Jim Cooper Announces Plans to Run for Assembly

Elk Grove City Councilmember Jim Cooper has announced plans to run for a seat in the State Assembly in 2014. 

In January, Cooper filed papers to start a campaign committee, but had not officially announced his plans, until today. 

Cooper was elected to the Elk Grove City Council in 2000 when Elk Grove became a city. Cooper is also a captain in the Sacramento County Sheriff's Department, and run unsuccessfully for sheriff in 2010.

Read the full announcement below:

After years of service with the Sacramento Sheriff's Department, as Elk Grove's founding Mayor, and most recently as an Elk Grove City Councilmember, Jim Cooper has decided to run for the Democratic nomination in the open 9^th State Assembly District. That seat is expected to be vacated in 2014 by Assemblymember Richard Pan, who is running for State Senate.

Cooper is uniquely qualified to represent the needs of voters across the district, which runs south from the Meadowview and Pocket neighborhoods of Sacramento, to include Elk Grove, Galt, Lodi and rural southern Sacramento and northern San Joaquin counties.

Cooper is a 29-year frontline law enforcement officer, highly decorated for fighting gang violence, drug use, and child pornography.

As founding Mayor and current Councilmember of the city of Elk Grove, he has been elected and re-elected for the past 13 years in a community that represents over 35% of the district's voters.

Cooper’s local government experience in one of California's fastest growing cities gives him a thorough understanding of what it takes to run a city and balance a budget under the toughest circumstances, and how the decisions made in the Legislature tangibly impact local governments and families throughout the district.

As a lifetime member of the California Narcotics Officers Association, Cooper is well-regarded for his youth drug prevention teaching curriculum and has taught Criminal Justice at local community colleges and universities.

Cooper’s history of community involvement and professional accomplishment has earned him the endorsement of the Sacramento Deputy Sheriffs Association, Sacramento County Supervisor Jimmie Yee, and Elk Grove Mayor Gary Davis.

For more information, go to www.CooperforAssembly.com.

What do you think? Would Jim Cooper make a good Assembly member? Tell us in the comments below.

Sign up for the free Elk Grove Patch newsletter | Like Elk Grove Patch on Facebook | Follow @ElkGrovePatch on Twitter | Blog for Elk Grove Patch