John F. Cook (born February 27, 1946) is an American businessman, veteran, civic leader, and member of the Paso Del Norte Group. Cook was Mayor of

El Paso, Texas El Paso (; "the pass") is a city in and the county seat, seat of El Paso County, Texas, El Paso County in the western corner of the U.S. state of Texas. The 2020 population of the city from the United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau w ...

for two terms from 2005 to 2013. Due to the City Charter's term limits clause Cook was not eligible for a third term in 2013.

Life and career

Cook graduated from New York City's Immaculata High School in 1964. He attended the

University of Texas at El Paso The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) is a public research university in El Paso, Texas. It is a member of the University of Texas System. UTEP is the second-largest university in the United States to have a majority Mexican American stud ...

and earned a degree in business in 1977. In 1970, Cook married his wife Tram Cook, with whom he has six children, nine grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. Cook has lived for most of his life in Northeast El Paso, where his family has owned and operated several businesses. He served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

from 1967 to 1970, seeing service as a special agent in military intelligence. He served as the City Council Representative of the 4th District of El Paso from 1999 to June 2005 prior to being elected Mayor. He has been deeply involved in El Paso's community affairs, as a businessman, a teacher, coach, founder and member of the board of many civic and veterans' organizations. Since becoming Mayor of El Paso, Cook has overseen the adoption of the Paso Del Norte Group's Downtown Redevelopment Plan. The mayor and two city representatives were the subject of a failed recall petition in 2012. The petitions were accepted by the City Clerk, affirmed by Judge Alvarez, but overturned by the Eight Court of Appeals. The Court of Appeals declared the petitions illegal. Cook sued to recover attorney fees to stop the recall, which were estimated to be between $500,000 and $1 million. Cook was one of 25 nominees in 2012 for the world-wide

City Mayors Foundation The City Mayors Foundation, also known as City Mayors, is an international think tank dedicated to urban affairs. It has been active since 2003 and runs the biennial World Mayor award, as well as providing pro bono consultancy services. Unlike Eu ...

prize, given to the "best mayor in the world". The then Attorney General of Texas,

Greg Abbott Gregory Wayne Abbott (born November 13, 1957) is an American politician, attorney, and former jurist serving as the 48th governor of Texas since 2015. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the 50th attorney general of Texas from 2002 ...

, wrote an opinion that cities, schools and counties in Texas, such as the city of El Paso broke the law in offering domestic benefits to same sex partners. Cook's tie-breaking vote to restore the domestic health benefits, after voters overturned it, was a chief cause of the failed recall attempt. Cook was the unsuccessful Democratic nominee for Texas Land Commissioner in 2014. He was defeated by Republican

George P. Bush George Prescott Bush (born April 24, 1976) is an American politician and attorney who served as the commissioner of the Texas General Land Office from 2015 to 2023. A member of the Republican Party, Bush unsuccessfully campaigned for the party's ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cook, John People from Brooklyn Mayors of El Paso, Texas Living people 1946 births University of Texas at El Paso alumni Texas Democrats

Life and career

See also

References

External links