Biography:
Judy Jacobs (Woodbury) is in her tenth term as a legislator, having previously served four consecutive terms as Presiding Officer of the Nassau County Legislature. Jacobs represents the new Legislative District 16, which is comprised of the communities of Woodbury, Syosset, Plainview, Jericho, Old Bethpage, Hicksville, Old Westbury and Roslyn Heights.
Jacobs was selected to the 2002 and 2004 class of the Top 50 Women in Long Island by Long Island Business News. She has brought her vast knowledge to a host of Legislative Committees since being elected to the newly formed Nassau County Legislature in 1995, where she served as Minority Leader from March until December 31, 1999, and Presiding Officer from January 2000 until December 31, 2007.
Legislator Jacobs serves as a member of the Rules Committee, Minority Affairs, and is the Ranking member of Planning, Development & Environment.
During her tenure in the legislature, Legislator Jacobs has led the way with legislation banning smoking in all restaurants, bars and workplaces in the County. For the first time she has brought together elected officials from New York City, Suffolk and Westchester to work on developing a regional approach to this important health issue. In addition, she has worked together with Suffolk County leaders on several island-wide issues such as Medicaid reform, economic development, planning, 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.
