John Lemondes Jr. is an American politician and businessman serving as a member of the

New York State Assembly The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature, with the New York State Senate being the upper house. There are 150 seats in the Assembly. Assembly members serve two-year terms without term limits. The Ass ...

from the 126th district. Elected in November 2020, he assumed office on January 6, 2021.

Early life and education

Lemondes is

Greek-American Greek Americans ( ''Ellinoamerikanoí'' ''Ellinoamerikánoi'' ) are Americans of full or partial Greek ancestry. There is an estimate of 1.2 million Americans of full or partial Greek ancestry. According to the US census, 264,066 people o ...

. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in agriculture from

Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsyl ...

, a Master of Business Administration from

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York, United States. It was established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church but has been nonsectarian since 1920 ...

, and a Master of Arts in public administration from

Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs The Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs (Maxwell School) is the professional public policy school of Syracuse University, a private research university in Syracuse, New York. The school is organized in 11 academic departments and 1 ...

Career

Lemondes served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

for 27 years, retiring with the rank of colonel. During his tenure, Lemondes worked as a project manager for the United States Army Chemical Materials Activity and as a speechwriter. After retiring from the Army, Lemondes worked as a military and defense consultant for ASI Government and

Saab AB Saab AB (originally , , acronym SAAB), with subsidiaries collectively known as the Saab Group (), is a Swedish aerospace and defense company, defence company primarily operating from Sweden. The company is headquartered in Stockholm, but its de ...

. In 2014, Lemondes was a candidate for

New York's 24th congressional district New York's 24th congressional district is located in Upstate New York in the Finger Lakes region, stretching alongside Lake Ontario from near Buffalo in the west to Watertown in the east. The district does not include Rochester, which is in ...

, placing second in the Republican primary after

John Katko John Michael Katko (; born November 9, 1962) is an American attorney and politician who served as the U.S. representative for New York's 24th congressional district, based in Syracuse, from 2015 to 2023. A member of the Republican Party, he ...

. Lemondes and his wife operate a family farm. He was elected to the

in November 2020 and assumed office on January 6, 2021.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lemondes, John Jr. Living people Pennsylvania State University alumni Martin J. Whitman School of Management alumni Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs alumni American people of Greek descent Republican Party members of the New York State Assembly 1965 births 21st-century members of the New York State Legislature