Mark B. Cohen (born June 4, 1949) is a Democratic politician from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He represented District 202 in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from June 10, 1974, until his defeat for reelection in the Democratic primary in 2016.
In 2017, Cohen ran for judge and won in both the primary and general election. On January 2, 2018, Cohen was sworn in for a 10-year term as a judge on the court of common pleas in Philadelphia.
Early life and education He was born in New York City, the oldest child of Florence and David Cohen.
Cohen attended Central High School of Philadelphia, graduating in 1966. He sent a letter on September 25, 1965 to civil rights movement leader Martin Luther King Jr., inviting King to speak at his school.The King Center website, digital archive "Letter from Mark Cohen to MLK," http://www.thekingcenter.org/archive/document/letter-mark-cohen-mlk
Cohen enrolled at the University of Pennsylvania, where he served as a features writer for The Daily Pennsylvanian and an officer of the Penn affiliate of the College Democrats of America.The Daily Pennsylvanian, September, 1967 through May, 1968 Cohen graduated in 1970 with a degree in political science.
Cohen earned a law degree from the Harrisburg campus of the Widener University School of Law (now known as Widener University Commonwealth Law School) in 1993 and an M.B.A. from Lebanon Valley College in 2000.["Lawmakers Become Law Students: 4 Graduated From Law School and Cowell is Close to Finishing Up at Widener in Harrisburg], Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, December 2, 1993, Page E-5The Pennsylvania Manual. Volume 119. pp. 3–118 As an active member of the Pennsylvania Bar, he is qualified in the practice of law in Pennsylvania. He is admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, the United States district courts for Pennsylvania, the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, and the US Supreme Court.Martindale-Hubble Law Directory
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Original election Cohen was elected to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in a special election on May 21, 1974. He was 24 years old. He was officially nominated for the special election as the Democratic nominee for the vacant House seat by the executive committee of the Democratic State Committee.Associated Press, "Democrats Go For Open Primary," Observer-Reporter, March 14, 1974.
Early years in the House, 1974–1988 Cohen sponsored legislation to enable an American citizen who was a foreign medical graduate to complete a 5th Pathway Program to receive a license to practice medicine in Pennsylvania.Act 273 of 1976, http://www.palrb.us/pamphletlaws/19001999/1976/0/act/0273.pdf The 5th Pathway Program peaked nationally in 1979–1980, but ultimately the expansion of the programs offered by the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates led to its decline and eventual elimination by the Council on Medical Education of the American Medical Association.Richard Pan, MD, Master of Public Health (MPH), Chair, "Report of the Council on Medical Education, Report on the 5th Pathway, CME Report 1-I-07 (2007), page two "The maximum number of 5th Pathway graduates (nationally) was 558 in 1979–1980. The number of 5th Pathway dwindled during the latter part of the 1980s and 1990s so that four programs survived in 1991–1992. http://www.ama-assn.org/ama1/pub/upload/mm/377/cmerept1.pdf
Cohen was later appointed Secretary of the State Government Committee and as Chairman of the Public Utility Subcommittee of the Consumer Protection Committee.Pennsylvania Manual, 1976
To deal with plant closings, Cohen introduced state legislation similar to the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act. Cohen's 1977 bill provided for 75 days advance notice for plant closings. In 1979, he introduced House Bill 1251, the more comprehensive Employee Protection and Community Stabilization Act.William Schweke: Plant Closings: issues, politics, and legislation (1980) His legislation helped lead to enactment of 60-day advance notice plant closing legislation by the City of Philadelphia,Dan Stets, "Problems Over Phila. Plant-closing Law Haven't Materialized," Philadelphia Inquirer, August 8, 1988, which, in turn, helped inspire the federal 60 day advance notice requirement enacted in 1988.David Hess, "Bill Passed on Closing of Plants," Philadelphia Inquirer, July 14, 1988,
In 1983, Cohen became chairman of the House Labor Relations Committee, a position he held until 1990; during his tenure, he focused on increasing the minimum wage and protecting worker's compensation benefits. His efforts to raise Pennsylvania's minimum wage in accordance with rises in inflation, coupled with aggressive statewide organizing led by the Philadelphia Unemployment Project and Pennsylvania labor unions, helped lead to minimum wage increase bill signings by Governors Robert P. Casey in 1988 and Edward G. Rendell in 2006.Pennsylvania Act 150 of 1988.Pennsylvania Act 70 of 1990.Philadelphia Unemployment Project, "Lessons from the Minimum Wage Campaign in Pennsylvania," (2006), http://www.philaup.org/campaigns/MW_Lessons.html A 1986 Labor Relations Committee study of the length of time it took injured workers to get worker's compensation benefits found that it took disabled workers an average of 10 months to get a decision on their eligibility. Cohen sought remedial legislation to deal with worker's compensation problems.Cheryl Wenner, " Legislator Urges Faster Workmen's Compensation," Allentown The Morning Call, April 7, 1986, The Pennsylvania Chamber of Commerce offered its own reform program."For Equitable Compensation," Letter to the Editor, Allentown The Morning Call, Clifford L. Jones, President, Pennsylvania Chamber of Commerce, April 25, 1986, Ultimately, elements of both plans took effect. His chemical right to know legislation for workers and communities was signed into law by Governor Richard Thornburgh in 1984.Pennsylvania Act 159 of 1984
Cohen introduced House Resolution 313 on June 11, 1986, which established the Select Committee to Study the Feasibility of a Harrisburg Law School. After this resolution was approved by a 98 to 97 margin on June 18, 1986,Legislative Journal-House, page 1427, http://www.legis.state.pa.us/WU01/LI/HJ/1986/0/19860618.pdf Cohen chaired the committee, which strongly recommended that a Harrisburg law school be created, drawing the interest of Delaware Law School of Widener University.Legislative Journal-House (1986), pages 1426–1427, http://www.legis.state.pa.us/WU01/LI/HJ/1986/0/19860618.pdf Delaware Law School did its own feasibility study, confirming the value of establishing a Harrisburg campus, gained funding from businessman John Vartan, and ultimately changed its name to Widener University School of Law. The law school opened in September, 1989, and graduated its first class of full-time students in May, 1992. The first evening class, of which Cohen was a member, graduated in 1993.
