Mark B. Cohen
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Mark B. Cohen | |
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Judge of the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas | |
Assumed office January 2, 2018 | |
Member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from the 202nd district | |
In office June 10, 1974 – November 30, 2016 | |
Preceded by | Eugene Gelfand |
Succeeded by | Jared Solomon |
Democratic Whip of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives | |
In office January 5, 1993 – November 30, 1994 | |
Preceded by | Ivan Itkin |
Succeeded by | Ivan Itkin |
Personal details | |
Born | attorney | June 4, 1949
Mark B. Cohen (born June 4, 1949) is a Democratic politician from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He represented District 202 in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from June 10, 1974, until his defeat for reelection in the Democratic primary in 2016.
In 2017, Cohen ran for judge and won in both the primary and general election. On January 2, 2018, Cohen was sworn in for a 10-year term as a judge on the court of common pleas in Philadelphia.
Early life and education
He was born in New York City, the oldest child of Florence and David Cohen.
Cohen attended
Cohen enrolled at the University of Pennsylvania, where he served as a features writer for The Daily Pennsylvanian and an officer of the Penn affiliate of the College Democrats of America.[2] Cohen graduated in 1970 with a degree in political science.
Cohen earned a law degree from the
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Original election
Cohen was elected to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in a
Early years in the House, 1974-1988
Cohen sponsored legislation to enable an American citizen who was a
Cohen was later appointed Secretary of the State Government Committee and as Chairman of the
To deal with plant closings, Cohen introduced state legislation similar to the federal
In 1983, Cohen became chairman of the House Labor Relations Committee, a position he held until 1990; during his tenure, he focused on increasing the minimum wage and protecting worker's compensation benefits. His efforts to raise Pennsylvania's minimum wage in accordance with rises in
Cohen introduced House Resolution 313 on June 11, 1986, which established the Select Committee to Study the Feasibility of a Harrisburg Law School. After this resolution was approved by a 98 to 97 margin on June 18, 1986,
Middle years in the House, 1988-2002
In 1990, Cohen was elected Democratic Caucus Chair, a position in which he served until 1992. He served as Majority Whip from 1993 to 1994 before returning to the position of Caucus Chair in 1995. He would serve as Caucus Chair until 2010.[22]
Cohen introduced House Resolution 323 on April 25, 1990
Later years in the House and defeat
In 2008, he expanded the
In 2009, Cohen introduced a bill to legalize medical marijuana in Pennsylvania, saying that he believes it is time to get rid of a decades-old negative image surrounding marijuana and replace it with "a new, honest image."[26] Hearings on the bill were held, but the bill did not attain enough support for the Health and Human Services Committee to call up the bill for a vote.[27] Despite the lack of public hearings in 2011, Cohen's medical marijuana bill continued to gain public support.[28] In 2016, legislation similar to Cohen's became law.
Cohen worked to see that human services programs were adequately funded in a period of budget cutting.[29] He actively participated in the Department of Public Welfare's Appropriations Committee Budget Hearing.[30]
In 2012, Democratic Leader Frank Dermody and House Speaker Samuel H. Smith announced Cohen's appointment for the 2013-2014 legislative session as Democratic Chairman of the Pennsylvania House State Government Committee.
