Ken Cooley

Ken William Cooley (born March 18, 1953) is an American politician, who served in the California State Assembly. He is a Democrat and represented California's 8th Assembly District, which encompasses most of eastern Sacramento County, including the cities of Carmichael and Citrus Heights. Following the 2020 Census, Cooley ran for a sixth term in the 7th Assembly District during the 2022 November Elections but lost to Republican Josh Hoover.

Ken Cooley
Member of the California State Assembly from the 8th district
In office December 3, 2012 – December 3, 2022
Preceded by	Mariko Yamada
Succeeded by	Josh Hoover
Member of the Rancho Cordova City Council
In office November 5, 2002 – December 3, 2012
Preceded by	position established (city incorporation)
Succeeded by	Donald Terry
Mayor of Rancho Cordova, California
In office 2005–2006
Preceded by	Linda Budge
Succeeded by	Robert J. McGarvey
In office 2010–2011
Preceded by	Dan Skoglund
Succeeded by	Robert J. McGarvey
Personal details
Born	(1953-03-18) March 18, 1953 (age 72)[1] Berkeley, California, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Residence(s)	Rancho Cordova, California, U.S.
Alma mater	University of California, Berkeley (BA) McGeorge School of Law (JD)
Profession	lawyer

Prior to being elected to the Assembly in 2012, he was a mayor and City Councilmember in Rancho Cordova.

Biography

Born in Berkeley and raised in San Lorenzo, Hayward, and San Jose, Cooley graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1977 and the McGeorge School of Law at the University of the Pacific in 1984.^[2]

From 1977 to 1985, Cooley was chief of staff to state Assemblyman Lou Papan. From 1985 to 1988, Cooley was legislative counsel at the California Land Title Association. In 1988, Cooley returned to the California State Assembly to be chief counsel to the Finance and Insurance Committee. Cooley was legal counsel to State Farm Insurance from 1991 to 2008.^[3]

In 2002, Cooley was elected to the Rancho Cordova City Council. In 2005, he became Mayor.

2014 California State Assembly

See also: California State Assembly elections, 2014

California's 8th State Assembly district election, 2014

Primary election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Ken Cooley (incumbent)	35,294	51.8
	Republican	Douglas Haaland	28,049	41.1
	Libertarian	Janice Marlae Bonser	4,830	7.1
Total votes			68,173	100.0
General election
	Democratic	Ken Cooley (incumbent)	62,892	56.7
	Republican	Douglas Haaland	48,057	43.3
Total votes			110,949	100.0
	Democratic hold

2016 California State Assembly

See also: California State Assembly election, 2016

California's 8th State Assembly district election, 2016

Primary election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Ken Cooley (incumbent)	61,704	58.3
	Republican	Nick Bloise	36,630	34.6
	Libertarian	Janice Marlae Bonser	7,588	7.2
Total votes			105,922	100.0
General election
	Democratic	Ken Cooley (incumbent)	104,552	57.0
	Republican	Nick Bloise	78,848	43.0
Total votes			183,400	100.0
	Democratic hold

2018 California State Assembly

See also: California State Assembly election, 2018

California's 8th State Assembly district election, 2018

Primary election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Ken Cooley (incumbent)	53,490	53.9
	Republican	Melinda Avey	40,792	41.1
	Libertarian	Janice Marlae Bonser	3,017	3.0
	No party preference	Lawrence Ray Murray	2,025	2.0
Total votes			99,324	100.0
General election
	Democratic	Ken Cooley (incumbent)	95,450	55.8
	Republican	Melinda Avey	75,742	44.2
Total votes			171,192	100.0
	Democratic hold

2020 California State Assembly

2020 California's 8th State Assembly district election

Primary election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Ken Cooley (incumbent)	39,321	54.1%
	Republican	Cathy Cook	33,405	45.9%
Total votes