Paul Cook (politician)
Paul Cook | |
---|---|
San Bernardino County | |
Assumed office January 10, 2023 | |
Preceded by | Dawn Rowe |
Member of the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors from the 1st district | |
Assumed office December 7, 2020 | |
Preceded by | Robert Lovingood |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California's 8th district | |
In office January 3, 2013 – December 7, 2020 | |
Preceded by | Jerry Lewis |
Succeeded by | Jay Obernolte |
Member of the California State Assembly from the 65th district | |
In office December 4, 2006 – November 30, 2012 | |
Preceded by | Russ Bogh |
Succeeded by | Sharon Quirk-Silva |
Personal details | |
Born | Paul Joseph Cook March 3, 1943 United States of America |
Branch/service | United States Marine Corps |
Years of service | 1966–1992[citation needed] |
Rank | Colonel |
Battles/wars | Vietnam War |
Awards | Bronze Star Purple Heart (2) |
Paul Joseph Cook (born March 3, 1943) is an American politician serving as a San Bernardino County Supervisor since 2020, previously serving as the U.S. representative for California's 8th congressional district from 2013 to 2020. A member of the Republican Party, Cook also served on the Yucca Valley Town Council from 1998 to 2006 and represented the 65th district in the California State Assembly from 2006 to 2012.
In September 2019, Cook announced that he would not run for re-election to Congress in
Early life and education
Cook was born in
After he retired from the Marine Corps in 1992 as a colonel, he earned an
Early career
From 1993 to 1994, he was Director of Yucca Valley Chamber of Commerce. From 1998 to 2002, he was a professor at
California Assembly
Elections
In 2006, Cook ran for California's 65th Assembly District. Cook won a five candidate Republican primary field with 29% of the vote.[6] In the general election, Cook defeated Democrat Rita Ramirez-Dean 60%–37%.[7] In 2008, he won re-election to a second term, defeating Democrat Carl Wood 53%–47%.[8][9] In 2010, he won re-election to a third term, defeating Wood again 58%–42%.[10]
Tenure
The 65th district included the cities of
The California Chamber of Commerce and the California Taxpayers Association gave Cook a perfect 100% rating, 2007–2011.[11] In 2010, Democratic Speaker of the Assembly John Pérez appointed Cook to chair the Veterans Affairs Committee, the first time a Democratic speaker had appointed a Republican to chair a committee since 2002.[12]
Committee assignments
- Accountability and Administrative Review Committee
- Budget Committee
- Emergency Management Committee
- Governmental Organization Committee
- Higher Education Committee
- Inland Empire Transportation Issues Committee
- Master Plan for Higher Education
- Preservation of California's Entertainment Industry Committee
- Sunset Review Committee
- Veterans Affairs Committee (Chair)[13]
- Judiciary Committee
U.S. House of Representatives
2012 campaign
In January 2012, 34-year incumbent
Tenure
In 2013, Cook co-signed a letter to then-president
Early in 2017, Cook voted in favor of
Cook voted in favor of the
Committee assignments
- Committee on Armed Services
- Committee on Foreign Affairs
- Subcommittee on Europe and Eurasia
- Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation, and Trade
- Committee on Veterans' Affairs
Caucus memberships
- Congressional Cement Caucus
- House Baltic Caucus[22]
- Republican Main Street Partnership[23]
- Congressional Western Caucus[24]
Political positions
In the first session of the 115th United States Congress, Cook was ranked the 33rd most bipartisan member of the House by the Bipartisan Index, a metric published by The Lugar Center and Georgetown's McCourt School of Public Policy to assess congressional bipartisanship.[25]
Cook opposes abortion.
Cook supports repealing the Affordable Care Act ("Obamacare"). He supports legislation that "decreases premiums, makes it easier for employers to offer affordable healthcare options for their employees, and allows greater freedom for people to purchase a plan of their choice."[18]
Cook believes that the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) is unconstitutional.[27]
Personal life
Cook resides in Apple Valley, California with his wife, Jeanne.[28]
Electoral history
California State Assembly 65th District Republican Primary Election, 2006 | |||
---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
Republican | Paul Cook | 10,193 | 28.8 |
Republican | Brenda Salas | 8,062 | 22.8 |
Republican | Jim Ayres | 7,870 | 22.1 |
Republican | Robin Lowe | 7,648 | 21.5 |
Republican | Ken Smith | 1,711 | 4.8 |
California State Assembly 65th District Election, 2006 | |||
---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
Republican | Paul Cook | 67,669 | 60.0 |
Democratic | Rita Ramirez-Dean | 41,906 | 37.1 |
Peace and Freedom | John Taleb | 3,358 | 2. |
California State Assembly 65th District Election, 2008 | |||
---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
Republican | Paul Cook (inc.) | 93,566 | 53.3 |
Democratic | Carl Wood | 82,305 | 46.7 |
