Don Cooney

Don Cooney
Democratic Party candidate for Representative of Michigan's 6th Congressional District
Election date November 4, 2008
Kalamazoo City Commissioner
Opponent(s)	Fred Upton (R), Greg Merle (L) Edward Pinkney (Reverend) (G)
Incumbent	Fred Upton
Constituency	Kalamazoo, Michigan
Personal details
Born	March 30, 1937 (1937-03-30) (age 74) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania United States
Spouse(s)	Kathleen Cooney
Children	Nathaniel Cooney
Residence	Kalamazoo, Michigan
Alma mater	Mary Immaculate Seminary (Bachelor of Arts and Master of Divinity), Fordham University (MA}, Bryn Mawr College (Ph.D.)
Occupation	Professor in the School of Social Work at Western Michigan University
Religion	Catholic
Website	http://www.cooneyforcongress.org

Donald F. "Don" Cooney (born March 30, 1937) is a six-term elected Kalamazoo City Commissioner in Kalamazoo, Michigan, United States. He is also a professor at Western Michigan University's School of Social Work and 2008 Democratic nominee for United States Representative of Michigan's 6th congressional district running against Republican Fred Upton.

Background

Cooney is originally from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he was an ordained Priest, Community Organizer and worked with Cesar Chavez's National Farm Workers Association. He also served at a Parish in Brooklyn, New York, before being chosen to be the director of "A Better Chance" House in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, where he helped nine disadvantaged young people win scholarships to some of the best Colleges in America.

Cooney has been an Associate Professor at Western Michigan University's School of Social Work since 1977. While at Western, Cooney lead the South African Anti-Apartheid Movement, convincing Western Michigan University to become the fourth university in the Nation to divest from South Africa. South African divestment by Colleges and Universities throughout the world is recognized as playing a substantial part in helping end apartheid in South Africa. Cooney is also a 25-year member of the American Friends Service Committee's Africa Project.

As a long standing Kalamazoo City Commissioner, Cooney helped establish the Kalamazoo Living Wage Coalition, the Poverty Reduction Initiative, and Kalamazoo Communities in Schools.^[1][2][3]

City Commissioner

Cooney was first elected to the Kalamazoo City Commission in 1997 and has been reelected every two years since, coming in third out of 17 candidates in 2009 (top seven candidates are elected to the Commission). While on the commission, Cooney has sponsored and passed two resolutions in opposition to the War in Iraq and one resolution in opposition to the PATRIOT Act. Cooney serves as Commission liaison to the Commissions and City Boards on Neighborhoods, Community Relations, and Health and Social Services.^[4]

2008 Congressional election

See also: United States House of Representatives elections in Michigan, 2008#District 6

Cooney filed for the August 5, 2008, Democratic primary election for the United States Representative of Michigan's 6th congressional district on May 12, 2008, in which he was unopposed. He faced Republican Fred Upton in the November 4, 2008 general election.

Cooney's campaign largely focused on differences in economic and energy policy with Upton during the campaign, calling for a new, New Deal to rebuild America's human and physical infrastructure. He has also been a vocal critic of the war in Iraq. Cooney has large popularity in Kalamazoo.^{[citation needed]}

References

1. ^ http://www.votesmart.org/bio.php?can_id=76062
2. ^ http://www.cooneyforcongress.com/about.html
3. ^ https://www.wmich.edu/peoplesearch/PeopleSearch.action?lookup=&_sourcePage=%2FpeopleSearch.jsp&search.detailInfo=true&search.displayType=E&search.firstName=Donald&search.directoryType=A&search.lastName=Cooney
4. ^ http://www.kalamazoocity.org/portal/government.php?page_id=115

External links

• Don Cooney for U.S. Congress official campaign website
• Commissioner Don Cooney official City of Kalamazoo website

• Biography, voting record, and interest group ratings at Project Vote Smart
• Campaign finance reports and data at the Federal Election Commission
• Campaign contributions at OpenSecrets.org

Persondata
Name	Cooney, Don
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Short description
Date of birth	March 30, 1937
Place of birth
Date of death
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