Tom grew up on Johnson City’s North Side and attended Johnson City Central School District. As a kid, he was proud to work at his family’s grocery store in Binghamton which taught him the value of a dollar and the meaning of hard work at a young age.

A graduate of Broome Community College and SUNY-Utica, Tom was elected to Binghamton City Council representing the City’s South Side in 1984. He was re-elected in 1987.

Having built management, marketing and finance skills working in the private sector for 14 years at Chase-Lincoln First Bank and Johnson City Publishing, Tom earned the chance to bring those abilities to the State Senate upon his election in 1988.

Helping kids here at home has always been one of Tom’s top priorities. In 1989, he founded YES! Safe Choices for Kids to help kids learn about the dangers of drug and alcohol abuse. In 2001, he founded BOOKS (Books Open Opportunities for Kids to Succeed) to encourage kids to become better readers.

As our Senator, Tom has worked on deals to bring and retain thousands of jobs to our area, has secured over $100 million of capital funding for Binghamton University, helped convince the Ottawa Senators to locate its American Hockey League affiliate in Binghamton, bring the PGA Champions Tour’s Dick’s Sporting Goods Open golf tournament to Endicott, and keep the AA-level Binghamton Mets Baseball Club in the Southern Tier.

From 2005 to 2008, Tom Chaired the Transportation Committee which oversees the work of the Department of Transportation, Department of Motor Vehicles and other agencies. In that role, Tom has fought to increase funding for the Consolidated Highway Improvement Program that helps fix our roads and bridges and keep local taxes down. He’s also secured funding to purchase public works equipment to be shared by towns and villages in Broome, Tioga and Chenango Counties.

Senator Libous also served as Chair of the Select Committee on the Disabled where he fought to protect and improve services for vulnerable New Yorkers by creating the Traumatic Brain Injury Program, fighting for Mental Health Support and Workforce Reinvestment, authoring legislation giving Tax Credits to those who hire persons with disabilities, adopting Reasonable Accomodations as part of State law, and sponsoring the bill that created “Kendra’s Law”.

In 2008, he was named the Deputy Leader for the Republican Conference.

He also serves on the the eleven-Member N.Y.S. Commission on State Asset Maximization that will issue its Final Report by mid-April 2009.

Tom lives in Binghamton with his wife, Fran, who serves as a Member of the Workers Compensation Board. The couple has two grown sons, Matt and Nick.