G. Spencer Coggs | |
|---|---|
_(1).jpg) Coggs in 2010 | |
| Member of theWisconsin Senate from the6th district | |
| In office November 25, 2003 – January 6, 2013 | |
| Preceded by | Gary George |
| Succeeded by | Nikiya Harris |
| Member of theWisconsin State Assembly | |
| In office January 4, 1993 – November 25, 2003 | |
| Preceded by | Annette Polly Williams |
| Succeeded by | Barbara Toles |
| Constituency | 17th District |
| In office January 7, 1985 – January 4, 1993 | |
| Preceded by | Jeannette Bell |
| Succeeded by | Leon Young |
| Constituency | 16th District |
| In office January 3, 1983 – January 7, 1985 | |
| Preceded by | Betty Jo Nelsen |
| Succeeded by | Betty Jo Nelsen |
| Constituency | 10th District |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1949-08-06)August 6, 1949 (age 76) Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S. |
| Party | Democratic |
| Spouse | married |
| Children | 2 |
| Relatives |
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| Residence(s) | Milwaukee, Wisconsin |
| Alma mater | |
| Profession | health officer, politician |
George Spencer Coggs (born August 6, 1949) is anAmerican public administrator andDemocratic politician fromMilwaukee, Wisconsin. He is the current Milwaukeecity treasurer, since April 2012, and previously served 10 years in theWisconsin Senate and 20 years in theWisconsin State Assembly, representing Milwaukee's west side. His uncle,Isaac N. Coggs, and cousin,Elizabeth M. Coggs, also served in the Assembly.
Coggs was a City ofMilwaukeehealth officer (and ChiefSteward of hisAFSCMEunion local[1]),postal worker and industrialprinter.
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Coggs was elected to theWisconsin State Assembly for what was then the10th district in 1982 and reelected until 2002. During his time in the assembly he was the Majority Caucus Vice Chairperson in 1985, 1987 and 1989.
He was elected in 2003 to the state senate in aspecial election and reelected in 2004 and 2008. He sat on the Committee on Housing and Financial Institutions, and Joint Committee for Review of Criminal Penalties.[2]
Coggs was vice president of the National Labor Caucus of State Legislators.
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During the protests in Wisconsin, Coggs, along with the 13 other Democratic State Senators, fled the state to deny the State Senate aquorum onGovernor Scott Walker's controversial "Budget Repair" legislation.
Coggs announced December 22, 2009, that he was running for the position ofLieutenant Governor of Wisconsin in 2010. (Current Lt. Gov.Barbara Lawton was not seeking a third term.[3]) On September 14, he lost the Democratic nomination in a four-way race, with fellow legislatorTom Nelson winning an absolute majority (52%) over Coggs' 21% and two other candidates with smaller percentages.[4][5]
In February 2012, Coggs was one of two State Senators (the other being fellow DemocratTim Carpenter) to win a place on the ballot for Milwaukee CityTreasurer in the Spring 2012 election, defeating former State TreasurerDawn Marie Sass (like Coggs, a former AFSCME activist) andSocialist Rick Kissell in thenon-partisan primary.[6] Coggs polled 13,559 votes; Carpenter 12,880; Sass 5,089 and Kissell 2,241.[7] In the general election, Coggs won with 35,096 votes to Carpenter's 34,293.[8]
After he was sworn in as Treasurer in mid-April, Coggs announced that he would not be resigning his position as Senator until a new Senator could be elected. "With us in the state Senate tied 16–16, it just makes sense for me to keep my position. If I were to leave, I'm not saying my Republican friends would cause mischief, but I don't want to give them any temptation," he stated. He said that he would donate his second salary to an as-yet-unnamed charity.[9] Two incumbent Assembly Democrats, his cousinElizabeth Coggs andSandy Pasch, had already announced that they would be running for the vacant seat (although Pasch later changed her mind).[10] In the end, he was succeeded in the Senate by another Democrat,Nikiya Harris.
