Cooke was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico due to his father's business work at the time, but returned to Colorado at a young age. He graduated from Arvada West High School and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Sociology from the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley. While still attending UNC, Cooke enlisted in the U.S. Army National Guard where he served for six years in the 220th MP Company. After his time in the U.S. Army National Guard, Cooke graduated from the FBI National Academy and the Law Enforcement Executive Development Seminar. He proceeded to serve as a member of the Breckenridge Police Department and the Weld County Sheriff's Office. During his time serving the Weld County Sheriff's Office, Cooke advanced from the rank of patrol deputy to eventually being elected as the Weld County Sheriff; he held this position from 2002 to 2014, respective to the position's term limit. Cooke was preceded by Steven Reams. Cooke lives with his wife Amy in Greeley, Colorado near UNC. They have a blended family of five children.
In July 2013 Cooke officially announced his bid to run in the 2014 state Senate election, and in 2014 he defeated opponent Joe Perez. He succeeds Scott Renfroe who served in the Colorado State Legislature since 2006.
2015 Legislative Session
As of 2016, Cooke serves as a member on the Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Energy Committee, the Judiciary Committee, and the Transportation Committee. He has sponsored legislation to revise the process of review of state carbon emission plans, to refine the requirements for medical testing that occurs in cases of first, second, and third degree assault, to eliminate certain duties for probation officers, and to increase the class of offense in certain cases of second or third degree assault. The first piece of legislation that Senator Cooke introduced, Senate Bill 005, passed out of the Senate unanimously and with bipartisan support, and was introduced in the House on February 4, 2015. This bill was signed by the governor on April 16, 2015.
2016 Legislative Session
2017 Legislative Session
In the 2017 Legislative Session, Senator John Cooke, a former Weld County Sheriff, focused on keeping communities safe, recognizing the dedication of our law enforcement and making common sense changes to some regulatory statutes. Among the bills he ran are Senate Bill 6, which would have allowed military personnel to carry a concealed firearm in Colorado both if they are active duty or honorable discharged; Senate Bill 48 allows the arrest of an offender who is in an intensive supervision program if s/he escapes by removing a tracking device; Senate Bill 180 which streamlined the Public Utility Commission’s enforcement of civil penalties for violation and sets up a fund to pay for the new streamlined process; and Senate Bill 303 which would have reallocated existing funds to a highway fund to be used by CDOT to pay debts on road work. It would have asked the people permission to do this in a ballot measure. He also was the sponsor of Senate Joint Memorial 3 which designates September 27, 2017 as First Responder’s Day, and recognized the sacrifice all first responders make every day. He also sponsored Senate Joint Resolution 26 declaring May 14–20 as Police Week and May 15th as Peace Officer’s Memorial Day. Senator Cook continues to serve on The Senate Agriculture Committee, as Vice-chair of Senate Transportation and Judiciary Committees and as Chairman of the Legislative Legal Committee.
2018 Legislative Session
Senate Majority Whip John Cooke worked on a variety of issues during the 2018 Legislative Session with a specific focus on crime and justice, pulling from his experience as an elected Sheriff. Senate Bill 68 increases the penalties for someone who submits a report of a public threat that is false to a law enforcement agency. When someone pranks a false alarm, it draws emergency resources away from true emergencies. Senate Bill 181 increased the number of years between emissions inspections from two years to four years for vehicles on the road from 1982 and after. It also would prevent a vehicle from being failed for no other reason than having a check engine light on. Senate Bill 14 requires that the Department of Corrections disclose to the prosecuting attorney and registered victims within 48 hours of relocating a convict to a facility in another state. Senate Bill 1, the first bill of the session, will increase funding for road and bridge repair. This bill would allocate $250 billion to fix roads over the next 20 years. This money comes from the general fund, so the dollars are already there. SB 1 also requires a percentage of the money to be spent on repairing roads in smaller counties with fewer than 50,000 people.
