Paul Tokasz (born 1946) represented District 143 in the New York State Assembly, which comprises the towns of Lancaster, and Cheektowaga, and villages of Depew, Lancaster and Sloan, from 1988 to 2006.
Prior to entering politics, he was a public school teacher in the city of Buffalo, New York, from 1968 to 1977.
Prior to his election to the New York State Assembly he served as First Deputy County Clerk in the Erie County Clerk's Office, 1987–1988, and Deputy County Clerk overseeing the Erie County Auto Bureau, from 1977–1986, as well as Clerk of the Erie County Legislature in 1977.
Chosen in a special election held in 1988,[1] Tokasz was the Democratic Majority Leader of the Assembly from 2001, and served as a member of the Standing Committee on Rules. He had previously served as Chairman of the Assembly Committee on Tourism, and the Assembly Committee on Election Law during the 1995-1996 legislative sessions. A former member of Doyle Fire Company No. 2, Tokasz also served in the past as Chairman of the Assembly Subcommittee on on Volunteer Firefighters.
He left the Assembly in 2006[2] to become a lobbyist.[3]
He holds a B.A. in History from Hobart College in 1968 and M.A. in Education from Buffalo State College.
Tokasz is, as of 2011, a lobbyist with Patricia Lynch Associates, where he works for current U.S. Representative Brian Higgins.
His paternal grandmother's family (Czelusta) came to the United States in 1910 and 1912 from the (Hohensalza) Inowrocław area of Poland.
| New York Assembly | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Dennis Gorski |
New York State Assembly, 143rd District 1988–2006 |
Succeeded by Dennis Gabryszak |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by Michael Bragman |
Majority Leader of the New York State Assembly 2000–2006 |
Succeeded by Ronald Canestrari |