business
Business is the practice of making one's living or making money by producing or Trade, buying and selling Product (business), products (such as goods and Service (economics), services). It is also "any activity or enterprise entered into for ...
politician
A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...
from his native
Corsicana
Corsicana is a city in and the county seat of Navarro County, Texas, United States. It is located on Interstate 45, 50 miles southeast of Dallas. Its population was 25,109 at the 2020 census. Corsicana is considered an important agribusiness ce ...
in east central
Texas
Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
, who is a former
state representative
A state legislature is a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system.
Two federations literally use the term "state legislature":
* The legislative branches of each of the fifty state governments of the United St ...
for District 8, which encompasses the
counties
A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...
Hill
A hill is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain. It often has a distinct summit, and is usually applied to peaks which are above elevation compared to the relative landmass, though not as prominent as Mountain, mountains. Hills ...
, and Navarro. In October 2017, Cook announced that he would not seek re-election in 2018.
Early life and education
Cook graduated from
Navarro College
Navarro College is a public community college in Texas with its main campus in Corsicana and branches in Mexia, Midlothian, and Waxahachie. The college has an annual student enrollment of more than 9,000 students.
The Corsicana campus has ...
, a
community college
A community college is a type of undergraduate higher education institution, generally leading to an associate degree, certificate, or diploma. The term can have different meanings in different countries: many community colleges have an open enr ...
, with an
associate degree
An associate degree or associate's degree is an undergraduate degree awarded after a course of post-secondary study lasting two to three years. It is a level of academic qualification above a high school diploma and below a bachelor's degree ...
in 1974. Cook's father, the late Leland P. Cook, was the former circulation manager for the ''
Corsicana Daily Sun
The ''Corsicana Daily Sun'' is a morning daily newspaper published in Corsicana, Texas
Corsicana is a city in and the county seat of Navarro County, Texas, United States. It is located on Interstate 45, 50 miles southeast of Dallas, Texas, Da ...
''. Leland left the newspaper to start a family business. In 1986, he and Cook founded
Tradewest
Tradewest, Inc. was an American video game company based in Corsicana, Texas that produced numerous games in the 1980s and early 1990s. The company was the publisher of the '' Battletoads'' and ''Double Dragon'' series in North America and the PAL ...
, a now-defunct
video game
A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...
company and licensee of several
Nintendo
is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto. It develops, publishes, and releases both video games and video game consoles.
The history of Nintendo began when craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi ...
games, including
Double Dragon
is a beat 'em up video game series originally developed and published by TechnÅs Japan. It began with the release of the arcade game '' Double Dragon'' in 1987. The series features twin martial artists, Billy and Jimmy Lee, as they fight again ...
,
Battletoads
''Battletoads'' is a video game franchise by Rare that began with the original beat 'em up game '' Battletoads'' in 1991. Starring three anthropomorphic toads named after skin conditions, Rash, Zitz, and Pimple, the series was created to r ...
, and
Super Off Road
''Ivan 'Ironman' Stewart's Super Off Road'' is an Arcade game, arcade video game released in 1989 by Leland Corporation. The game was designed and managed by John Morgan who was also lead programmer, and endorsed by professional Off-road racing, ...
.
Texas House of Representatives
Cook served as the chairman of the Texas House State Affairs Committee and as a member of the Texas House Calendars Committee. He is also a member of the Texas House Republican Caucus and Texas Conservative Coalition. Cook has also served in past legislative sessions as chairman of the Texas House Committees on Civil Practices and the Committee on Environmental Regulation; and as a member of the Texas
Sunset Advisory Commission
The Sunset Advisory Commission is an agency of the Texas Legislature that evaluates state agencies and makes recommendations to the legislature on the need for, performance of, and improvements to agencies under review. The commission is headqua ...
.
During the 2015 Texas legislative session, Cook, who is generally considered to be a moderate Republican, filed a bill to allow
illegal immigrants
Illegal immigration is the migration of people into a country in violation of that country's immigration laws, or the continuous residence in a country without the legal right to do so. Illegal immigration tends to be financially upward, wi ...
to obtain one-year driving permits, which received pushback from lawmakers within the state.
Cook is one of two named investor victims in securities fraud charges filed against
Ken Paxton
Warren Kenneth Paxton Jr. (born December 23, 1962) is an American politician and lawyer who has served as the attorney general of Texas since 2015. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served in the Texas Senate representing the e ...
in 2015. Cook and Paxton had earlier been friends who served together in the Texas House of Representatives.
On March 22, 2017, Cook asked an activist from
Waxahachie
Waxahachie ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Ellis County, Texas, United States. Its population was 41,140 in 2020. The city was founded in 1850, and incorporated in 1871. Much of the employment is provided by a number of industries and by ...
to leave the
Texas State Capitol
The Texas State Capitol is the capitol and seat of government of the U.S. state of Texas. Located in downtown Austin, Texas, the structure houses the offices and chambers of the Texas Legislature and of the Governor of Texas. Designed in 188 ...
as she was filming a governmental meeting. She was charged with
trespass
Trespass is an area of tort law broadly divided into three groups: trespass to the person (see below), trespass to chattels, and trespass to land.
Trespass to the person historically involved six separate trespasses: threats, assault, battery ...
ing in spite of the
Texas Open Meetings Act The Texas Open Meetings Act (TOMA) is an act in the Chapter 551 of the Government Code whereby meetings held by governmental bodies in the state of Texas, be they at the state or local level, must be open to the public (except for executive sessio ...
.
2016 primary election
In the March 2016 Republican primary, Cook defeated Thomas McNutt, a
Tea Party
A tea party is a social gathering event, typically held in the afternoon, featuring the consumption of tea and light refreshments. Social tea drinking rituals are observed in many cultures worldwide, both historically and in the present day.
A ...
challenger and an heir of the Collin Street Bakery in Corsicana. Cook won nomination to his eighth term by 225 votes, 14,421 (50.4 percent) to McNutt's 14,196 (49.6 percent). McNutt's campaign claimed that there was voter fraud in Hill County during the primary. After investigation, the Hill County Election Administration Board and the Hill County Election Administrator declared that there was no voter fraud in the primary.
McNutt ran again in the 2018 primary but lost the nomination to Cook's preferred successor, Cody Harris, who then prevailed in the general election, 36,471 votes (78.3 percent) to 10,136 (21.7 percent) for the Democrat Wesley D. Ratcliff.
Personal life
Cook and his wife, Kay, have two daughters. Outside of his political career, Cook is a businessman and rancher.