Name: Tom Cooke
Age: 38
Party Affiliation: Democrat
Area Serving: District 19
Occupation: Cooke is currently a full-time candidate, though until recently, he was the Chairman of the Board for the United Spinal Association (www.unitedspinal.org.).
Money raised thus far: Private: $20,030 Public: 42,410
Why did you decide to run for City Council? “I caught the political bug when Howard Dean was running for president in 2004,” Cooke said. Paralyzed in a non-combat injury during his time serving the U.S. Army, “I had to face life and death decisions and I had to face perspectives – and it gave me a deeper understanding of what I wanted to do with my life.” He believes that “We have an opportunity in
What are two major issues affecting your community? The two issues, Cooke states, are “overdevelopment and the economic downturn.” Overdevelopment has been going on “for a good 10 or15 years,” he said, with a “battle between the homeowners and developers,” one that the former doesn’t necessary know they’re in. The economy is a major issue because of the current unemployment rates.
What’s the first thing you would focus on if elected? “We’ve had a lot of zoning changes over the past 10 years that are welcome in our district,” he said. However, “Zoning is only as good as enforcement. We don’t have enough inspectors who can stop out-of-code construction.” Cooke’s reform plan would include changing the penalties. “I would impose substantial penalties on people building out of code and use the revenue from the fines imposed on the developers to stay within the Department of Buildings to pay for extra inspectors.”
