Mike Cooney
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Michael R. Cooney (born September 3, 1954) is an American politician who served as the 36th
lieutenant governor of Montana The lieutenant governor of Montana is an elected official in the State of Montana that ranks just below the governor of Montana. List of lieutenant governors ;Parties Living former lieutenant governors , there are six former lieutenant gov ...
from 2016 to 2021. He previously served in the
Montana House of Representatives The Montana House of Representatives is, with the Montana Senate, one of the two houses of the Montana Legislature. Composed of 100 members, the House elects its leadership every two years. Composition of the House :''67th Legislature – 2021†...
(1977–1981), as the
secretary of state of Montana The Secretary of State of Montana is one of the elected constitutional officers of executive branch of the U.S. state of Montana. The current Secretary of State is Christi Jacobsen. Organization The Secretary of State's Office is composed of fi ...
(1989–2001), in the Montana Senate (2003–2011), as the president of the Montana Senate (2007–2009) and ran unsuccessfully for
Governor of Montana The governor of Montana is the head of government of MontanaMontana Constitution, Article VI, Section 4. and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor has a duty to enforce state laws, the power to either approve or veto ...
in
2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...
. Cooney was the Democratic nominee for
governor of Montana The governor of Montana is the head of government of MontanaMontana Constitution, Article VI, Section 4. and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor has a duty to enforce state laws, the power to either approve or veto ...
in the 2020 election, losing to Republican U.S. Representative Greg Gianforte. Amongst other positions, Cooney has served as executive director of Montana Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies (2001–2006), division administrator of the Workforce Services Division at the Montana Department of Labor and Industry (2006–2015), director of the
Montana Historical Society The Montana Historical Society (MHS) is a historical society located in the U.S. state of Montana that acts to preserve historical resources important to the understanding of Montana history. The society provides services through six operational ...
(2010–2011), and deputy commissioner of the Montana Department of Labor and Industry (2015–2016).


Early life and education

Born 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, ...
, Cooney was raised in
Butte, Montana Butte ( ) is a consolidated city-county and the county seat of Silver Bow County, Montana, United States. In 1977, the city and county governments consolidated to form the sole entity of Butte-Silver Bow. The city covers , and, according to the ...
. His grandfather,
Frank Henry Cooney Frank Henry Cooney (December 31, 1872 – December 15, 1935) was a Canadian-American politician and businessman who served as the ninth governor of Montana from 1933 to 1935. Early life Cooney was born in Norwood, Ontario, Canada, and receive ...
, served as the state's 9th governor of Montana from 1933 to 1935. Growing up, Cooney played drums in local bands. He worked at the family business, Cooney Food Brokerage, from 1970 to 1977. He graduated from Butte High School in 1972 and, intending to become a TV
news presenter A news presenter – also known as a newsreader, newscaster (short for "news broadcaster"), anchorman or anchorwoman, news anchor or simply an anchor – is a person who presents news during a news program on TV, radio or the Internet. ...
, enrolled at
University of Montana The University of Montana (UM) is a public research university in Missoula, Montana. UM is a flagship institution of the Montana University System and its second largest campus. UM reported 10,962 undergraduate and graduate students in the fal ...
to study journalism.


Career


Early career

Before beginning his studies, he worked at
KXLF-TV KXLF-TV (channel 4) is a television station in Butte, Montana, United States, affiliated with CBS and The CW Plus. Owned by the E. W. Scripps Company, it is part of the Montana Television Network, a statewide network of CBS-affiliated station ...
in Butte in 1972. There, he met
Max Baucus Maxwell Sieben Baucus ( Enke; born December 11, 1941) is an American politician who served as a United States senator from Montana from 1978 to 2014. A member of the Democratic Party, he was a U.S. senator for over 35 years, making him the longe ...
, who was campaigning for election to the
Montana House of Representatives The Montana House of Representatives is, with the Montana Senate, one of the two houses of the Montana Legislature. Composed of 100 members, the House elects its leadership every two years. Composition of the House :''67th Legislature – 2021†...
. Cooney was impressed by Baucus, who was elected to the multi-member 18th District in first place, and when Baucus ran for
Montana's 1st congressional district Montana's 1st congressional district is a congressional district in the United States House of Representatives that was apportioned after the 2020 United States census. The first candidates ran in the 2022 elections for a seat in the 118th Unit ...
against Republican incumbent
Richard G. Shoup Richard Gardner "Dick" Shoup (November 29, 1923 – November 25, 1995) was a U.S. Representative from Montana, great-grandson of George Laird Shoup. Education Born in Salmon, Idaho, Shoup attended the Salmon public schools. He received ...
in 1974, Cooney paused his studies to work for him. He worked as an advance man, travelling to towns ahead of Baucus to prepare for his visits. Cooney enjoyed himself immensely and "I decided right then and there that's what I wanted to do."