In 2016, Cohen lost the Democratic primary for his House seat to Jared Solomon, a community organizer. Solomon had challenged Cohen in 2014, coming within 158 votes of unseating him. Cohen's alleged misuse of the per diem system had become increasingly controversial in Philadelphia, and Solomon used the issue to attack him.[31] The 2016 rematch between Solomon and Cohen was notably acrid. One article suggested that Cohen's operatives had stolen Solomon's garbage in order to find embarrassing information.[32] Cohen sued Solomon for libel over a flier that suggested that Cohen had "bought a second home in Harrisburg and billed us $30,000 for it," though Solomon argued that the allegation was truthful.[33] Notably, Representative Brian Sims, who served on the State Government Committee with Cohen, endorsed Solomon, writing, "I don’t hate Mark Cohen but his behavior in the Capitol has been one of the most shocking surprises of my time there. Virtually every single person in the Capital has a story about Mark being lost in a bathroom or arguing with the plants or with the pictures on the wall."[34] Cohen responded that he had "a nearly 100% attendance record on the House floor."[34] Cohen lost the election by a large margin, receiving 43 percent of the vote to nearly 57 percent for Solomon.[35]
Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas
In 2018, Cohen returned to elected office with his election to the
Political positions
Public health
Cohen supported the legislative efforts to greatly reduce public exposure to
He was a sponsor and part-author of a chemical
He was a force in the House behind Pennsylvania's
To protect the health and safety of Pennsylvania public sector workers under the jurisdiction of the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration, he introduced a proposed law creating a state-run OSHA system for state and local governmental employees.[43]
Education reform
A backer of the establishment of
Civil rights
Cohen was the first House member to introduce legislation to seek
He supported the inclusion of
Voting
He supports the rights of all citizens to vote, with or without government-issued photo identification.[47]
He vocally criticized the proposed replacement of the winner-take-all allocation system for Pennsylvania's
Other positions
In recent years, Cohen has brought pending state-level national issues to the Pennsylvania House, introducing bills establishing Pennsylvania's membership in the
Cohen opposes the castle doctrine, which allows citizens a broader legal defense for shooting others on their own property or their own workplace.[50]
National involvement
Cohen was an unsuccessful candidate for the Democratic nomination for the seat in the
Criticism
Cohen has faced a large amount of criticism for his use of government perks. Journalist John Baer dubbed him the "king of perks" for his use of per diems. In 1990, it was reported that Cohen used as much as $100,000 in per diems, including $11,000 for airline tickets, over a year and a half. Likewise, in 2004-05, he billed the state of Pennsylvania $28,200 for books. His use of per diems was used to attack him during the 2016 campaign that resulted in his losing his seat.[31][55] The Pennsylvania Judicial conduct board filed a complaint against Cohen in the Pennsylvania Court of Judicial discipline for statements that Cohen made on his personal Facebook page.[56]
Personal life
He and his wife Mona, a Philadelphia
Awards and recognition received
Cohen was one of only two incumbent PA House members that the Southeastern Pennsylvania Chapter of Americans for Democratic Action on October 30, 2012 said "we strongly urge" voters to support.[58]
He received an "Outstanding Service Award" from his legal alma mater,
He received an award from the Pennsylvania National Guard Associations in 1991, for drafting legislation providing benefits to reservists called to active duty in the Gulf and elsewhere.[60]
References
- The King Center website, digital archive "Letter from Mark Cohen to MLK," http://www.thekingcenter.org/archive/document/letter-mark-cohen-mlk Archived August 11, 2018, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ The Daily Pennsylvanian, September, 1967 through May, 1968
- ^ ["Lawmakers Become Law Students: 4 Graduated From Law School and Cowell is Close to Finishing Up at Widener in Harrisburg], Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, December 2, 1993, Page E-5
- ^ The Pennsylvania Manual. Volume 119. pp. 3–118
- ^ Martindale-Hubble Law Directory
- ^ Cox, Harold (November 3, 2004). "Pennsylvania House of Representatives - 1973-1974" (PDF). Wilkes University Election Statistics Project. Wilkes University.
- Observer-Reporter, March 14, 1974.
- ^ Act 273 of 1976, http://www.palrb.us/pamphletlaws/19001999/1976/0/act/0273.pdf
- Master of Public Health (MPH), Chair, "Report of the Council on Medical Education, Report on the 5th Pathway, CME Report 1-I-07 (2007), page two "The maximum number of 5th Pathway graduates (nationally) was 558 in 1979–1980. The number of 5th Pathway dwindled during the latter part of the 1980s and 1990s so that four programs survived in 1991-1992. http://www.ama-assn.org/ama1/pub/upload/mm/377/cmerept1.pdf
- ^ Pennsylvania Manual, 1976
- ^ William Schweke: Plant Closings: issues, politics, and legislation (1980)
- Philadelphia Inquirer, August 8, 1988, http://articles.philly.com/1988-08-08/business/26257127_1_plant-closing-law-closings-or-layoffs-plant-closings
- Philadelphia Inquirer, July 14, 1988, http://articles.philly.com/1988-07-14/news/26234543_1_plant-closing-bill-trade-bill-foreign-trade-practices
- ^ Pennsylvania Act 150 of 1988.
