Jon was born in Rome and grew up in Floyd, graduating from Holland Patent High School. Growing up, he saw families move away from the area as industries left and Griffiss Air Force Base closed. Jon’s dad was a union president in Rome — AFGE Local 2612. He and many others did all they could to save the base.

In college, Jon interned with Congressman Sherwood Boehlert in his Washington office. He taught Jon that representatives have to do what’s right, leaving partisanship out of it. Congressman Boehlert showed throughout his career that you have to be loyal to your people over your party. That’s the attitude Jon wants to bring to Albany.

Jon met his wife Kelli Dunlap while in college and they got married in 2009. After Kelli completed grad school, Jon began to work for then-Assemblyman Anthony Brindisi. After Anthony was elected to Congress in 2018, he hired Jon as his Legislative Assistant in Washington. In that role, Jon served as Congressman Brindisi’s top policy advisor for a range of issues, including education, energy, the environment, and tech policy. Jon also served as Congressman Brindisi’s top staffer for the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee, where they passed legislation to ensure our nation’s heroes receive the benefits they earned through their service and sacrifice.

During his time in Washington, Jon also served as a committee staffer for members on the House Ways and Means Committee, which governs tax and trade policy, and the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which has oversight over healthcare, environmental, and energy policy.

After the 2020 election, Jon and his family moved back home and bought a house. Jon and Kelli now live in Whitesboro with their two boys. Jon currently works for Congressman John Mannion as his outreach representative for Oneida County.

Jon knows that Oneida County needs a strong advocate in Albany; our energy costs are too high, good-paying jobs are too few, and our healthcare system is teetering on the brink. Jon is running to represent the Utica/Rome area in the State Assembly because we need a legislator with the experience necessary to stand in the majority and meet the needs of the Mohawk Valley.