George H. Winner Jr. (born July 31, 1949) is a former New York state senator. A Republican, he served in the

New York State Senate The New York State Senate is the upper house of the New York State Legislature; the New York State Assembly is its lower house. Its members are elected to two-year terms; there are no term limits. There are 63 seats in the Senate. Partisan com ...

from 2005 to 2010, after having spent 13 terms in the

New York State Assembly The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature, with the New York State Senate being the upper house. There are 150 seats in the Assembly. Assembly members serve two-year terms without term limits. The Assem ...

Political career and background

Born in

Elmira, New York Elmira () is a city and the county seat of Chemung County, New York, United States. It is the principal city of the Elmira, New York, metropolitan statistical area, which encompasses Chemung County. The population was 26,523 at the 2020 cens ...

, George Winner is a 1971 graduate of St. Lawrence University. He was admitted to the practice of law in New York in 1977. He is a partner in the Elmira law firm of Keyser, Maloney, Winner LLP and is a member of the

Chemung County, New York Chemung County is a county in the southern tier of the U.S. state of New York. The population was 84,148 as of the 2020 census. Its county seat is Elmira. Its name is derived from a Delaware Indian village whose name meant "big horn". Chemun ...

and

New York State Bar Association The New York State Bar Association (NYSBA) is a voluntary bar association for the state of New York. The mission of the association is to cultivate the science of jurisprudence; promote reform in the law; facilitate the administration of justice ...

s. Winner was counsel and legislative assistant to Senate Deputy Majority Leader William T. Smith from 1971 to 1978. He is married to the former Lynn Hardman, and they have three daughters. He was a member of the

from 1979 to 2004, sitting in the 183rd, 184th, 185th, 186th, 187th, 188th, 189th, 190th, 191st, 192nd, 193rd, 194th and 195th New York State Legislatures. He was a member of the

from 2005 to 2010, sitting in the 196th, 197th and 198th New York State Legislatures. He represented the 53rd senatorial district which comprised Chemung,

Schuyler Schuyler may refer to: Places United States * Schuyler County, Illinois * Schuyler County, Missouri * Schuyler, Nebraska, a city * Schuyler County, New York * Schuyler, New York, a town * Schuyler Island, Lake Champlain, New York * Schuyler C ...

, Steuben and

Yates Yates may refer to: Places United States *Fort Yates, North Dakota *Yates Spring, a spring in Georgia, United States *Yates City, Illinois * Yates Township, Illinois *Yates Center, Kansas * Yates, Michigan * Yates Township, Michigan * Yates, Misso ...

counties, the city and town of

Ithaca, New York Ithaca is a city in the Finger Lakes region of New York, United States. Situated on the southern shore of Cayuga Lake, Ithaca is the seat of Tompkins County and the largest community in the Ithaca metropolitan statistical area. It is named a ...

, and the towns of

Enfield Enfield may refer to: Places Australia * Enfield, New South Wales * Enfield, South Australia ** Electoral district of Enfield, a state electoral district in South Australia, corresponding to the suburb ** Enfield High School (South Australia) ...

, Newfield and

Ulysses Ulysses is one form of the Roman name for Odysseus, a hero in ancient Greek literature. Ulysses may also refer to: People * Ulysses (given name), including a list of people with this name Places in the United States * Ulysses, Kansas * Ulysse ...

Tompkins County Tompkins County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 105,740. The county seat is Ithaca. The name is in honor of Daniel D. Tompkins, who served as Governor of New York and Vice President ...

. He served as Chairman of the Committee on Investigations and Government Operations. Winner, who received statewide attention after leading a Senate investigation of the Spitzer administration in 2007, considered running for

New York State Attorney General The attorney general of New York is the chief legal officer of the U.S. state of New York and head of the Department of Law of the state government. The office has been in existence in some form since 1626, under the Dutch colonial government of ...

in 2010. He was also mentioned as a potential candidate to run against

Eric Massa Eric James Joseph Massa (born September 16, 1959) is a former American politician who served as a U.S. Representative for the 29th Congressional District of New York. A Democrat, he served in Congress from January 2009 until his resignation in ...

for the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

seat representing

New York's 29th congressional district New York's 29th congressional district is an obsolete congressional district for the United States House of Representatives which most recently included a portion of the Appalachian mountains in New York known as the " Southern Tier." It was m ...

in 2010. Winner unexpectedly announced his retirement from the state senate on June 2, 2010. Since his retirement, he has operated the Rescue New York political action committee.Vielkind, Jimmy (September 16, 2014)
Republican PAC gives Astorino air cover
''Capital New York''. Retrieved September 16, 2014.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Winner, George H. Jr. 1949 births Living people St. Lawrence University alumni Republican Party members of the New York State Assembly Republican Party New York (state) state senators Politicians from Elmira, New York 21st-century American politicians