- ^ Pennsylvania Act 70 of 1990.
- ^ Philadelphia Unemployment Project, "Lessons from the Minimum Wage Campaign in Pennsylvania," (2006), http://www.philaup.org/campaigns/MW_Lessons.html
- ^ Cheryl Wenner, " Legislator Urges Faster Workmen's Compensation," Allentown The Morning Call, April 7, 1986, http://articles.mcall.com/1986-04-07/news/2531158_1_compensation-system-referee-legislator
- ^ "For Equitable Compensation," Letter to the Editor, Allentown The Morning Call, Clifford L. Jones, President, Pennsylvania Chamber of Commerce, April 25, 1986, http://articles.mcall.com/1986-04-25/news/2528336_1_job-related-injuries-injuries-and-illnesses
- ^ Pennsylvania Act 159 of 1984
- ^ Legislative Journal-House, page 1427, http://www.legis.state.pa.us/WU01/LI/HJ/1986/0/19860618.pdf
- ^ Legislative Journal-House (1986), pages 1426–1427, http://www.legis.state.pa.us/WU01/LI/HJ/1986/0/19860618.pdf
- ^ Center, Legislativate Data Processing. "MARK B. COHEN". The official website for the Pennsylvania General Assembly. Retrieved August 11, 2018.
- ^ page 790, Legislative Journal-House (1990), http://www.legis.state.pa.us/WU01/LI/HJ/1990/0/19900425.pdf
- ^ Legislative Journal-House (1990), page 1072, in the form of a letter from O'Donnell to Cohen, http://www.legis.state.pa.us/WU01/LI/HJ/1990/0/19900618.pdf
- ^ "Cohen measure aiding local police departments signed into law," October 15, 2008, pahouse.com, http://www.pahouse.com/pr/202101508.asp
- ^ Barnes, Tom (April 29, 2009). "State to consider medical marijuana use". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved May 22, 2017.
- ^ "Feature: Medical Marijuana Gets Historic First House Hearing in Pennsylvania - StoptheDrugWar.org". stopthedrugwar.org. Retrieved January 5, 2018.
- ^ Christopher Moraff, The Philly Post, "PA Republicans Are Wrong on Medical Marijuana. Two bills sit in Harrisburg limbo as thousands of patients suffer," August 25, 2011, http://blogs.phillymag.com/the_philly_post/2011/08/25/state-gop-wrong-medical-marijuana/
- ^ State Representative Mark B. Cohen, Human Services Update 2011(July 1, 2011) "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on September 1, 2012. Retrieved October 11, 2011.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ Kimberly Hess, "House Appropriations Budget Hearings DPW," PLS Committee News, House Appropriations, March 30, 2011, http://www.ctbpls.com/htbin/web_crnews?11RHAC=HAC110330.P13011R (subscription required) Cohen's questions and the answers he received were covered on page 2, DiGirolamo's on page 4. This report is also found on the website of SEIU Local 668, under Legislation and Politics/Committee Hearings
- ^ a b "Rep. Mark Cohen hit on per diems". Philly.com. Retrieved August 11, 2018.
- ^ "Clout: Talking trash with State Rep. Mark Cohen". Philly.com. Retrieved August 11, 2018.
- ^ "Philly Politicians to Battle It Out in Rare Libel Suit". Philadelphia Magazine. March 31, 2016. Retrieved August 11, 2018.
- ^ a b "Brian Sims Accuses Rep. Mark Cohen of "Arguing with Plants" [Updated] – Philadelphia Magazine". Philadelphia Magazine. February 25, 2014. Retrieved August 11, 2018.
- ^ "Brian Sims Hangs On; Tonyelle Cook-Artis and Mark Cohen Get Booted". Philadelphia Magazine. April 27, 2016. Retrieved August 11, 2018.
- ^ "PA Rep-turned-judge candidate Mark B. Cohen says he's a 'change agent'". City & State PA. May 17, 2017. Retrieved August 11, 2018.
