Ellen Jaffee Politician

Ellen C. Jaffee (born May 20, 1944) is an American politician and a Democratic member of the New York State Assembly, representing the 97th Assembly District in Rockland County.A native of Brooklyn, Jaffee earned her B.A. in Education from Brooklyn College and her M.S. in Special Education from Fordham University. She was previously a teacher at Pomona Middle School before becoming an elected official of the Rockland County Legislature in 1998.Jaffee was first elected to the State Assembly in 2006 for a two-year term (2007–2009). She ran uncontested in the 2008 general election and won the 2010 general election with 61 percent of the vote.She co-sponsored the bill in the New York State Assembly which increased the New York State tax on cigarettes in June 2008.Since 1978, Jaffee and her husband Steve have lived in Suffern, where they raised two children, Marc and Allison.