Jason Bedrick
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Jason Bedrick (born June 5, 1983) is a member of the New Hampshire state legislature.[1] He is a Republican representing Windham, New Hampshire. He is also an Orthodox Jew.[2]
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 Jewish elected officials, such as Paul Hodes and Warren Rudman, but no others have been Orthodox.[2]
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[edit] Before politics
Bedrick attended Bishop Guertin High School in Nashua, New Hampshire. 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.[3] He studied Torah in yeshiva Hadar Hatorah in Crown Heights, Brooklyn.[4]
[edit] Political positions
Bedrick is a strong supporter of school choice, including charter schools and education vouchers. He first ran for the House (unsuccessfully) on that platform in 2004.[1]
Unanimously endorsed by the libertarian Republican Liberty Caucus political action committee,[5] 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 has announced that he will not author any legislation in 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, a baal teshuva, and a follower of Chabad-Lubavitch.[6] 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.[7] 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] Other activities
Bedrick works as a salesman part time, and intends to enroll in law school.[1] He also serves as gabbai of the Wellesley Weston Chabad-Lubavitch synagogue, in Wellesley, Massachusetts.[7]
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d Date, Terry. "Welcome to the House: Windham lawmaker plans to keep quiet in first term", The Eagle Tribune, December 10, 2006.
- ^ a b c d e f g Masis, Julie. "Windham sends first Orthodox Jew in NH to legislature", New Hampshire Union Leader, December 9, 2006.
- ^ "Jordan’s Furniture Secrets of Success", Babson Entrepreneurial Exchange, 2005.
- ^ Bedrick's livejournal profile
- ^ Republican Liberty Caucus website - Jason Bedrick
- ^ Orthodox Jew to New Hampshire state house, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Dec. 15, 2006
- ^ a b Siegel, Jennifer. "By Six Votes, N.H. Gets First Orthodox Lawmaker", The Forward, Campaign Confidential, December 12, 2006.
