Kristopher W. Jordan (February 10, 1977 – February 25, 2023) was an American politician in the Republican Party. He was a member of the

Ohio House of Representatives The Ohio House of Representatives is the lower house of the Ohio General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Ohio; the other house of the bicameral legislature being the Ohio Senate. The House of Representatives first met in ...

from 2019 until his death (after a previous term from 2009 to 2010), and the

Ohio Senate The Ohio Senate is the upper house of the Ohio General Assembly. The State Senate, which meets in the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus, first convened in 1803. Senators are elected for four year terms, staggered every two years such that half of the se ...

from 2011 to 2019, where he was chairman of the Senate State and Local Government and Veterans Affairs Committee.

Career

After graduation from the

Ohio State University The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best publ ...

, Jordan served two terms as a Delaware County commissioner and worked for Rep. Joan Lawrence and as a legislative aide to Rep. Jon Peterson. Jordan was a member of the Delaware County Farm Bureau, Hiram Masonic Lodge, the Delaware County Township Association and the County Commissioner Association of Ohio. With incumbent Jon Peterson unable to run again because of term limits in 2008, Jordan, a former aide of Peterson, sought to replace him. Among four candidates, Jordan secured the Republican nomination with 53.31% of the vote. He won the general election against Democrat Janice Lanier with 61.29% of the vote. After his victory, colleagues named Jordan House assistant minority whip. Speaker of the House

Armond Budish Armond D. Budish ( ; b. Cleveland, Ohio, United States, 1953) is an American politician currently serving in his second term as Cuyahoga County Executive. A member of the Democratic Party, he was a four-term Ohio State Representative (8th dis ...

also named Jordan as a member of the Controlling Board.

Ohio Senate

In late 2009, Jordan announced that he would seek the Ohio Senate seat held by Bill Harris in 2010. The election race put Jordan against former Representative Thom Collier and Knox County GOP Party Chairman Lou Petros. Jordan won the GOP nomination with 53.9% of the vote. He won the general election with 69.08% of the vote against Democrat Neil Patel. Jordan was sworn into his first term on January 3, 2011. Subsequently, Senate President

Tom Niehaus Tom Niehaus is an American former politician who served as President of the Ohio Senate from 2011 to 2012. He also was the state senator for the 14th District from 2005 to 2012. He served in the Ohio House of Representatives from 2001 to 2004. H ...

appointed him to the Joint Committee on Agency Rule Review, and the standing committees on Government Oversight and Reform, including Health, Human Services and Aging, Highways and Transportation, Insurance, Commerce and Labor, Agriculture, Environment and Natural Resources, and State and Local Government and Veteran's Affairs (as Chairman).

Policies, positions and initiatives

Abortion

In 2016, Jordan introduced the

Ohio "Heartbeat Bill" A six-week abortion ban or early abortion ban, called a "heartbeat bill" or "fetal heartbeat bill" by proponents, is a form of abortion restriction legislation in the United States. These bans make abortion illegal as early as six weeks gestatio ...

, a bill outlawing abortions after about six weeks of

pregnancy Pregnancy is the time during which one or more offspring develops ( gestates) inside a woman's uterus (womb). A multiple pregnancy involves more than one offspring, such as with twins. Pregnancy usually occurs by sexual intercourse, but ca ...

. The Ohio General Assembly passed the bill on December 6, 2016. In 2019, Jordan co-sponsored legislation that would ban abortion in Ohio. Doctors who performed abortions in cases of

ectopic pregnancy Ectopic pregnancy is a complication of pregnancy in which the embryo attaches outside the uterus. Signs and symptoms classically include abdominal pain and vaginal bleeding, but fewer than 50 percent of affected women have both of these symptoms. ...

and other life-threatening conditions would be exempt from prosecution only if they "

ook Ook, OoK or OOK may refer to: * Ook Chung (born 1963), Korean-Canadian writer from Quebec * On-off keying, in radio technology * Toksook Bay Airport (IATA code OOK), in Alaska * Ook!, an esoteric programming language based on Brainfuck * Ook, th ...

all possible steps to preserve the life of the unborn child, while preserving the life of the woman. Such steps include, if applicable, attempting to reimplant an ectopic pregnancy into the woman's uterus".Ohio bill would make doctors 'reimplant' ectopic pregnancies (which is impossible) or face 'abortion murder' charges
National Post, November 29, 2019 Reimplantation of an ectopic pregnancy is not a recognized or medically feasible procedure.

Fiscal issues

In one of his earliest initiatives, Jordan introduced legislation that would eliminate the Ohio

estate tax An inheritance tax is a tax paid by a person who inherits money or property of a person who has died, whereas an estate tax is a levy on the estate (money and property) of a person who has died. International tax law distinguishes between an es ...

. He has stated that it is an effort to help keep more small business owners and the jobs they create in Ohio. However, local governments see the bill as another potential blow to their already strained budgets. Jordan was a proponent of

fracking Fracking (also known as hydraulic fracturing, hydrofracturing, or hydrofracking) is a well stimulation technique involving the fracturing of bedrock formations by a pressurized liquid. The process involves the high-pressure injection of "frack ...

state parks State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the sub-national level within those nations which use "state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on account of its natural ...

due to the potential benefits it could bring to solving Ohio's budgetary problems. He sees the usage of natural resources as an answer to help with fiscal recovery. He was adamant about stating that there are no real environmental concerns surrounding fracking.

Personal life and death

Jordan and his wife, Melissa, had three children. In July 2011, Jordan was investigated for fourth degree domestic violence after an altercation with his wife in which she called 911 for help. Jordan told the Delaware County sheriff's deputies who responded to the call that his wife "got a little upset … girls do that." He and his wife later divorced. Jordan died on February 25, 2023, at the age of 46 following a diabetic reaction. Jordan was a type 1 diabetic since the age of 18.

References

External links

Kris Jordan- Project Vote SmartDelaware County GOP: Kris JordanKris Jordan for State Senate
official campaign site {{DEFAULTSORT:Jordan, Kris 1977 births 2023 deaths Republican Party members of the Ohio House of Representatives Ohio State University alumni 21st-century American politicians Republican Party Ohio state senators Politicians from Columbus, Ohio People from Powell, Ohio County commissioners in Ohio Place of death missing