Jim Cohen (born August 6, 1942) is an American

human rights activist A human rights defender or human rights activist is a person who, individually or with others, acts to promote or protect human rights. They can be journalists, environmentalists, whistleblowers, trade unionists, lawyers, teachers, housing cam ...

, attorney,

environmentalist An environmentalist is a person who is concerned with and/or advocates for the protection of the environment. An environmentalist can be considered a supporter of the goals of the environmental movement, "a political and ethical movement that se ...

, and former candidate 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 ...

seat from

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

then held by

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

Norm Coleman Norman Bertram Coleman Jr. (born August 17, 1949) is an American politician, attorney, and lobbyist. From 2003 to 2009, he served as a United States Senator for Minnesota. From 1994 to 2002, he was mayor of Saint Paul, Minnesota. First elected ...

. Cohen sought the endorsement of the

Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to i ...

, but withdrew his candidacy after trailing far behind

Al Franken Alan Stuart Franken (born May 21, 1951) is an American comedian, politician, media personality, and author who served as a United States senator from Minnesota from 2009 to 2018. He gained fame as a writer and performer on the television comed ...

, who subsequently was elected U.S. Senator. Following his withdrawal, in 2008-09 Jim created Access Justice a nonprofit(501(c)(3)),(501(a)(2)), public interest law firm dedicated to providing "low-bono" legal services to low and moderate income working families. Se
AccessJustice.net

Student and educator

Cohen graduated with honors from

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to tea ...

and received his law degree from the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

Law School. He has taught in public and private schools in

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

; and once served as board member of the Continuum Academy, a planned

charter school A charter school is a school that receives government funding but operates independently of the established state school system in which it is located. It is independent in the sense that it operates according to the basic principle of autono ...

in Minneapolis. His term on the board was short-lived, and the school subsequently opened under the name Quest Academy.

Environmental leadership

Cohen has led two environmental organizations. He was the first director of the

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, ...

office of the Sierra Club Legal Defense Fund (now Earth Justice), which is based in San Francisco. Cohen subsequently organized the Environmental Task Force (ETF), a national organization that assisted local groups in their efforts to protect the environment in the 1980s. ETF was subsequently subsumed by another NGO called Environmental Action. Information on ETF is unavailable on the internet.

External links

Jim Cohen for U.S. Senate Campaign Website

Profile
at

SourceWatch The Center for Media and Democracy (CMD) is a progressive nonprofit watchdog and advocacy organization based in Madison, Wisconsin. CMD publishes ExposedbyCMD.org, SourceWatch.org, and ALECexposed.org. History CMD was founded in 1993 by prog ...

News Articles

Pioneer Press: Cohen joins US Senate race

* ttp://www.kare11.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=259600/ Kare 11: Another democrat wants Sen. Coleman's job
Boston Globe: Lawyer, activist joins DFL Senate field
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cohen, Jim 1942 births Cornell University alumni Living people University of Michigan Law School alumni