John F. Cordisco
| John F. Cordisco | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from the 140th district | |
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In office 1981–1986 | |
| Preceded by | John M. Rodgers |
| Succeeded by | Thomas C. Corrigan |
| Constituency | Part of Bucks County |
| Personal details | |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Residence | Newtown, Pennsylvania |
John F. Cordisco is a former Democratic member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives and founding partner at Cordisco Law LLC.
Cordisco was first elected to represent the 140th legislative district in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in 1980 at the age of 25. During his tenure, Cordisco chaired the House Committee on Veterans Health Care and sponsored multiple pieces of legislation to provide assistance to veterans. He left the House in 1986.
Education and early life
John F. Cordisco was born to parents John H. and Jane Cordisco in Bristol, Pennsylvania. The oldest of five children, Cordisco and his siblings shared a strong community connection with the Lincoln Avenue neighborhood and Borough. He attended St. Ann Elementary school, spent two years at Bristol High School, and graduated from Bishop Egan High School in 1973.
Cordisco attended Rider College and earned a Bachelor of Education Degree in 1977. For a brief period during his college years, he taught political science and social studies at Bensalem High School. Also during his undergraduate years, he married Sharon Edmondson and had three children, Kelly, Nicole and John Michael.
Political career
At the age of 21, Cordisco ran for the Bristol Borough School Board and held the position for three years. During that time, his wife gave birth to their third child, Nicole. The Pennsylvania School Board Association recognized Cordisco for his outstanding service in education from 1977 through 1980. He served on the Board of the Bucks County Intermediate Unit and the Board of the Bucks County Vocational Technical School Board.
During his term, Democratic Majority Leader, Jim Mandarino, encouraged Cordisco to pursue a law degree to further his political career. With a growing family, Cordisco found it an unreachable goal, but Mandarino persisted and made Cordisco agree to an interview with the President of Temple Law School, Peter Liacouras.
The interview went well and Cordisco took and passed the LSAT, granting him admission to the evening division of the Temple Law School in 1983. He spent his first year driving from Bristol to Harrisburg for work, then to Philadelphia to take law school courses, and then back home to Bristol. The struggle to maintain a balance between work, family and school paid off. Cordisco graduated in 1986 and soon after passed the bar. Cordisco attributes his law school success to the encouragement of his mentor, Jim Mandarino, and the support of his family whose sacrifices he acknowledges every day.
Legal practice
After passing the bar in 1987, Cordisco founded Cordisco & Bradway on Mill Street in Bristol. It was in that neighborhood that Cordisco developed his love of philanthropy and began supporting the lower economic level communities around Bristol. One Christmas, an apartment complex in Bristol Township caught fire and even though Cordisco himself was low on funds, he asked that his long-term secretary, Madeline Bryson, make an anonymous cash donation on his behalf to the relief fund for the apartment residents so they would have necessities for the holidays.
During his 18 years at Cordisco & Bradway, he continued his tradition of helping families in need at Bethanna at Christmastime. One of Cordisco's most notable cases was representing the victims of the 2000 Pier 34 collapse as a member of the Plaintiff's Liaison Committee. Through his work, the committee helped secure a $29.5 million award for the injured parties and the families of the victims.
Cordisco later joined the Stark & Stark firm in 2008 where he also served as Judge Pro Tem in the Philadelphia Court System. During his career he was appointed to the Attorneys Disciplinary Board of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania and served as a hearing committee member in Disciplinary District II. He is a member of the Bucks County Bar Association and the Pennsylvania Bar Association.
Work with the Committee of Veteran's Affairs
During his legal career, Cordisco was asked to sit on the Committee of Veteran's Affairs in Harrisburg. After hearing stories from the Vietnam Veterans of Levittown, Cordisco led the campaign to create legislation to establish a herbicide commission to help the veterans of the Vietnam War who were exposed to the Agent Orange herbicide. The project to spread awareness about the potential health effects and options for care and treatment began in 1983 and continues to this day.
Cordisco also aided in establishing a third Veteran's Home in Southeastern Pennsylvania which is still operating today. He was recognized by the Veterans of Foreign Wars and was awarded their Legislative Award. He also received the Vietnam Veterans' Appreciation Award for his work on Agent Orange awareness and the American Legion’s Legislative Award.
Later political career
In 2002, John was elected Chairman of the Bucks County Democratic Committee where he continues to serve. He also served as part of the Rendell Campaign for Governor. He was nominated by the Governor and approved by the State Senate to serve as Chairman of the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission.
While serving as Chairman of the BCDC, Cordisco was approached to run for Congress. President Bill Clinton supported Cordisco’s bid thanks to influence from Patrick Murphy, and later Cordisco established a friendship with Hillary Clinton while she was serving as a U.S. Senator of New York. During Hillary Clinton’s run for president, she visited Bristol.
Cordisco was elected as a delegate of the Democratic National Convention. He continues to serve as the Chairman of the BCDC and was also appointed by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to serve as an Ethic Hearing Officer.
Charitable work
In 1999, a visiting missionary at Cordisco's regular St. Andrew's Church in Newton opened his eyes to a new world of service to his fellow man. The missionary introduced Cordisco to the dire conditions of the children in Nicaragua, and the organization that was helping make life better for them, Food for the Poor.
Cordisco soon visited Nicaragua to see the situation for himself and was inspired to do his part to bring better lives to the local children. He made a significant donation which was used to build a school. Without his sanction, the school was named the John F. Cordisco School. Food for the Poor also stepped in to match his generosity and created a Feeding Center to ensure the students had a steady supply of healthy food. Over the years the school and center have attracted dozens of Cardinals and Bishops who were inspired to also provide aid to the people of Central and South America.
After his contribution to the children of Nicaragua, Cordisco turned his focus to the children of Haiti. Along with five members of Food for the Poor, they traveled to the island to meet with local missionaries. Cordisco asked to be taken to the worst place in the district, Border Mar, and found that the community lacked a well to draw fresh water. Cordisco paid for a well to be built and locals praise it as the best water in Haiti.
Cordisco also contributed to the local infrastructure, building another school and several homes through his donations and hard work. Even though the homes were humble, Cordisco insisted that each one have a garden for the families to have fertile soil to grow their own vegetables and herbs. Food for the Poor continues to support the Haiti and Nicaragua sites along with continued donations from Cordisco, and recently an orphanage for special needs children was built in Guatemala through their combined efforts.
Some of Cordisco's philanthropy came about by accident, as was the case with the Anglo & Russian Delegation formal dinner in St. Petersburg, Russia. Cordisco was asked to speak on behalf of the delegation, during which a British delegate jokingly stated that Cordisco was going to donate a large sum to build a library. Unaware that the delegate was not serious, Cordisco agreed and made a sizeable contribution which was matched by the Russian Government. The donation was used to fund computers programmed with software that teaches English to read books in the English language. Cordisco donated a signed copy of The Grapes of Wrath, one of his favorite novels illustrating that America faced hard times, just as well as Russia, in hopes of inspiring a connection between the countries.
Present day
Cordisco recently founded a personal injury law practice, Cordisco Law LLC, which serves injured parties in Southeast Pennsylvania. He has also turned his network of trusted legal connections into a legal service plan for union members, Our Legal Plan.
Cordisco is the proud grandfather of five grandchildren.