Jeffery Cohelan (June 24, 1914 – February 15, 1999) was an American politician who served six terms as a

United States representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

from

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

from 1959 to 1971.

Biography

He was born in

San Francisco, California San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

and attended the public schools and

San Mateo Junior College College of San Mateo (CSM) is a public community college in San Mateo, California. It is part of the San Mateo County Community College District. College of San Mateo is located at the northern corridor of Silicon Valley and situated on a 1 ...

. He earned his

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

from the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

Economics Economics () is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics analyzes ...

in 1950. He was a Fulbright research scholar at

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by popula ...

and Oxford Universities in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

in 1953 and 1954. He worked driving a milk truck from 1935, and was the secretary-treasurer (1942–~1958) of the Milk Drivers and Dairy Employees, Local 302,

Alameda An alameda is a Avenue (landscape), street or path lined with trees () and may refer to: Places Canada *Alameda, Saskatchewan, town in Saskatchewan **Grant Devine Dam, formerly ''Alameda Dam'', a dam and reservoir in southern Saskatchewan Chile ...

and Contra Costa Counties. In the 1958 election, he campaigned from a milk truck and was elected to Congress. He was a consultant to the University of California Institute of Industrial Relations. Gale Biography In Context. Cohelan was a member of

Berkeley Berkeley most often refers to: *Berkeley, California, a city in the United States **University of California, Berkeley, a public university in Berkeley, California * George Berkeley (1685–1753), Anglo-Irish philosopher Berkeley may also refer ...

Welfare Commission 1949-1953, the Berkeley City Council 1955-1958, and San Francisco Council on Foreign Relations. He was elected as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

to the Eighty-sixth and to the five succeeding Congresses, from 1959 to 1971. He was known as a

Johnson Johnson is a surname of Anglo-Norman origin meaning "Son of John". It is the second most common in the United States and 154th most common in the world. As a common family name in Scotland, Johnson is occasionally a variation of ''Johnston'', a ...

liberal for his support of progressive programs, but also American involvement in the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...

. In 1966, he faced a tough primary challenge from Ramparts magazine editor

Robert Scheer Robert Scheer (born April 4, 1936) is an American left-wing journalist who has written for '' Ramparts'', the ''Los Angeles Times'', ''Playboy'', ''Hustler Magazine'', ''Truthdig'', Scheerpost' and other publications as well as having written man ...

, who was supported by local activists from the civil-rights and emerging anti-war movement. His previous support for the war helped lead to Cohelan's defeat in the 1970 primary by Berkeley City Councilman Ron Dellums. He was executive director (1970–1979) of a

trade association A trade association, also known as an industry trade group, business association, sector association or industry body, is an organization founded and funded by businesses that operate in a specific industry. An industry trade association partic ...

Health Maintenance Organization In the United States, a health maintenance organization (HMO) is a medical insurance group that provides health services for a fixed annual fee. It is an organization that provides or arranges managed care for health insurance, self-funded heal ...

s, Group Health Association of America. After retirement, he enjoyed cooking and sang in the All Saint's Episcopal Church choir. He resided in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

until his death at home February 15, 1999.

University of Oklahoma , mottoeng = "For the benefit of the Citizen and the State" , type = Public research university , established = , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.7billion (2021) , pr ...

has papers from his congressional office. Gale Biography In Context.

References

External links

Jeffery Cohelan Collection
an
Photograph Collection
at the

Carl Albert Center The Carl Albert Congressional Research and Studies Center is a nonpartisan institution devoted to teaching and research related to the United States Congress and, more broadly, to strengthening representative democracy through engaged and infor ...

*
Jeffery Cohelan Former U.S. Representative from California's 7th District , 1961-1971 (Democrat)
Govtrack {{DEFAULTSORT:Cohelan, Jeffery 1914 births 1999 deaths Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from California Politicians from San Francisco UC Berkeley College of Letters and Science alumni American trade union leaders 20th-century American politicians Activists from California