In January 2020, he was elected unanimously by his colleagues as the Leader of the Assembly Minority Conference.

During his career in the Assembly, Leader Barclay has served as the Ranking Minority Member on the Assembly Ways and Means Committee and held roles including Deputy Minority Leader, Assistant Minority Leader, Chair of the Minority Joint Conference Committee, and Vice Chair of the Minority Program Committee.

In addition, Leader Barclay formerly served as the Chair of the Minority Hunting and Fishing Task Force as a member of the Assembly Minority Task Force on Manufacturing, and the Assembly Minority Task Force on Small Business.

An attorney and a businessman, he is a partner in the Syracuse law firm of Barclay Damon, LLP, where he specializes in business law. Because of his experience in business and law, Leader Barclay knows firsthand the challenges the business community faces in New York and he has focused his legislative agenda on policies that will benefit the upstate economy and the working men and women of his district.

Leader Barclay is a graduate of St. Lawrence University and Syracuse University College of Law. After graduating from law school, he served as a law clerk for Roger J. Miner, a judge of the United States Court of Appeals, Second Circuit, in Albany and New York City.

Born in Syracuse, Leader Barclay is a lifelong resident of Central New York and represents the eighth generation of his family living in Pulaski, New York. He and his wife, Margaret, have two sons.