Michael L. "Mike" Cohen (born July 19, 1949) was a
Democratic member of the
New York State Assembly
The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature, with the New York State Senate being the upper house. There are 150 seats in the Assembly. Assembly members serve two-year terms without term limits.
The Assem ...
, representing the 28th Assembly District in
Queens County, New York
Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long I ...
.
A former
New York City Transit
The New York City Transit Authority (also known as NYCTA, the TA, or simply Transit, and branded as MTA New York City Transit) is a New York state public-benefit corporations, public-benefit corporation in the U.S. state of New York (state), New ...
worker, Cohen was involved in with the transit unions and was elected to the local community board. In 1999 he began his first term in the State Assembly. He resigned from the Assembly effective March 14, 2005. The seat was filled in a
special election
A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-larges ...
won by
Andrew Hevesi, the son of former New York State Comptroller
Alan Hevesi
Alan G. Hevesi (born January 31, 1940) is a former American politician and convicted felon who served as a New York State Assemblyman from 1971 to 1993, as New York City Comptroller from 1994 to 2001, and as New York State Comptroller from 2003 t ...
.
In April 2009, then New York State Attorney General
Andrew Cuomo
Andrew Mark Cuomo ( ; ; born December 6, 1957) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 56th governor of New York from 2011 to 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, he was elected to the same position that his father, Mario Cuo ...
charged
New York Liberal Party
The Liberal Party of New York is a political party in New York. Its platform supports a standard set of socially liberal policies, including abortion rights, increased spending on education, and universal health care.
History
The Liberal Party w ...
leader Raymond Harding with accepting more than $800,000 in exchange for political favors for Alan Hevesi. Harding was also accused of helping arrange a $150,000-a-year position for Cohen with th
Health Insurance Plan of New York (HIP) in order to clear the Assembly seat for a run by Hevesi's son. Neither Cohen nor Hevesi were charged with any wrongdoing.
Cohen ran for
New York City Council
The New York City Council is the lawmaking body of New York City. It has 51 members from 51 council districts throughout the five Borough (New York City), boroughs.
The council serves as a check against the Mayor of New York City, mayor in a may ...
in 2009, seeking to represent City Council District 29 which includes the Queens neighborhoods of
Forest Hills,
Rego Park
Rego Park is a neighborhood in the borough of Queens in New York City. Rego Park is bordered to the north by Elmhurst and Corona, to the east and south by Forest Hills, and to the west by Middle Village. Rego Park's boundaries include Queens ...
, and
Kew Gardens
Kew Gardens is a botanical garden, botanic garden in southwest London that houses the "largest and most diverse botany, botanical and mycology, mycological collections in the world". Founded in 1840, from the exotic garden at Kew Park, its li ...
. He lost the September 2009 Democratic
primary election
Primary elections, or direct primary are a voting process by which voters can indicate their preference for their party's candidate, or a candidate in general, in an upcoming general election, local election, or by-election. Depending on the ...
to
Karen Koslowitz, who went on to win the November 2009
general election
A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...
.
Election results
State Assembly
* November 1998
general election
A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...
, NYS Assembly, 28th AD
:
* November 2000
general election
A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...
, NYS Assembly, 28th AD
:
* November 2002
general election
A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...
, NYS Assembly, 28th AD
:
* November 2004
general election
A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...
, NYS Assembly, 28th AD
:
City Council, Democratic primary
* September 2009 Democratic
primary election
Primary elections, or direct primary are a voting process by which voters can indicate their preference for their party's candidate, or a candidate in general, in an upcoming general election, local election, or by-election. Depending on the ...
, City Council, 29th District
:
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cohen, Michael
Living people
Democratic Party members of the New York State Assembly
People from Queens, New York
1949 births