physician
A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the Medical education, study, Med ...
Mayor
In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...
of
Jersey City, New Jersey
Jersey City is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, second-most populous
. He succeeded interim mayor Charles K. Krieger. Being 30 years old at the time of his election, Jordan is the youngest mayor in the history of Jersey City.
Biography
After graduating from
medical school
A medical school is a tertiary educational institution, professional school, or forms a part of such an institution, that teaches medicine, and awards a professional degree for physicians. Such medical degrees include the Bachelor of Medicine, ...
in 1968, Jordan ran a
drug rehabilitation
Drug rehabilitation is the process of medical or psychotherapeutic treatment for dependency on psychoactive substances such as alcohol, prescription drugs, and street drugs such as cannabis, cocaine, heroin, and amphetamines. The general int ...
center in Jersey City. His political involvement began when he joined a local reform group called the Community Action Council. Jordan was first elected as a reform candidate in a
special election
A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections.
A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...
following the resignation of Thomas J. Whelan after Whelan's conviction for
extortion
Extortion is the practice of obtaining benefit (e.g., money or goods) through coercion. In most jurisdictions it is likely to constitute a criminal offence. Robbery is the simplest and most common form of extortion, although making unfounded ...
and
conspiracy
A conspiracy, also known as a plot, ploy, or scheme, is a secret plan or agreement between people (called conspirers or conspirators) for an unlawful or harmful purpose, such as murder, treason, or corruption, especially with a political motivat ...
. Jordan's election was hailed as an end to
machine
A machine is a physical system that uses power to apply forces and control movement to perform an action. The term is commonly applied to artificial devices, such as those employing engines or motors, but also to natural biological macromol ...
control of Jersey City politics, and was credited to support from a large number of young voters. He was re-elected to a full four-year term in 1973. His council team included Lois Shaw, the first woman elected to the council in Jersey City. Lois Shaw dismantled an archaic law that made it illegal for women to work in or be served in bars. With the help of her all female “caucus”, they did away with this law and ceremoniously “liberated” the Majestic Tavern bar, once across the street from City Hall.
Jordan was the first mayor to propose a major redevelopment of the Jersey City waterfront. During his term, Jordan appointed Shirley Tolentino as the first
African-American
African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...
woman to serve as a full-time municipal court judge in New Jersey.
In 1977, Jordan did not run for reelection in Jersey City's non-partisan May election. He supports Bill Makey. Jordan ran for the Democratic nomination for
Governor of New Jersey
The governor of New Jersey is the head of government of the U.S. state of New Jersey. The office of governor is an elected position with a four-year term. There is a two consecutive term limit, with no limitation on non-consecutive terms. The ...
, with the primary held in June. Jordan used an aggressive television advertising campaign that was estimated to cost up to $200,000.
After Bill Mackey lost the mayoral election, he withdrew from the gubernatorial primary and supported incumbent Governor
Brendan Byrne
Brendan Thomas Byrne (April 1, 1924 – January 4, 2018) was an American attorney and Democratic Party politician who served as the 47th Governor of New Jersey from 1974 to 1982.
Byrne began his career as a private attorney in Newark and Eas ...
. Jordan's campaign later received a $30,000 campaign contribution from Byrne's campaign, allowing him to retire 25% of his campaign debt. Jordan retired from politics and returned to his medical career following his withdrawal from the primary. He later served as the Chairman of Emergency Medicine at Trinitas Hospital in