Mike Colona Explained

Mike Colona
State House:Missouri
District:80th
Term Start:January 7, 2009
Term End:January 2017
Preceded:Mike Daus
Succeeded:Peter Merideth
Birth Place:St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.
Party:Democratic
Education:Truman State University (BS)
St. Louis University (JD)

Mike Colona (born 1969) is an American attorney and politician who served as a member of the Missouri House of Representatives from 2009 to 2017. Before redistricting, Colona represented the 67th district. Colona more recently represented the 80th district, which is centered on the Tower Grove South area within the city of St. Louis.[1] Colona also served as the House minority whip for the 96th General Assembly.[2]

Early life and education

Mike Colona was born in St. Louis in 1969. He is a 1987 graduate of Fox High School in Arnold, Missouri.[3] Colona earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Truman State University and a Juris Doctor from St. Louis University.

Career

A lawyer in private practice, he specializes in personal injury, worker's compensation and some first amendment cases.[4] Colona was also an adjunct professor of criminal justice at the University of Missouri–St. Louis. He was one of three openly-LGBT legislators in Jefferson City, alongside Jolie Justus (D–Kansas City) and Jeanette Mott Oxford (D–St. Louis).

In August 2008, Colona defeated four other Democratic challengers in the primary to replace term-limited Representative Mike Daus. Colona won with nearly 43 percent of the vote.[5] [6] Colona was unopposed in the November 2008 general election.[7] In the 2010 general election, Colona handily defeated Republican challenger Curtis Farber with 82-percent of the vote to win a second term.[8]

Colona was a member of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), resigning in 2012. Doing so, he said "[ALEC] is not the innocuous, bipartisan organization it purports to be. Their agenda is radical and wrong for Missouri."[9]

Personal life

Colona is openly gay[10] and both his 2008 and 2010 campaigns won the support of the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund.[11]

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: Hulshof leads Steelman for GOP governor spot . . 2008-08-09 . 2008-08-05.
  2. Web site: Missouri House of Representatives . 2011-01-15 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110111092656/http://www.house.mo.gov/houseleadership.aspx . 2011-01-11 . dead .
  3. Web site: Missouri House of Representatives . 2011-01-15 . 2011-06-29 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110629203327/http://www.house.mo.gov/bio.aspx?year=2011&district=067 . dead .
  4. Web site: Smart Voter: Mike Colona biography . 2008-08-09.
  5. News: Maida Coleman takes side in tough Tower Grove primary . https://archive.today/20080830062922/http://www.stltoday.com/blogzone/political-fix/political-fix/2008/07/maida-coleman-takes-side-in-tough-tower-grove-primary/ . dead . 2008-08-30 . . 2008-08-09 . 2008-07-21 .
  6. Web site: Missouri Secretary of State: August 2008 primary results . 2008-08-09.
  7. News: Intriguing Democratic contest goes to Colona . . 2008-08-09 . 2008-08-06 .
  8. Web site: State Of Missouri State of Missouri General Election - November 2, 2010 General Election . https://web.archive.org/web/20121005034104/http://www.sos.mo.gov/enrweb/raceresults.asp?eid=300&oid=67616&arc= . 2012-10-05 . www.sos.mo.gov.
  9. Bettye Johnson (op-ed) "ALEC is no friend of we the people" The Olympian, April 25, 2012
  10. News: 2008-07-11. Two red hot primaries: Colona vs. Landmann, Wright-Jones vs. Hubbard. The Vital Voice. dead. 2008-08-09. https://web.archive.org/web/20080802232644/http://thevitalvoice.com/node/641. 2008-08-02.
  11. Web site: Victory Fund endorsed candidates: Mike Colona. 2008-08-09.

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