Biography:
Judy Jacobs (D-Woodbury) is in her eighth term as a legislator, making her the longest serving legislator in the Minority caucus. She is one of the original members of the first Nassau County Legislature in 1995. Jacobs served as Minority Leader from March until December 31, 1999, and Presiding Officer from January 2000 until December 31, 2007. Jacobs represents Legislative District 16, which is comprised of the communities of Bethpage, Cove Neck, East Norwich, Jericho, Laurel Hollow, Muttontown, Oyster Bay, Oyster Bay Cove, Plainview, Syosset, and Woodbury.
Legislator Jacobs serves as a member of the Rules Committee, Health & Social Services, Planning, Development & Environment and Minority Affairs. As chairperson of the Legislature’s Budget Review Committee, Legislator Jacobs held frequent sessions of the committee to ensure the financial stability of the County’s budget as the national economy deteriorated.
Over the past 14 years, Legislator Jacobs has led the way on many ground-breaking pieces of legislation, most notably, sponsoring legislation that made Nassau County the first county in the Tri-State area to ban smoking in all restaurants, bars and workplaces. She has also taken the lead on many island-wide issues, such as Medicaid reform, economic development, planning, and public health and safety concerns.
Jacobs’ activism has roots that go back more than 35 years when she focused her efforts on civic and environmental issues on behalf of her community. Her commitment to the environment is evidenced by her support of pioneering legislation to preserve open space, recreational areas and other environmentally sensitive areas in the County. She demonstrated her involvement as a civic leader in being an active member of the Syosset Homeowners Against Pollution of the Environment (S.H.A.P.E.) and Residents Against Garbage Expansion (R.A.G.E.), which successfully closed the Old Bethpage Landfill. She also served as a trustee at Syosset Community Hospital and was responsible for infusing new life into the Syosset Chamber of Commerce. She played a vital role in the Plainview Protect Our Water Committee, Save Syosset Hospital Committee, Windsor Chapter of Cerebral Palsy, and she has served on the Variety Pre-Schoolers Board of Trustees.
Among her top priorities, Jacobs counts quality of life and child care issues. She has also been active in the fight against breast cancer, heart disease, and Crohn’s and ulcerative colitis.
Legislator Jacobs is currently a member of the Nassau Neighborhood Network and a member of the North Shore Synagogue. She is a founding member of the Joint Civic Council of the Town of Oyster Bay and founder and past president of the Woodset Chapter of Women’s American Ort.
A former teacher in the Elmont School District, she received her Bachelor of Arts Degree from Hunter College where she also did graduate work.
She has been a resident of Woodbury over 40 years and has three grown children, Jackie, Lenny and Linda, and has nine grandchildren: Aimee, Matthew, Sara, Danielle, Leah, Ethan, Sydney, Spencer and Corey.
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