BY CHELYEN DAVIS
A former Air Force lawyer is running for Congress in the 1st District.
Adam Cook announced his plans to run as a Democrat Tuesday.
Cook is from Fredericksburg, a graduate of UCLA School of Law and an Air Force reservist who did a tour in Afghanistan last year.
He spent six years as an active-duty JAG officer in the Air Force before transferring to the reserves in 2009 and taking a job with the Social Security Administration’s general counsel office.
Cook has never run for political office before; as a federal employee and an active-duty member of the military, he could not.
But as a reservist, he is allowed to be politically active, he said.
Cook said he decided to run because he’s frustrated with congressional inaction and his view of how the Republican House majority treats the middle class.
He said his experience in Afghanistan, watching troops work under difficult conditions to get things done, was a sharp contrast to the stalemates and delays of Congress.
“It was this contrast between the effective, humble and efficient ‘mission first’ service that I saw in Afghanistan and the overtly partisan, stubborn, uncompromising approach taken by too many in Congress that convinced me to throw my hat in the ring and do everything I can to push our government in the direction of true public service, and away from the service of self, party and special interests,” Cook wrote in a campaign blog post.
In an interview, Cook said he is also motivated by his view that Congress seems uninterested in protecting the middle class.
“I’m really concerned about a Congress that seems almost slavishly concerned with protecting the interests of big corporations” at the expense of the middle class, he said.
Looking at Republican budget proposals, Cook said, “every one of them has major tax cuts for the people at the very top, and then has tax increases on the middle class to pay for it.”
Cook said he started thinking seriously about a congressional bid when he returned from Afghanistan in November.
He is working to gather support from Democrats in the 1st District, which currently stretches from Fauquier County down through the Northern Neck to York.
While Cook said Democrats have expressed “kind words and support,” there’s still a question out there—what the 1st District will look like once the boundaries are redrawn.
State legislators were supposed to redraw district lines after the 2010 census, but bills to do so have stalled. They may revive the redistricting bills in the upcoming legislative session, but until they do, it’s unclear exactly which localities will remain in the 1st District.
Republican Rep. Rob Wittman represents the 1st District.
The 1st, and all congressional seats, are up for election in November.
Chelyen Davis: 540/368-5028
cdavis@freelancestar.com
