Meet Jeff
Jeffery Elder’s entire life from the Air Force to the County Legislature has been devoted to serving others. As your Assemblyman, Jeff will fight for working families, to take care of those who serve, and defend our democracy while bringing home funding from Albany to revitalize our community.
A Lifetime of Service
Jeffrey Elder was born and raised in Niagara Falls, New York growing up in the Griffon Park Projects. He attended LaSalle Sr. High School where he lettered in football, wrestling, and track and field, graduating in June 1980. After graduation, Jeff enlisted in the United States Air Force and trained as a fire protection specialist. In 1994, he was specially chosen to become a member of the select few on Air Force One, flying the President of the United States. Serving under Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, Sgt. Elder logged over 6,000 flying hours, f lying on five Presidential campaigns and two secret Presidential missions to war zones in Iraq. He was on Air Force One with President Bush during the September 11 attacks and received numerous medals and accolades for his military service.
After 26 years in the Air Force, Jeff retired and spent the next decade serving in the federal government with the Pentagon, FEMA, the State Department, and the Department of Homeland Security. But his heart remained in his hometown of Niagara Falls and in 2019, he returned to serve his hometown to use the skills he’d developed serving his country to serve his community.
Heartbroken by the decline and lack of investment in Niagara Falls and the failure of local politicians to address these issues, in 2021 he ran a grassroots campaign for the Niagara County Legislature. Knocking on thousands of doors, his message of change won the support of Niagara Falls voters who elected him over a ten year incumbent.
Delivering in the County Legislature
As a Niagara County legislator, Jeff rose to the position of Deputy Minority Leader. Always willing to reach across the aisle, he worked with his Republican colleagues to pass bipartisan legislation to lower the cost of gasoline in Niagara County. As a member of the Legislature, he has fought tirelessly for programs to support programs for youth and our veterans. He also secured significant funding for numerous local community organizations in Niagara Falls including Habitat for Humanity, Heart Love and Soul, Niagara Falls Little League, LaSalle Education Club, and Niagara United Vision. He remained active in his community, spearheading the 2022 and 2023 Niagara Falls Juneteenth Festival, serving on the board of Cornell Cooperative Extension and as a member of numerous community organizations including the NAACP, Elk’s Lodge #346, and the LaSalle-Griffon VFW Post 917.
Jeff lives in Niagara Falls with his wife Vicki. He has two daughters, Brianna and Danielle and four beautiful grandchildren: Gianna, Aiden, Giovanni, and London.
Ready to Serve Our Community
Jeffery Elder’s entire life has been devoted to service to his community. From Air Force One and back, he has always put service before self and fought tirelessly to make his community better. For too long, our community has sent far too many of our tax dollars to Albany while seeing no state investment in return. Our political leaders have failed to deliver for the last decade. Jeffery Elder will deliver for our community. As your Assemblyman, Jeff will fight for working families by supporting policies that will create jobs, raise wages, lower the costs of housing and healthcare, strengthen worker’s rights, support our police and veterans, protect voting rights and individual liberty, and defend our democracy.
Jeffrey Elder is a retired member of the U.S. Air Force. Use of his military rank, job titles and photographs in uniform does not imply
endorsement by the Department of the Air Force or the Department of Defense.