Jim Tedisco

Tedisco opposes abortion and only supports it in cases of rape, incest, or if a woman's life (not health) is in danger. In 2018, the Albany Times Union endorsed Tedisco for re-election to the State Senate. The Times Union stated that Tedisco had informed the paper's editorial board that he would support a proposed abortion rights bill known as the Reproductive Health Act. After Tedisco publicly contradicted this assertion and affirmed his opposition to the bill, the Times Union rescinded its endorsement. Tedisco voted against the Reproductive Health Act in January 2019.

In 2016, Senator Hugh Farley announced that he would not seek re-election to the Senate. Farley's retirement left an opening in the 49th State Senate District. After Tedisco handily won the Republican primary, he went on to defeat General Election opponent Chad Putman.Tedisco won the election with 69% of the vote on November 8, 2016.

Tedisco has voted against paid family leave (February 2, 2016), equal pay regardless of gender (January 27, 2014), freelance wage protection (June 20, 2011), and the Wage Theft Prevention Act (July 1, 2010). He also repeatedly voted against an increase in the minimum wage (May 4, 2015; March 5, 2013).

In 2014, Tedisco sponsored a constitutional amendment, Proposition 2, that would make the legislature more efficient by replacing bill printouts with digital copies of bills.

Tedisco repeatedly voted against bills to legalize same-sex marriage. He also voted against bills to prohibit discrimination based on gender identity. On June 16, 2014, Tedisco voted against a bill that would have prohibited sexual orientation conversion therapy on minors.

Tedisco holds a broad interpretation of the Second Amendment. He voted against the NY SAFE Act, a gun control measure that became law in 2013. He voted against a bill that prohibits individuals convicted of domestic abuse from purchasing guns. He also believes that a safety or childproof mechanism does not need to be incorporated into the design of firearms.

Tedisco stepped down as Minority Leader in April 2009 amid reports that other Republican Members of the Assembly were concerned about his congressional campaign distracting him from his leadership role.

On January 23, 2009, after Governor David Paterson announced that he had selected Representative Kirsten Gillibrand to fill the United States Senate seat vacated by Hillary Clinton, Tedisco stated his intention to run for Congress to replace Gillibrand in New York's 20th Congressional District. Though not a resident of the district, Tedisco became its Republican nominee on January 27, 2009, and ran against Democrat Scott Murphy. The initial count from the election had Murphy leading by 59 votes, out of over 155,000 cast on March 31, 2009. This tally reportedly did not include any of the 10,000 requested absentee ballots, which needed only to have been postmarked by that date and could have been returned as late as April 7 (domestically) or April 13 (internationally). Eventually, about 7,000 absentee ballots were received; the vote count as of April 24 had Murphy ahead by 399 votes. On April 24, Tedisco conceded the election to Murphy.

Tedisco ran uncontested in the 2008 general election and won the 2010 general election with 64 percent of the vote.

Following reports of Spitzer's involvement in a prostitution scandal, Tedisco called for his resignation and announced that he would initiate impeachment proceedings in the State Assembly if Spitzer did not resign. Spitzer resigned his post effective March 17, 2008.

According to The New York Times, Tedisco "clashed loudly and publicly" with Democratic Governor Eliot Spitzer. In January 2007, Spitzer reportedly told Tedisco, "'I am a fucking steamroller and I’ll roll over you or anybody else'".

Tedisco was noted for his opposition to Spitzer's September 2007 executive order directing that state offices allow undocumented immigrants to be issued driver's licenses. Tedisco threatened a lawsuit if the plan was implemented. On November 14, 2007, Spitzer announced he would withdraw the driver license plan, acknowledging that it would never be implemented.

Tedisco served as Assembly Minority Leader from November 2005 to April 2009.

In 1999, Tedisco worked to pass Buster's Law, which protected pets by making animal cruelty a felony, and in 2011 advocated for the first-ever New York State Animal Advocacy Day.

A Republican, Tedisco served in the New York State Assembly from 1983 to 2017. He was the Assembly Minority Leader from November 2005 until his resignation from that post in April 2009. In 2009, Tedisco was the Republican nominee in a special election for the 20th US Congressional District to fill the seat vacated by Kirsten Gillibrand following Gillibrand's appointment to the United States Senate; he was defeated by Democrat Scott Murphy.

Due to redistricting, Tedisco represented the 107th District from 1983 to 1993, the 103rd District from 1993 to 2003, the 110th District from 2003 to 2012, and most recently represented the 112th District since from 2012 to 2017. The 112th District consists of portions of Schenectady County and Saratoga County, including the towns of Greenfield, Providence, Milton, Galway, Ballston, Charlton, Clifton Park, Halfmoon, and Glenville.

In 1982, Assemblyman Clark Wemple retired from the State Assembly, leaving an opening in the district. Tedisco won a four-way race in Republican primary, and then won the general election.

Tedisco entered public service in 1977 when, at the age of 27, he was elected to the Schenectady City Council.

Tedisco went on to get a graduate degree in Special Education from the College of Saint Rose. From 1973 to 1982, Tedisco worked in education; he served as a guidance counselor, basketball coach, and athletic director at Notre Dame-Bishop Gibbons High School in Schenectady, and later worked as a special education teacher, resource room instructor and varsity basketball coach at Bethlehem Central High School in Delmar, New York.

Jim Tedisco graduated from Bishop Gibbons High School in 1968,, dodged Vietnam, and received his B.A. in Psychology from Union College. While at Union, he played varsity basketball for three years where he set 15 scoring and assist records, and left as Union's all-time leading scorer with 1,632 points. Tedisco earned multiple athletic awards during his college career, and was inducted into the Union Athletics Hall of Fame in 2002. In 1997, he was given the Silver Anniversary Award from the NCAA.

James Nicholas Tedisco (born July 15, 1950) is an American politician. Since 2017, he has been the New York State Senator for New York's 49th Senate District, which includes parts of Saratoga, Schenectady and Herkimer Counties and all of Fulton and Hamilton Counties.