Biography

Tony Jordan, a resident of Jackson, is a partner in the law firm of Jordan & Kelly LLC, and has served in the Assembly since his election in 2008. Tony was born in North Creek in the heart of the Adirondacks. After graduating from Johnsburg Central School, Tony went on to earn his bachelor’s degree in business with a concentration in finance from the University of Notre Dame in 1986. He then returned to the Glens Falls area where he worked in banking before returning to school to pursue his law degree. Tony graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of Pennsylvania School of Law in 1995.

Since his election in 2008, Tony has worked hard to improve the business climate in New York. Having represented family businesses for many years, and owning a small business himself, Tony understands the challenges of doing business in the North Country. He is focused on reducing taxes, and working to remove burdensome State regulations that inhibit growth and threaten the survival of many businesses.

Tony is the Ranking Minority Member on the Assembly’s Committee on Local Governments. As the Ranking Minority Member on this committee, Tony has spearheaded efforts to provide relief to local governments from unfunded State mandates. Prior to the passage of the Tax Cap, Tony met with local officials from all levels of government regarding their most burdensome State mandates. From these meetings, Tony compiled a report detailing concrete steps that Albany can take to provide mandate relief for local governments and tax relief to residents. A major priority for Tony in the 2012 session is to advance the ideas contained in this report and achieve meaningful mandate relief for our local governments.

In addition to the Committee on Local Governments, Tony serves as a member of the Assembly Committees on Ways and Means, Codes, Judiciary, and Banks. These committees deal with many of the most important pieces of legislation being considered by the Assembly. Tony uses his experience as a small businessman and lawyer to ask tough questions about how these pieces of legislation will impact our local businesses, governments and residents.

Tony is also the Assembly Minority Member of the Legislative Ethics Commission. The Legislative Ethics Commission investigates allegations of ethics violations against lawmakers and staff. Tony feels strongly that the public should be able to trust those they elect to represent them, and Tony takes his role on the Ethics Commission very seriously. Tony also was a Co-Sponsor of the “Public Integrity Reform Act,” a historic ethics reform package that was passed during the 2011 session.

Tony is an active member of the community. He is a volunteer with the Greenwich Lions Club, Cornell University FarmNet Program, the Boy Scouts, youth soccer, the Greenwich Lions Club, and the Knights of Columbus. He also teaches Sunday School and does pro-bono legal work for several fire companies and rescue squads.

Tony and Wendy (Skellie) Jordan have four children: Gabrielle (Gabby), Tricia, Luke, and Eliza.