John Richard McCoy (born October 29, 1943) ( Tulalip Tribes of Washington) is an American politician of the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

based in

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

state. In 2013, he was appointed to the

State Senate A state legislature in the United States is the legislative body of any of the 50 U.S. states. The formal name varies from state to state. In 27 states, the legislature is simply called the ''Legislature'' or the ''State Legislature'', whil ...

to fill a vacancy and represents the 38th Legislative District. He previously served more than 10 years in the

Washington House of Representatives The Washington House of Representatives is the lower house of the Washington State Legislature, and along with the Washington State Senate makes up the legislature of the U.S. state of Washington. It is composed of 98 Representatives from 49 ...

(2003-2013). McCoy is the only self-identified Native American in the state senate. In 2013, along with Jeff Morris (

Tsimshian The Tsimshian (; tsi, Ts’msyan or Tsm'syen) are an Indigenous people of the Pacific Northwest Coast. Their communities are mostly in coastal British Columbia in Terrace and Prince Rupert, and Metlakatla, Alaska on Annette Island, the only ...

), he was one of the two Native Americans in the state legislature.

Early life

McCoy was born into a

Tulalip The Tulalip Tribes of Washington (, lut, dxʷlilap), formerly known as the Tulalip Tribes of the Tulalip Reservation, is a federally recognized tribe of Duwamish, Snohomish, Snoqualmie, Skagit, Suiattle, Samish, and Stillaguamish people. ...

Tribes family on the reservation. He attended local schools. He spent 20 years in the Air Force before retiring in 1981. He then became a computer technician at the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest, Washington, D.C., NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. preside ...

, before leaving to start a career in the private sector. He would later become active in tribal affairs. He served as general manager of Quil Ceda Village,Richard Walker, "7 Questions with John McCoy, Washington State Representative"
''Indian Country Today,'' 16 January 2013; accessed 22 September 2016 the tribe's new municipality established in 2001. It included a gaming casino and business park. In 2005 the tribe also opened a 125-store retail outlet, all part of its efforts to diversify the tribe's economy and provide new jobs.

Political career

McCoy had joined the

and become active. In 2002 he ran for office as state representative and won. He served from 2003–2013, being re-elected several times. In his fifth term in the state legislature, McCoy gained passage of a bill to establish a procedure "for the state to cede jurisdiction over criminal and civil matters on tribal lands to federal and tribal governments." In 2013 he was chairman of the Community Development, Housing and Tribal Affairs Committee; vice chairman of the Environment Committee; and member of the Education Committee. McCoy has also served as chairman of the executive committee of the National Caucus of Native American State Legislators; there are 79 Native legislators in 18 states. On November 27, 2013, the Snohomish County Council selected McCoy to fill the vacancy left when Senator Nick Harper resigned. McCoy was the leading vote-getter of the Democratic Precinct Committee Officers in Washington's 38th Legislative District. He retired from the State Senate on April 17, 2020, citing concerns about his health, and will be replaced by an appointee until a special election is held in November 2020.

Awards and honors

McCoy received the 2009 Fuse "Sizzle" Award. He was honored with the 'Strong Man Award' for defending a citizens' clean energy initiative - Initiative-937 - from major rollbacks. He brought two sides of the legislature together on the issue to reach a workable compromise.Fuse "Mother Jones" Award

References

External links

Washington State Legislature - Rep. John McCoy
official WA House website
Project Vote Smart - Representative John McCoy (WA) profile
Vote Smart * ''Follow the Money'' - John McCoy *
2006200420022000
campaign contributions {{DEFAULTSORT:Mccoy, John 1943 births Living people 21st-century American politicians Democratic Party members of the Washington House of Representatives Native American state legislators in Washington (state) People from Snohomish County, Washington Tulalip Tribes Democratic Party Washington (state) state senators