State House

After Baucus won, Cooney returned to the University of Montana and changed his major to Political Science. During the 1975 session of the
Montana Legislature The Montana State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Montana. It is composed of the 100-member Montana House of Representatives and the 50-member Montana Senate. The Montana Constitution dictates that the legislature meet ...
, Cooney worked for an insurance lobby group and enjoyed the legislative process. Thus, when a seat in the Montana House opened up in the
Silver Bow County Silver Bow County is a county in the U.S. state Montana. As of the 2020 census, the population was 35,133. Its county seat is Butte. In 1977, the city and county governments consolidated to form the single entity of Butte-Silver Bow. Additional ...
-based 83rd District in 1976, Cooney decided to run. He modelled his campaign literature on Baucus' and campaigned door-to-door, which was unusual at the time. He later admitted that his family name may have helped him and quipped that when he was campaigning on the doorstep, some people thought he was collecting for the local paper. The 21 year-old Cooney defeated two other candidates in the Democratic primary with 1,044 votes (54.52%) and was unopposed in the general election. However, this was also a time of personal sorrow for Cooney, whose father died of a heart attack in August 1976, aged 60. Cooney, sworn into office at age 22, became one of the youngest state legislators in Montana history. He immediately received attention as he and another Butte-based legislator voted for
Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...
Representative John Driscoll as Speaker of the House instead of fellow Butte Representative J. D. Lynch, helping Driscoll to beat Lynch. Cooney said that he thought Lynch would be able to offer "a little more diplomacy" with the Montana Senate, which was evenly divided between Democrats and Republicans. In 1977, Cooney sponsored successful legislation that declared Montana would process its own nuclear waste but wouldn't take waste from any other state. He has called this his proudest achievement in the State House. He ran for re-election in 1978, defeating a single primary opponent with 1,577 votes (62.41%) and again ran unopposed in the general election. In 1979, Cooney received his Bachelor of Science from the
University of Montana The University of Montana (UM) is a public research university in Missoula, Montana. UM is a flagship institution of the Montana University System and its second largest campus. UM reported 10,962 undergraduate and graduate students in the fal ...
and in that December, he married DeeAnn Gribble after five years of dating. Cooney then felt the need to settle down in a permanent job, so did not run for re-election in 1980. The Montana Legislature is part-time and Cooney had supplemented it with other work: at his family's company until 1977 and then at the Montana Energy Research Development Institute from 1977 to 1979, all the while continuing to work as an Executive Assistant for Baucus, who had been elected to the U.S. Senate in 1978. The Cooneys moved to Washington, D.C. in 1982 so that DeeAnn could attend
Antioch School of Law Antioch School of Law was a law school in Washington, D.C. which specialized in public advocacy. The school now operates as the University of the District of Columbia David A. Clarke School of Law (UDC-DCSL). The school was located on 16th Str ...
and Mike transferred to Baucus' staff there. After DeeAnn graduated, the Cooneys moved back to Montana and Mike joined Senator Baucus' Helena office as his wife joined a local law firm.


