NEW YORK – Senator Fred Akshar of the Senate's 52nd District will retain his position as Chair of the Senate Elections Committee through 2017-2018. “We have lots of work to do in the coming Legislative Session,” said Senator Akshar in a statement on January 10. “As Chair of the Senate Elections Committee, I look forward to working with my counterpart chair in the Assembly, Assemblyman Michael Cusick, to bring meaningful reform to our elections system. My number one priority is establishing a consolidated federal, state and local primary to provide much needed mandate relief on local governments and save taxpayers across the state hundreds of thousands of dollars each year.”