California State Assembly 65th District Election, 2010 | |||
---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
Republican | Paul Cook (inc.) | 78,475 | 57.9 |
Democratic | Carl Wood | 57,212 | 42.1 |
California's 8th Congressional District Primary Election, 2012 | |||
---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
Republican | Gregg Imus | 12,754 | 15.6 |
Republican | Paul Cook | 12,517 | 15.3 |
Republican | Phil Liberatore | 12,277 | 15.0 |
Democratic | Jackie Conaway | 11,674 | 14.3 |
Republican | Brad Mitzelfelt | 8,801 | 10.8 |
Democratic | John Pinkerton | 7,941 | 9.1 |
Republican | Angela Valles | 4,924 | 6.0 |
Republican | Ryan McEachron | 3,181 | 3.9 |
Independent | Anthony Adams | 2,750 | 3.4 |
Republican | Bill Jensen | 1,850 | 2.3 |
Republican | George Craig | 1,376 | 1.7 |
Republican | Joseph Napolitano | 1,050 | 1.3 |
Republican | Dennis Albertsen | 761 | 0.9 |
California's 8th Congressional District Election, 2012 | |||
---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
Republican | Paul Cook | 103,093 | 57.4 |
Republican | Gregg Imus | 76,551 | 42.6 |
California's 8th Congressional District Primary Election, 2014 | |||
---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
Republican | Paul Cook (inc.) | 40,007 | 58.1 |
Democratic | Bob Conaway | 12,885 | 18.7 |
Republican | Paul Hannosh | 9,037 | 13.1 |
Democratic | Odessia Lee | 6,930 | 10.1 |
California's 8th Congressional District Election, 2014 | |||
---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
Republican | Paul Cook (inc.) | 77,480 | 67.6 |
Democratic | Bob Conaway | 37,056 | 32.4 |
California's 8th Congressional District Primary Election, 2016 | |||
---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
Republican | Paul Cook (inc.) | 50,425 | 42.0 |
Democratic | Rita Ramirez | 26,325 | 21.9 |
Republican | Tim Donnelly | 24,886 | 20.7 |
Democratic | John Pinkerton | 11,780 | 9.8 |
Democratic | Roger La Plante | 6,661 | 5.5 |
References
- ^ Mai-Duc, Christine (September 17, 2019). "California Republican Rep. Paul Cook to retire from Congress, run for county supervisor seat". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 17, 2019.
- ^ Bharath, Deepa (March 4, 2020). "Dawn Rowe, Paul Cook appear to win S.B. County supervisor seats". The San Bernardino Sun. Retrieved May 2, 2020.
- ^ "Biography of Col. Paul Cook (Ret.)". Cook.house.gov. Archived from the original on February 20, 2014. Retrieved October 14, 2013.
- ^ "Paul Cook, R (Calif.-8th)". Roll Call. October 10, 2013. Archived from the original on May 3, 2015. Retrieved October 14, 2013.
- ^ "California, 8th House District". NationalJournal.com. Archived from the original on 2012-11-28. Retrieved 2013-10-14.
- ^ "CA State Assembly 65 – R Primary Race – Jun 06, 2006". Our Campaigns. Retrieved 2013-10-14.
- ^ "CA State Assembly 65 Race – Nov 07, 2006". Our Campaigns. Retrieved 2013-10-14.
- ^ "CA State Assembly 65 Race – Nov 04, 2008". Our Campaigns. Retrieved 2013-10-14.
- ^ York, Anthony. "Legislative results include warning signs for Assembly Republicans". Capitol Weekly. Archived from the original on 2013-10-15. Retrieved 2013-10-14.
- ^ "CA State Assembly 65 Race – Nov 02, 2010". Our Campaigns. Retrieved 2013-10-14.
- ^ "Biography". joinpaulcook.com. Retrieved 3 January 2013.
- ^ "Assemblyman Cook Named Chair Of Assembly Veterans Affairs Committee". Republican.assembly.ca.gov. 2010-03-19. Retrieved 2013-10-14.
- ^ "Paul Cook". Ballotpedia. Retrieved 2013-10-14.
- ^ "CA – District 08 – Open Primary Race – Jun 05, 2012". Our Campaigns. Retrieved 2013-10-14.
- ^ "Join Paul Cook Blog | Thoughts from Colonel Paul Cook". Paul Cook. Retrieved 1 March 2013.
- ^ "CA – District 08 Race – Nov 06, 2012". Our Campaigns. Retrieved 2013-10-14.
- ^ "Congressman Paul Cook Urges President Obama to Allow Keystone Pipeline – High Desert Daily". High Desert Daily. Retrieved 22 December 2017.
- ^ a b Moore, Stacy. "Obamacare repeal gets Paul Cook's vote". Hi-Desert Star. Retrieved 22 December 2017.
- ^ Celentano, Catherine (6 October 2017). "Here's how Inland-area members of Congress voted on abortion limits, federal budgets". Press Enterprise. Retrieved 22 December 2017.
- ^ Almukhtar, Sarah (19 December 2017). "How Each House Member Voted on the Tax Bill". The New York Times. Retrieved 22 December 2017.
- ^ "Rep. Cook Votes for Final Version of Tax Reform Bill". Highland Community News. Retrieved 22 December 2017.
- ^ "Members". House Baltic Caucus. Retrieved 21 February 2018.
- ^ "Members". Republican Mains Street Partnership. Archived from the original on 26 August 2018. Retrieved 2 October 2017.
- ^ "Members". Congressional Western Caucus. Retrieved 27 June 2018.
- ^ "The Lugar Center - McCourt School Bipartisan Index" (PDF). Washington, D.C.: The Lugar Center. April 24, 2018. Retrieved July 9, 2018.
- ^ a b "Paul Cook on the Issues". On The Issues. Retrieved 22 December 2017.
- ^ Johnson, Shea. "Rep. Cook: DACA solution considered only amid broader immigration reforms". vvdailypress.com.
- ^ "Meet Colonel Paul Cook". Paul Cook. Retrieved 6 March 2021.