Travis R. Heider

8th District (Brighton, Henrietta)

Committees: Environment & Public Works (RMM), Ways & Means

Monroe County Legislator Travis Heider represents the 14th District, which includes the majority of Brighton and a northeastern portion of Henrietta. Travis was elected to a four-year term on the Monroe County Legislature in 2005. He currently serves as the Ranking Minority Member of the Environment and Public Works Committee, and is a member on the Ways and Means Committee.

Travis spends his days fighting for people with diabetes as the Executive Director of Upstate New York for the American Diabetes Association. Diabetes is the leading cause of heart disease and afflicts nearly 24 million Americans. Travis is proud to have lead a team that raised the most net dollars in the country for the ADA's mission to prevent and cure diabetes and to improve the lives of all people affected by diabetes.

Prior to this, Travis served as the Deputy Chief of Staff to then New York State Senator Richard Dollinger. He not only learned how government works, he acquired a vital understanding of the issues facing our neighbors in Brighton and Henrietta.

Travis has worked as an Adjunct Professor at St. John Fisher College, Springfield College, and Holyoke Community College, and also served on the steering committee of the Coalition for Common Sense in Education and coaches Brighton Little League Baseball. But with his wife, Emily, Travis shares his proudest accomplishments: his sons, Jackson and Ryan and daughter, Ellison. The Heider family are members of St. Thomas' Episcopal Church in Brighton.

As county legislator, Travis serves as the Democratic liaison to the Monroe County Water Authority and led the charge to bring much needed reforms to that body. Additionally, he successfully proposed legislation to televise the proceedings of the legislature. Furthermore, he's proposed increased education about the dangers of crystal methamphetamine, increased awareness about the benefits of donating umbilical cord stem cells, and called for an idling law for diesel vehicles to decrease harmful emissions.

He's passionate about stemming the exodus of young professionals, opening up government and improving our environment. He successfully fought for Brighton and Henrietta school funding in defeating the FAIR plan and Uncovered the fact that social security numbers were being exposed on the County Clerk's website. He also successfully passed an amendment expanding scope of free wireless broadband zones throughout Monroe County and supported a bipartisan effort to turn landfill waste into a renewable energy source that generates electricity to 4,000 homes.

The Heider family lives on Viennawood Drive in Brighton.