District One – City of Troy

Legislator Ken Zalewski was elected to the Rensselaer County Legislature on November 2, 2021 and took office on January 1, 2022.  He serves on three committees of the legislature:  the Environment Committee; the Local Government Committee; and the Personnel Committee.

Ken arrived in Troy in 1987 to attend RPI, and never left.  In his 34 years in Troy, he has contributed substantially to the city’s fabric as a neighborhood leader, community advocate, and long-time public servant.

In 2007, Ken was elected to the City Council to represent the residents of Troy’s 5th District.  He built his reputation on attentive constituent services and active representation.  He regularly utilizes his background in Computer Science as an elected official, combining technology with a strong work ethic in order to make government more accessible, transparent, and efficient for the residents of our city.

Throughout his 10+ years of service to the people of Troy, he has drafted and passed meaningful legislation that has enriched the quality of life for thousands of residents.  Legislation such as the Landlord Registry, the Vacant Building Registry, and enhancements to the Nuisance Abatement law continue to be utilized by city officials on a daily basis to improve our neighborhoods.

In his full-time job, Ken works at the New York State Senate managing a group of programmers.  He is a past recipient of the Best of New York award for “Excellence in IT Operations, Support, and Service”, and his work on the NYSenate.gov public website has earned it the Best Legislative Website in the U.S. award from the National Conference of State Legislatures.

As a first-term county legislator, Ken is already putting his previous legislative experience to use, joining his colleagues to urge the New York State DEC to revoke its permit for the S.A. Dunn landfill to operate in the City of Rensselaer, and drafting and sponsoring legislation to support the Expanded Bottle Bill, which will increase recycling rates and decrease litter and waste in our community.