Middle years in the House, 1988–2002 In 1990, Cohen was elected Democratic Caucus Chair, a position in which he served until 1992. He served as Majority Whip from 1993 to 1994 before returning to the position of Caucus Chair in 1995. He would serve as Caucus Chair until 2010.
Cohen introduced House Resolution 323 on April 25, 1990page 790, Legislative Journal-House (1990), http://www.legis.state.pa.us/WU01/LI/HJ/1990/0/19900425.pdf which, upon its adoption by the state house, created the Select Committee to Study the Feasibility of a Harrisburg University. Speaker Robert W. O'Donnell appointed Cohen to chair the committee, which held hearings without producing a consensus and concluded that "further study" was needed.Legislative Journal-House (1990), page 1072, in the form of a letter from O'Donnell to Cohen, http://www.legis.state.pa.us/WU01/LI/HJ/1990/0/19900618.pdf The Harrisburg University of Science and Technology was chartered in 2001 and opened in 2005. Its affiliate, SciTech High, opened in 2003.
Later years in the House and defeat In 2008, he expanded the employment law rights of police officers after they had been engaged in a military deployment, by sponsoring legislation allowing them to return to work, even if they had been abroad during their required recertification tests."Cohen measure aiding local police departments signed into law," October 15, 2008, pahouse.com, http://www.pahouse.com/pr/202101508.asp
In 2009, Cohen introduced a bill to legalize medical marijuana in Pennsylvania, saying that he believes it is time to get rid of a decades-old negative image surrounding marijuana and replace it with "a new, honest image." Hearings on the bill were held, but the bill did not attain enough support for the Health and Human Services Committee to call up the bill for a vote. Despite the lack of public hearings in 2011, Cohen's medical marijuana bill continued to gain public support.Christopher Moraff, The Philly Post, "PA Republicans Are Wrong on Medical Marijuana. Two bills sit in Harrisburg limbo as thousands of patients suffer," August 25, 2011, http://blogs.phillymag.com/the_philly_post/2011/08/25/state-gop-wrong-medical-marijuana/ In 2016, legislation similar to Cohen's became law.
Cohen worked to see that human services programs were adequately funded in a period of budget cutting.State Representative Mark B. Cohen, Human Services Update 2011(July 1, 2011) He actively participated in the Department of Public Welfare's Appropriations Committee Budget Hearing.Kimberly Hess, "House Appropriations Budget Hearings DPW," PLS Committee News, House Appropriations, March 30, 2011, http://www.ctbpls.com/htbin/web_crnews?11RHAC=HAC110330.P13011R (subscription required) Cohen's questions and the answers he received were covered on page 2, DiGirolamo's on page 4. This report is also found on the website of SEIU Local 668, under Legislation and Politics/Committee Hearings
In 2012, Democratic Leader Frank Dermody and House Speaker Samuel H. Smith announced Cohen's appointment for the 2013–2014 legislative session as Democratic Chairman of the Pennsylvania House State Government Committee.
In 2016, Cohen lost the Democratic primary for his House seat to Jared Solomon, a community organizer. Solomon had challenged Cohen in 2014, coming within 158 votes of unseating him. Cohen's alleged misuse of the per diem system had become increasingly controversial in Philadelphia, and Solomon used the issue to attack him. The 2016 rematch between Solomon and Cohen was notably acrid. One article suggested that Cohen's operatives had stolen Solomon's garbage in order to find embarrassing information. Cohen sued Solomon for libel over a flier that suggested that Cohen had "bought a second home in Harrisburg and billed us $30,000 for it," though Solomon argued that the allegation was truthful. Notably, Representative Brian Sims, who served on the State Government Committee with Cohen, endorsed Solomon, writing, "I don’t hate Mark Cohen but his behavior in the Capitol has been one of the most shocking surprises of my time there. Virtually every single person in the Capital has a story about Mark being lost in a bathroom or arguing with the plants or with the pictures on the wall." Cohen responded that he had "a nearly 100% attendance record on the House floor." Cohen lost the election by a large margin, receiving 43 percent of the vote to nearly 57 percent for Solomon.
Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas In 2018, Cohen returned to elected office with his election to the Court of Common Pleas. Despite being given a "Not Recommended" rating by the Philadelphia Bar Association, he won a seat on the court, albeit with the second-lowest number of votes among the victors.