27 Facts About Jim Tedisco

Jim Tedisco became the New York State Senator for New York's 44th State Senate district in 2023.

Jim Tedisco was the Assembly Minority Leader from November 2005 until his resignation from that post in April 2009.

In 2009, Jim Tedisco was the Republican nominee in a special election for the 20th US Congressional District to fill the seat vacated by Kirsten Gillibrand following Gillibrand's appointment to the United States Senate; he was defeated by Democrat Scott Murphy.

Jim Tedisco earned multiple athletic awards during his college career, and was inducted into the Union Athletics Hall of Fame in 2002.

Jim Tedisco received a graduate degree in Special Education from the College of Saint Rose.

From 1973 to 1982, Jim Tedisco worked in education; he served as a guidance counselor, basketball coach, and athletic director at Notre Dame-Bishop Gibbons High School in Schenectady, and later worked as a special education teacher, resource room instructor and varsity basketball coach at Bethlehem Central High School in Delmar, New York.

Jim Tedisco entered public service in 1977 when, at the age of 27, he was elected to the Schenectady City Council.

Jim Tedisco is a resident of Glenville, New York, where he lives with his wife and stepson.

Jim Tedisco won a four-way race in Republican primary, and then won the general election.

Jim Tedisco ran uncontested in the 2008 general election and won the 2010 general election with 64 percent of the vote.

Jim Tedisco introduced "Charlotte's Law" to permanently terminate driver's license privileges for drunk and dangerous drivers.

In 1999, Jim Tedisco worked to pass Buster's Law, which protected pets by making animal cruelty a felony, and in 2011 advocated for New York State Animal Advocacy Day.

In 2014, Jim Tedisco sponsored a successful constitutional amendment, Proposition 2, that would replace bill printouts with digital copies of bills.

Jim Tedisco served as Assembly Minority Leader from November 2005 to April 2009.

Jim Tedisco was noted for his opposition to Spitzer's September 2007 executive order directing that state offices allow undocumented immigrants to be issued driver's licenses.

Jim Tedisco later accused Spitzer of cutting $300,000 of state funding for health care and education grants in the Schenectady area as retaliation for Jim Tedisco's opposition to the Spitzer driver license plan.

Jim Tedisco stepped down as Minority Leader in April 2009 amid reports that other Republican Members of the Assembly were concerned about his congressional campaign distracting him from his leadership role.

On January 23,2009, after Governor David Paterson announced that he had selected Representative Kirsten Gillibrand to fill the United States Senate seat vacated by Hillary Clinton, Jim Tedisco stated his intention to run for Congress to replace Gillibrand in New York's 20th Congressional District.

In May 2022, following redistricting, Jim Tedisco announced his intent to move into the newly constituted 44th Senate District from his 46th Senate District to challenge Republican incumbent Sen.

The Times Union stated that Jim Tedisco had informed the paper's editorial board that he would support a proposed abortion rights bill known as the Reproductive Health Act.

Jim Tedisco voted against the Reproductive Health Act in January 2019.

Jim Tedisco voted against the NY SAFE Act, a gun control measure that became law in 2013.

Jim Tedisco voted against a bill that prohibits individuals convicted of domestic abuse from purchasing guns.

Jim Tedisco believes that a safety or childproof mechanism does not need to be incorporated into the design of firearms.

Jim Tedisco voted against paid family leave, equal pay regardless of gender, freelance wage protection, and the Wage Theft Prevention Act.

Jim Tedisco repeatedly voted against an increase in the minimum wage.

Jim Tedisco voted against bills to prohibit discrimination based on gender identity.