A man running to fill the 115th Assembly District seat being vacated by incumbent Janet Duprey is criticizing a move in the state Legislature for pay hikes for Assembly and Senate members.

Republican candidate Kevin Mulverhill, the Franklin County Sheriff, is denouncing the legislative pay commission’s proposed 47 percent salary increase for New York State legislators and has said he will donate any salary increase to charity upon his election to the Assembly.

One proposal would increase salaries for a state legislators by 47 percent, from $79,500 to $116,900.

State legislators have not had a hike in pay since 1999.

The 115th Assembly District includes townships along the eastern side of St. Lawrence County, plus all of Franklin and Clinton counties.

“In the North Country, we serve for honor, integrity and doing what is right, not dollar signs,” Mulverhill said. “In my decades-long career of public service, I have never once considered money as a driving factor in my work. How can we even begin to think about giving a raise to the Legislature when corruption is widely systemic, Albany is broken and middle-class families are struggling to get by?

“Clearly this is a New York City-driven initiative meant to benefit the entrenched politicians who ran for office to pad their pockets and abuse their power and influence instead of helping and protecting the citizens they vowed to represent,” Mulverhill said.

Assemblywoman Janet Duprey, R-Peru, currently holds the seat. She is not seeking re-election.