Rep. Philip Ensler, D-Montgomery, announced Monday night that he will not be seeking reelection for the House District 74 seat next year and plans to move back to his home state of New York.

“My dad who lived in New York, passed away two years ago, and ever since then, it certainly has been tugging at my heartstrings,” Ensler said in an interview Tuesday. “Just the thought of being closer to other family has certainly weighed on me.”

Ensler won the seat in 2022 against Republican Charlotte Meadows with 60% of votes, according to election results. The seat had been held by Republicans since 2002, according to election records. It was the first Democratic flip of a Republican-held seat in the Alabama Legislature since 2010.

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Ensler, who plans to finish his current term in the House, said that he is most proud of working with other House Democrats to fight for voting rights and rights of minorities in the state.

“Even though the majority has still passed a lot of what I think are really harmful bills, it’s important that on our side of the aisle that we’ve stood up against some of those attacks on people’s fundamental and basic rights,” he said.

Rep. Tashina Morris, D-Montgomery, said in an interview Tuesday afternoon that she has loved working with Ensler and will miss the asset that he is to the Montgomery community and the state.

“I definitely understand his decision to not seek reelection, but he was an asset to our party,” she said.

Ensler said he was proud of fighting to make possession of Glock switches a state crime over the last three years. A version of the bill sponsored by Sen. Will Barfoot, R-Pike Road, became law in the spring as part of Gov. Kay Ivey’s public safety package. The bill, banning the possession of devices that can turn semi-automatic firearms into automatic ones, was the first firearm restriction legislation to pass the Alabama House of Representatives since 2010.

“I think it really demonstrates the ability to not give up on a really tough issue, and to work well across the aisle and build a really strong coalition of Democrats, Republicans, community groups and law enforcement,” he said.“I realize that getting any sort of gun legislation passed is a challenge, and recognize that it took a lot of work, but will certainly be worth it for people’s lives.”

He also is proud that funding for mental health in public schools made it into the fiscal year 2026 Education Trust Fund (ETF) budget, which takes effect on Oct. 1. The pilot program will get $2.5 million for the fiscal year.

“To have that support for our young people and to focus not just on the academics, which of course is so important, but to be able to support the whole child,” he said.

Ensler plans to bring back a bill that would make it a Class B misdemeanor to confine a dog for an unreasonable amount of time and establish guidelines for such. 

“It’s a little bit of a niche issue, but it’s really important,” he said. “There are just horrible stories of dogs who are abused and subjected to really cruel conditions.”

On the gun violence side, Ensler hopes to bring a bill for hospital-based intervention of gun shot victims and one that would require gun owners to carry their ID so that police can identify them, should they get pulled over.

Morris said she loved how Ensler has been present in his community throughout his tenure, which is what Ensler said he’d miss the most.

“He’s always very supportive and understanding the needs of the community when it comes to gun violence prevention,” she said.

Ensler said he enjoyed interactions with people in his district the most.

“I love bumping into constituents in the grocery store, getting coffee and visiting the schools in the district and throughout Montgomery, seeing our teachers and students firsthand, it is always really rewarding,” he said. “I’m going to miss that a lot.”