| Assemblyman Ken Cooley was first elected to the California State Assembly in November 2012. He serves as the Chair of the Assembly Committee on Rules and as the Chair of the Joint Rules Committee. He started his elective public service career on Rancho Cordova's first City Council upon its formation in 2002. He was re-elected in 2004 and 2008. He also served as mayor in 2005 and again in 2010 when his city was recognized as an All-America City.
Rancho Cordova's incorporation as a city helped turn the community around. It allowed the city to focus on reducing crime and creating local jobs after Mather Air Force Base's 1996 closure. 18 years of cityhood have established a vibrant community. While he served on the Council, an estimated 10,000 new jobs were added. One million square feet of new commercial buildings were built.
Ken's commitment to fiscal conservatism, refined over an 18-year private sector career with State Farm Insurance, helped Rancho Cordova to thrive despite the economic recession. He has experience balancing a government budget yearly and maintaining surpluses each year as a local elected official. Rancho Cordova has grown into Sacramento County's number two job center and the city now includes a wide array of jobs that span professional, business and construction services.
Since being elected into the California State Assembly, Ken has worked hard to accomplish several successes for his district. He secured the inclusion of hiring credits for Local Agency Military Base Recovery Areas (LAMBRAs), protecting hiring tools for businesses on our local bases, McClellan and Mather. Ken's efforts in 2013 helped speed 600 jobs to the Sacramento Region by managing legislation in the Assembly to get Covered CA up and running.
He advocated for the return of $8 million in redevelopment dollars on behalf of the City of Citrus Heights with the Department of Finance and the Governor's office. In addition to creating jobs in his district, and the greater Sacramento area, Ken has focused his attention on important state issues such as regulatory reform. He has fought to save our State's mobile field hospitals and has been a leader in child abuse prevention and foster care issues.
In the State Assembly, Ken has distinguished himself as a collaborative leader. He wrote the Legislature's Oversight Handbook, the tool for all Legislators to perform their essential duty of Government Oversight.
As the Chair of the Joint Rules Committee he is spearheading the effort to rebuild California's aging State Capitol Annex, which was originally constructed in 1952 and is one of the most visited buildings in California. The re-building of the Annex will create thousands of jobs and help jumpstart our local economies.
In his fifth term, Ken continues as the Chair of the Assembly Rules Committee, Chair of the Select Committee on Foster Care, and serves on the Select Committee for Local Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness. He is also a member of the Committees on Governmental Organization, Insurance, Public Employees, Retirement, and serves on the Alfred E. Alquist Seismic Safety Commission as well as the Lieutenant Governor's California Commission of Economic Development.
Ken and his wife Sydney have been married for 45 years and have lived in Rancho Cordova since 1977. It is where their sons were born, where they grew up in local schools, sports and Scouting and raise their families.
Assemblyman Ken Cooley represents Assembly District 8 which includes the communities of Arden-Arcade, Carmichael, Citrus Heights, Herald, Rancho Cordova, Rancho Murieta, Rosemont, Wilton and other portions of unincorporated Sacramento County. |