Jason Bedrick
Jason Bedrick (born June 5 1983) is a former member of the New Hampshire state legislature.[1] He was a Republican representing Windham, New Hampshire.
Bedrick is the first Orthodox Jew to hold elective office in New Hampshire, which has fewer than ten Orthodox Jewish families among its 1% Jewish population.[2] New Hampshire has had several prominent non-Orthodox Jewish elected officials, such as Congressman Paul Hodes and Senator Warren Rudman.[2]
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[edit] Before politics
Bedrick was raised in a secular Jewish home in Windham, NH and he became religiously observant over the course of many years. He attended Bishop Guertin High School in Nashua, New Hampshire where he received the Religious Studies Award for "the student who best understands the Christian message presented in the classroom."[3] After graduation he attended Babson College, majoring in business administration. At Babson College he was a senior editor for the Babson Free Press, and the founder of the local chapter of the Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity.[4] After college, he studied Torah in yeshiva Hadar Hatorah in Crown Heights, Brooklyn and Yeshiva Tiferes Bachurim, a part of the Rabbinical College of America in Morristown, New Jersey.[5]
[edit] Political positions
Bedrick considers himself a Buckleyite Conservative. He is a strong supporter of school choice, including charter schools and education vouchers. He first ran for the House (unsuccessfully) on that platform as an Independent in 2004.[1]
Bedrick's 2006 victory was a narrow one, by only six votes, after a recount. In addition to school choice, he is in favor of continuing New Hampshire's traditional absence of sales and income tax, and is in general a fiscal conservative.[2] Bedrick was unanimously endorsed by the libertarian Republican Liberty Caucus political action committee.[6] The New Hampshire Liberty Alliance gave Bedrick an "A" rating in their 2007 Liberty Rating for his pro-liberty voting record[7] and in 2008, they named him "Legislator of the Year".[8] Bedrick scored 98% on New Hampshire House Republican Alliance legislative score card.[9]
Bedrick announced that he will not author any legislation in the first year of his first term, instead preferring to vote on others' proposals as he learns the ropes.[1]
[edit] A first for New Hampshire
Bedrick is a committed Orthodox Jew. He observes Shabbat, keeps kosher, and won't shake a woman's hand because Haredi Judaism forbids most physical contact between unmarried persons of opposite sexes.[2] This became an issue during the election, but he received critical support from the Salem Women's Club after he wrote to them explaining the religious basis for his actions.[10] Because Jewish law forbids taking oaths, during his swearing-in ceremony Bedrick substituted the words "I affirm" for "I swear."[2] Bedrick always wears a head covering and sports a full beard.[2]
[edit] 2008 election
By a one-vote margin, 904-903, Bedrick was not re-nominated in 2008 to appear on the Republican ticket in the general election. [11]
[edit] Other activities
Bedrick serves as gabbai of the Wellesley Weston Chabad-Lubavitch synagogue, in Wellesley, Massachusetts.[10] He currently attends the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.[12]
[edit] References
- ^ a b c Date, Terry (December 10, 2006). "Welcome to the House: Windham lawmaker plans to keep quiet in first term". The Eagle Tribune. http://www.eagletribune.com/nhnews/local_story_344120416?page=0.
- ^ a b c d e f Masis, Julie (December 9, 2006). "Windham sends first Orthodox Jew in NH to legislature". New Hampshire Union Leader. http://www.unionleader.com/article.aspx?headline=Windham+sends+first+Orthodox+Jew+in+NH+to+legislature&articleId=a9259b8e-33d3-4637-b369-9f4904fd9a1c.
- ^ Schoenberg, Shira "An Orthodox Lawmaker: 24-year old makes history in the legislature" Concord Monitor, Feb. 7, 2008.
- ^ "Jordan’s Furniture Secrets of Success"[dead link], Babson Entrepreneurial Exchange, 2005.
- ^ Campaign Website
- ^ Republican Liberty Caucus website - Jason Bedrick
- ^ New Hampshire Liberty Alliance website - 2007 Liberty Rating
- ^ New Hampshire Insider
- ^ New Hampshire House Republican Alliance website - 2007 Republican Platform Scorecard (pdf)
- ^ a b Siegel, Jennifer. "By Six Votes, N.H. Gets First Orthodox Lawmaker", The Forward, Campaign Confidential, December 12, 2006.
- ^ Vote GOP! - Representative Jason Bedrick (October 28, 2008)
- ^ Bedrick, Jason, "Scholarship Tax Credit Programs in the United States: Implications for New Hampshire," Josiah Bartlett Center for Public Policy, January 2011.