- ^ The Pennsylvania Restaurant Association has questions and answers about the enacted smoking ban at Pennsylvania Smoking Ban FAQ's, [1]
- ^ William DeSoto, The Politics of Business Organizations: Understanding the Role of State Chambers of Commerce (1995)
- ^ "Labeling Bill on Toxics OK'd by Thornburgh," Philadelphia Inquirer, October 6, 1984.
- Philadelphia Inquirer, September 27, 1983
- ^ "Dispute in Senate Stalls Organ Donor Bill," Allentown Morning Call, April 21, 1994; "Races End of Session Organ Donor Bill Passed," Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, November 23, 1994
- ^ "1997.12.15: Clinton Administration Launches National Organ and Tissue Donation Initiative". Archived from the original on October 15, 2011. Retrieved August 17, 2011.
- ^ Kathy Sheehan, "A Rift of Statuesque Proportions to Septa's Chief's Critics; 'No Opinion' Isn't A Safe Stance," Philadelphia Daily News, May 12, 1987, http://articles.philly.com/1987-05-12/news/26165313_1_lewis-f-gould-septa-pcbs
- Philadelphia Tribune, July 28, 2011, "Archived copy". Archived from the original on October 9, 2011. Retrieved July 29, 2011.)
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link - ^ "State Rep. Mark Cohen sees possibility of civil unions in Pa". Erie County Democratic Party. Retrieved May 22, 2017.
- ^ Paul Weyrich, "Hate speech laws: A new cross for Christians to bear," March 7, 2005, http://www.enterstageright.com/archive/articles/0305/0305hatespeech.htm
- ^ "Philly Dems Say No to Voter ID," The Public Record (newspaper), April 12, 2010, page 5
- ^ Danielle Lynch, "Protestors deliver election message to Pileggi," Delaware County Times, September 20, 2011, http://www.delcotimes.com/articles/2011/09/20/news/doc4e785eeee40b6489173015.txt & "On the Hill, Rep. Cohen: Electoral Change 'Illegal' The Public Record," September 29, 2011, page 23
- ^ "State Rep Mark Cohen:For Pot Smoking, Against Cigarette Smoking," http://pawatercooler.com/v3/?p=17104
- ^ "The Fight for Self-Defense," PA Gun Rights.com, http://www.pagunrights.com/2010/10/the-fight-for-self-defense/
- ^ Louis Sandy Maisel, From Obscurity to Oblivion: Running in the Congressional Primary (First Editition,1982).
- ^ "Democrat Cohen Joins Race in the 13th District," Philadelphia Inquirer, August 21, 2003, page B9
- ^ Robert Fiato, In a State of Flux: State Lawmakers, Legislative Professionalism, and Congressional Candidacies, All Academic Research (2008), page 53
- ^ Chris Brennan, Philadelphia Daily News, "Political judo: Marjorie Margolies turns weakness to strength," May 31, 2013
- ^ "Here comes the judge - Mark Cohen, in 2nd taxpayer-funded career | Stu Bykofsky". Philly.com. Retrieved August 11, 2018.
- ^ In re: Judge Mark B. Cohen Court of Common Pleas 1st Judicial Dist. Philadelphia Cnty. (Court case).
{{cite book}}
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ignored (help) - ^ KYW (AM) 1060, said on April 8, 2011 that "The Autism Expo was created by Howe Elementary School teacher Mona Cohen, and it became so popular over the years that the school district wanted to expand its offerings to all parents."
- ^ Memo from Glenavie Norton, Chair, October 30, 2012, http://phillyada.org/
- ^ "2004 Alumni Awards,"
- ^ "National Guard Leader to Speak at L.V. Dinner," The Morning Call, April 18, 1991, http://articles.mcall.com/1991-04-18/news/2803561_1_guard-units-pennsylvania-national-guard-associations-saudi-arabia http://articles.philly.com/1990-11-09/news/25926575_1_hunters-claim-harvest-deer-control-animal-population
External links
- Mark B. Cohen at the Pennsylvania House of Representatives
- Rep. Mark B. Cohen at the Pennsylvania House Democratic Caucus