UTICA- Republican Senator Joe Griffo has been named the Deputy Minority Leader of the State Senate. Senator Flanagin named Griffo for the position.

Ever since elections in November, Democrats have been settling in to their positions as the majority. Republicans now have to work a little bit harder to pass legislation.

The senator tells us that going into this position, his priority is improving the economy locally. He says because of the high taxes that the state imposes, New York is leading in outward migration. He says the way things are set up now, makes it hard for local businesses and taxpayers to thrive.

"We tax too much in this state. People need to continue to afford to live here businesses need to be able to afford to do their business here. If we are going to bring anything new to New York, we need to stem that outward migration. And the recent study of the census indicated that we are still losing population. We led the nation in population loss and that has got to stop. In order to do that we need to focus on economic opportunity and affordability in my opinion.

We also asked about his future in politics and he tells us he wants to continue to focus on his new position and continue to work hard for the state of New York.

"I'm grateful to Senator Flanagin for selecting me for this important role. I look forward to working with our colleagues. We have a wealth of talent in our conference. So, they will be important in shaping our agenda and develop a position that we will track for our future."

The Senator has yet to be sworn in for his new position.