Jonathan G. Jacobson (born June 20, 1953) is an American politician and attorney who has served in the

New York State Assembly The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature, with the New York State Senate being the upper house. There are 150 seats in the Assembly. Assembly members serve two-year terms without term limits. The Assem ...

since 2018. A

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

, Jacobson represents the 104th district, covering Newburgh and Poughkeepsie.

Career

After graduating from

Duke University Duke University is a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco and electric power industrialist James ...

with a B.A. degree and then

New York Law School New York Law School (NYLS) is a private law school in Tribeca, New York City. NYLS has a full-time day program and a part-time evening program. NYLS's faculty includes 54 full-time and 59 adjunct professors. Notable faculty members include E ...

in June 1977 with a J.D. degree, Jacobson held a number of positions in New York state government, including Assistant Counsel to the

Speaker of the Assembly Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** In ...

, Assistant Attorney General, and Workers' Compensation Law Judge. He also operates his own law firm. Jacobson chaired the City of Newburgh Charter Review Commission in the early 1990s, and is a former Newburgh city council member. Jacobson ran for mayor of Newburgh in 2015 against incumbent Democrat

Judy Kennedy Judith Kennedy (October 25, 1944 – April 15, 2018) was an American politician and businesswoman. She was an independent politician, but was a member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party until 2015. In 2011, Kennedy was e ...

. Although Jacobson defeated Kennedy in the Democratic primary, Kennedy won in the general election on the

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line. In

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

, Jacobson announced his campaign for the 104th Assembly district, which had been held by Democrat Frank Skartados until his death in April 2018. Jacobson defeated four candidates in the September primary election with 28% of the vote, and went on to defeat Republican nominee Scott Manley that November with 60% of the vote. Because the seat was vacant following Skartados' death, Jacobson assumed office immediately, rather than waiting until January 2019 to be sworn in. Jacobson was re-elected in 2020, receiving 61.74% of the vote against Republican challenger Andrew Gauzza IV. He ran unopposed in 2022.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jacobson, Jonathan 1953 births Living people Duke University alumni New York Law School alumni Politicians from Newburgh, New York Democratic Party members of the New York State Assembly 21st-century American politicians