Secretary of State of Montana

Cooney continued working for Baucus until 1988, when he was encouraged to run for
Secretary of State of Montana The Secretary of State of Montana is one of the elected constitutional officers of executive branch of the U.S. state of Montana. The current Secretary of State is Christi Jacobsen. Organization The Secretary of State's Office is composed of fi ...
. An old friend of his sent a $100 campaign donation after hearing Cooney defend Baucus' vote for the
Gramm–Rudman–Hollings Balanced Budget Act The Gramm–Rudman–Hollings Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 and the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Reaffirmation Act of 1987 (both often known as Gramm–Rudman) were the first binding spending constrain ...
of 1985 and Cooney decided to run. He received permission from Baucus to run, though reluctantly, as Baucus did not want to lose him, so Cooney agreed to only campaign on evenings and weekends. Cooney was unopposed in the Democratic primary and defeated the Republican nominee, State Senator Pete Story, by 174,917 votes (49.28%) to 163,830 (46.16%). His victory was considered an upset as he was outspent by his opponent and Republicans had won the open gubernatorial seat, incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator
John Melcher John David Melcher (September 6, 1924 – April 12, 2018) was an American politician of the Democratic Party who represented Montana as a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1969 to 1977 and as a United States Senator fro ...
was defeated by Republican
Conrad Burns Conrad Ray Burns (January 25, 1935 – April 28, 2016) was an American politician who served as a United States Senator from Montana and later was a lobbyist. He was only the second Republican popularly elected to represent Montana in the Senat ...
and
George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushSince around 2000, he has been usually called George H. W. Bush, Bush Senior, Bush 41 or Bush the Elder to distinguish him from his eldest son, George W. Bush, who served as the 43rd president from 2001 to 2009; pr ...
carried the state's four electoral votes in the
presidential election A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President. Elections by country Albania The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public. Chile The pre ...
. Along with Montana Superintendent of Public Instruction
Nancy Keenan Nancy Keenan (born February 14, 1952) is an American politician, and since 2015 the executive director of the Montana Democratic Party. Prior to that, she was elected to several terms in the Montana House of Representatives (1983–1989) and a ...
and Clerk of the Montana Supreme Court Ed Smith, Cooney was one of only three Democrats to win a statewide election in Montana that year. Cooney succeeded two-term Republican Jim Waltermire in the office, who had been running for
Governor of Montana The governor of Montana is the head of government of MontanaMontana Constitution, Article VI, Section 4. and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor has a duty to enforce state laws, the power to either approve or veto ...
in the 1988 election when he was killed in a plane crash on April 8, 1988, after returning from a campaign event. Cooney said that the office had been "fairly political" under Waltermire: several employees asked Cooney how much they would be expected to contribute to his campaign fund in order to retain their jobs. Cooney later recalled that, "having just come from working for a U.S. senator where that's illegal, I was stunned. I assured everybody that they were not expected to pony up any money for my political activities and I expected them to just do their jobs." Cooney was elected to a second term in 1992, defeating Republican Bob Werner, a former Waltermire employee, by 249,359 votes (64.05%) to 139,977 (35.95%). He did not face a Republican opponent in 1996, winning a third term against Libertarian Martha Oaas by 309,503 votes (83.96%) to 59,125 (16.04%). Cooney said that his aim as Secretary of State was to avoid being deeply involved in partisan politics and to give everyone, regardless of their politics, a fair chance. He names his greatest achievement as Secretary of State in persuading the Legislature to let the office be run more like a business and having it funded entirely from fees paid for its services rather than through taxes. He is also proud of his work upgrading the computer systems used by the office, increasing voter turnout to second in the country in the 1998 elections, increasing access to state lands through his role on the State Land Board, and updating and restoring the historic
Montana State Capitol The Montana State Capitol is the state capitol of the U.S. state of Montana that houses the Montana State Legislature which is located in the state capital of Helena at 1301 East Sixth Avenue. The building was constructed between 1896 and 1902 w ...
. However, he pronounced himself frustrated that he wasn't able to persuade the Legislature to pass any of his campaign finance legislation.


2000 gubernatorial election

Unable to run for a fourth term as Secretary of State because of term limits, Cooney ran for Governor of Montana in the 2000 election instead. In February 2000, he announced six-term State Representative Diana Wyatt of
Great Falls Great may refer to: Descriptions or measurements * Great, a relative measurement in physical space, see Size * Greatness, being divine, majestic, superior, majestic, or transcendent People * List of people known as "the Great" *Artel Great (born ...
as his running mate, calling her "a woman of vision, courage and commitment". Cooney campaigned on three main goals: long-term economic development, encouraging businesses to stay in Montana and attracting new ones by working with them to develop and implement creative strategies; making education a higher priority through increased funding, giving a $3,000 bonus to teachers who become nationally board certified, creating a teacher-to-teacher mentoring programme, and increasing opportunities for technology and tribal colleges; and protecting Montana's environmental heritage by increasing funding for scientific research, protecting roadless land, working with loggers and conservationists to create forest stewardship programmes, and placing a moratorium on new game farms until more scientific research was done. His opponents in the Democratic primary were Montana Attorney General Joe Mazurek and Montana State Auditor and Insurance and Securities Commissioner Mark O'Keefe. Cooney was outraised by them both, raising as of March 5, $112,028 to Mazurek's $167,362 and O'Keefe's $241,309. In the three-way Democratic primary on June 6, Cooney finished third with 15,677 votes (16.27%) to Mazurek's 34,385 (35.69%) and O'Keefe's 46,294 (48.05%). O'Keefe went on to lose the general election to Republican Lieutenant Governor
Judy Martz Judith Helen Martz (née Morstein; July 28, 1943 – October 30, 2017) was an American Republican Party politician, businesswoman, and Olympian speed skater who served as the 22nd governor of Montana from 2001 to 2005. She was the first and only ...
by 193,131 votes (47.08%) to 209,135 (50.99%). Cooney left office in January 2001 and was named Executive Director of Montana Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies in that November, a position he held until 2006.


