Raymond Jordan is being remembered as a "tenacious" advocate for his community and the people he represented. The first Black state legislator representing Springfield died over the weekend at 78.
Bishop Talbert Swan is the president of the Springfield chapter of the NAACP. He said Jordan was a "larger than life" figure for him since he was a child.
Swan said he first became aware of Jordan during a state representative race, when he was in the third grade, that saw Jordan beat Swan's uncle, Ben Swan. The elder Swan later became a longtime state representative himself.
"For decades, the name Raymond Jordan has always come up when it came to politics, when it came to anything to do with the Black community in Springfield," Talbert Swan said.
Swan said Jordan was tireless in his community work.
"Well, you know, they nicknamed him 'The Barracuda'.... He was tenacious, he was dedicated, and, you know, he was consistent."
One person Jordan served with early on in the Legislature was now-Democratic U.S. Senator Ed Markey, who credited him with "transforming the Massachusetts State House."
“He made sure equal opportunity and justice were central to state policymaking,” Markey said in a statement. “He represented the next generation of Massachusetts politicians whose commitment to progress and reform resonates to this day. Ray Jordan spent his career making housing more affordable, jobs more equitable, and Western Massachusetts more livable.”
Jordan served on Beacon Hill for two decades before leaving in the mid 1990s to join the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno in a statement lauded Jordan’s advocacy on behalf of the city’s seniors, and pointed out those efforts led to the senior center being named in his honor.
Sarno went on to call Jordan a “dear friend” whose “advice, wisdom and support I respected and cherished.”
“Ray was a well-respected champion for his district, from being on the front lines in the 1960s fighting for the civil rights cause to being known throughout the state and the nation for his Democratic leadership,” Sarno said.
Jordan’s daughter, Denise, was Sarno’s longtime chief of staff before becoming the head of the Springfield Housing Authority in 2018.
Springfield City Councilor and chair of the city’s Democratic Committee, Jesse Lederman, remembered Jordan as a “trailblazing public servant who cared deeply about his city and his Commonwealth.”
“Mr. Jordan never retired from serving the people of Springfield,” Lederman said in a statement. “I’m grateful for the opportunities I had to hear his insight and perspective in the final years of that service, especially related to housing and jobs.”
In a statement from Jordan’s family through Mayor Sarno’s office, they said: “The Jordan Family would like to thank you for your prayers, kindness and outpouring of support and love during this difficult time.”