Christopher Jacobs (politician)

Christopher L. "Chris" Jacobs (* 1967 in Buffalo , New York ) is an American lawyer , businessman and politician ( Republican Party ). He was Secretary of the Interior of New York under Governor George Pataki from April 2006 to January 2007 and City Clerk of Erie County from January 2012 to January 2017. He is currently a member of the New York Senate for the 60th District. In June 2020, he won a by-election to represent the 27th Congressional constituency of New York in the United States House of Representatives .

Career

Christopher L. Jacobs, son of Pamela Ryan and Lawrence Jacobs (1938–2001), was born in 1967 and grew up in western New York. He has four siblings: Luke T., Lawrence D. junior, Jessica H. and Elizabeth R. Nothing is known about his youth. He graduated from Boston College with a Bachelor of Arts in history . He then went to American University in Washington, DC , where he did a Master of Business Administration . Then he successfully studied law at the University at Buffalo . After graduating from American University, he worked for the United States Department of Building (HUD) for a while under then Secretary of Building Jack Kemp .

Jacobs is a strong advocate of expanding local business development and improving the education system. In this context, his involvement with the construction company Avalon Development, LLC , which focuses on the adaptive reuse and renovation of objects in the city of Buffalo, should be understood. Jacobs is president of the company. Since May 2005 he has also held the post of director of Buffalo Place Inc. In 1995 he co-founded the BISON Scholarship Fund, Inc. BISCON stands for Buffalo Inner-city Scholarship Opportunity Network. Until the early 2010s have been about 12.5 million US dollars in donations for scholarships of more than 17,000 children from families with low and middle income throughout Erie County applied (New York). In 2000 he co-founded the South Buffalo Charter School , one of the first charter schools in western New York. Today more than 800 children are trained annually. The school is recognized as one of the best charter schools in all of New York. He is also active in various philanthropic programs at national and local level. In this context, he co-founded The Empowerment Network Foundation (TEN) in Washington, DC, which works with low-income communities to develop "best practice" solutions to common challenges.

In 2004 Jacobs was elected to the Buffalo Board of Education , where he served until 2011. During this time he worked on reducing the average class size. To do this, he hired more than 200 new teachers. To provide additional help for agonizing students, he extended the school year. He was also actively involved in the negotiation of collective agreements, which improved efficiency and reduced district costs. He also helped the county save $ 40 million in health care costs for staff.

The Governor of New York George Pataki appointed him in 2006 to the Secretary of State of New York - a post he held until of 2007. During his tenure, he chaired the New York State Real Estate Board and the Wireless 911 Emergency System Board. He also took an active role in the development of the Niagara River Greenway. Prior to that, he served as the Erie County Deputy Commissioner of Environment and Planning in the Office of Planning and Economic Development and again worked in Washington, DC for the United States Department of Construction.

In the New York gubernatorial elections in 2006 he was the "running mate" of former Massachusetts governor William Weld and in the gubernatorial elections in New York in 2011 as "running mate" of Steve Levy.

Jacobs is active in the community. He sits on the Board of Buffalo Place and the Freedom Station Coalition Board. Prior to that, he served on the Catholic Academy of West Buffalo Board and the Olmsted Parks Conservancy Board.

In November 2011, he was elected to the Erie County Clerk . Jacobs took office in January 2012. He is only the second Republican to hold this post. He was named one of the most influential people in western New York at the Business First's Power 200 .

Jacobs announced in May 2019 in the 2020 US House of Representatives election for the seat of the 27th Congressional electoral district of New York against incumbent Chris Collins (R), who was being investigated on allegations of insider trading, which is why he had already lost his committee seats . After Collins resigned in September 2019 and pleaded guilty, Jacobs signed up for the by-election for his seat. Originally, the date of the election on 28 April 2020 was scheduled, Governor Andrew Cuomo (D), however, they moved together with the primaries for the presidential election in 2020 on June 23. On this day Jacobs was able to prevail with 68.7% clearly against the democratic challenger Nate McMurray. This allows him to serve the remainder of Collins' tenure in the 116th Congress . Jacobs also won the Republican primary election on November 3, 2020, taking place on the same day with 70% of two opposing candidates.

Awards

• Pathfinder Award
• Rising Star Award
• 40-Under-40 Award
• Buffalo Urban League Leadership Award

Individual evidence

1. ^ ^{A b} Nagourney, Eric: Lawrence Jacobs, 63, Pioneer In Treating Multiple Sclerosis , The New York Times, November 10, 2001
2. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g h i j} Erie County Clerk's Office - Christopher Jacobs ( Memento of the original from February 14, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
3. ↑ ^{a b c d} Heaney, Jim: Interview: Chris Jacobs , Investigative Post, September 22, 2012
4. ↑ BloombergBusiness - Christopher Jacobs
5. ↑ The New York State Department of State Division of Coastal Resources Guide To Ecologically-Based Stream Restoration In New York's Coastal Watersheds , PDF, (English)
6. ↑ Medina, Jennifer: Republican Says Weld Will Name Secretary of State as His Running Mate , The New York Times, May 31, 2006, (English)
7. ^ Robert J. McCarthy: Chris Jacobs calls Collins ineffective; will run against him in 2020. In: The Buffalo News. May 17, 2019, accessed June 30, 2020 . 
8. ^ Noah Higgins-Dunn: New York postpones Democratic primary amid coronavirus outbreak, the 11th state to do so. In: CNBC. CNBC LLC, March 28, 2020, accessed June 30, 2020 . 
9. ^ New York's 27th Congressional District special election, 2020. In: Ballotpedia. Lucy Burns Institute, accessed June 30, 2020 . 
10. ^ New York's 27th Congressional District election, 2020 (June 23 Republican primary). In: Ballotpedia. Lucy Burns Institute, accessed June 30, 2020 .