. Patrick Gallivan. Messages for both were not immediately returned late Monday afternoon.

Hayes, whose district includes the suburbs northwest of Buffalo, previously served on the Amherst Town Board and as a Williamsville Village Trustee. He has served on the Ways and Means for six years.

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