State Senate

Cooney returned to politics in 2002, running to represent the Helena-based 26th District of the Montana Senate. Unopposed in the Democratic primary, he defeated Republican Mary Jo Fox in the general election by 5,314 votes (68.12%) to 2,487 (31.88%). He was redistricted to the 40th District in 2005 and was re-elected to a second term in 2006 against Republican Robert Leach by 5,869 votes (68.18%) to 2,739 (31.82%). In 2007, Cooney was selected by Senate Democrats to become President of the Senate, succeeding
Jon Tester Raymond Jon Tester (born August 21, 1956) is an American farmer and politician serving as the senior United States senator from Montana, a seat he has held since 2007. A member of the Democratic Party, Tester is the dean of Montana's congressi ...
, who had been elected to the U.S. Senate in 2006. He served as President of the Senate from 2007 to 2009, when the Democrats lost control of the Senate to the Republicans. In 2008, he used his position as Senate President to argue forcefully for the Legislature to update the state's anti-discrimination laws to make it illegal to fire or discriminate against someone at the workplace just because they are gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender. Cooney was term-limited in 2010 and left office the following year. He was succeeded by Democratic State Representative Mary Caferro.


Montana Department of Labor and Industry

Cooney left Montana Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies in July 2006 to become the Division Administrator of the Workforce Services Division at the Montana Department of Labor and Industry, a role he held until 2015. Cooney was named as the interim Director of the
Montana Historical Society The Montana Historical Society (MHS) is a historical society located in the U.S. state of Montana that acts to preserve historical resources important to the understanding of Montana history. The society provides services through six operational ...
in November 2010. He declined to be considered as the new permanent Director, despite urging from staff, who wore "I Like Mike" badges, and led the organisation until September 2011, when Bruce Whittenberg took over as permanent Director. In 2015, he was promoted to become the Deputy Commissioner of the Montana Department of Labor and Industry, a job he performed until his selection as Lieutenant Governor.


Lieutenant Governor of Montana

Cooney's predecessor in the Lieutenant Governor's office was
Angela McLean Angela McLean (born August 19, 1970) is an American politician and educator who served as the 35th Lieutenant Governor of Montana from February 10, 2014, to January 3, 2016. Governor Steve Bullock, a Democrat, selected McLean in 2014 to replace ...
, who was appointed to the position in February 2014 following John Walsh's departure for the
United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...
. McLean served less than a year in the position before leaving the Lieutenant Governor's office for a job at the Office of the Commissioner of Higher Education effective December 2015. Following McLean's resignation announcement, Governor Bullock undertook a selection process to fill the upcoming vacancy for what would be Bullock's third Lieutenant Governor since his inauguration in January 2013. On December 30, Bullock announced the appointment of Cooney. Coincidentally, Bullock had appointed Cooney's wife DeeAnn to replace retiring judge Jeffrey Sherlock in the state's 1st Judicial District in Helena earlier that month. Cooney had known and worked with Bullock for over 20 years; Bullock had served as chief legal counsel for Cooney when Cooney was Secretary of State. In his announcement, Bullock described Cooney as an "accomplished leader" who will bring "values" to state government. Cooney follows in the footsteps of his grandfather, who served briefly as lieutenant governor in 1933 prior to serving as governor. Cooney was sworn into office on January 4, 2016. His salary is $22,000 a year less than he had been receiving as Deputy Commissioner of the Montana Department of Labor and Industry. Cooney ran with Bullock in the 2016 gubernatorial election, defeating Republican gubernatorial nominee Greg Gianforte and his running mate Lesley Robinson with 250,571 votes (50.2%) to 231,897 (46.4%).


2020 gubernatorial election

On July 3, 2019, Cooney announced his second run for
Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
in the 2020 election, as incumbent Democratic governor Steve Bullock was term-limited and running for U.S. Senate. Cooney won the Democratic primary on June 2, defeating businesswoman Whitney Williams with 56% of the vote to Williams' 44%. On November 3, 2020, he was defeated in the general election by Republican U.S. Rep. Greg Gianforte.


Electoral history


2020


Past elections


References


External links


Campaign website

Government website
* * , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Cooney, Mike 1954 births 21st-century American politicians Candidates in the 2020 United States elections Lieutenant Governors of Montana Living people Democratic Party members of the Montana House of Representatives Democratic Party Montana state senators Presidents of the Montana Senate Secretaries of State of Montana