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Mike Colona

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Mike Colona
Member of the Missouri House of Representatives
from the 80th district
In office
January 7, 2009 – January 2017
Preceded byMike Daus
Succeeded byPeter Merideth
Personal details
Born1969 (age 54–55)
St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
EducationTruman 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

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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

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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.[3] 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

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

References

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  1. ^ "Hulshof leads Steelman for GOP governor spot". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. 2008-08-05. Retrieved 2008-08-09. [dead link‍]
  2. ^ "Missouri House of Representatives". Archived from the original on 2011-01-11. Retrieved 2011-01-15.
  3. ^ a b "Missouri House of Representatives". Archived from the original on 2011-06-29. Retrieved 2011-01-15.
  4. ^ "Smart Voter: Mike Colona biography". Retrieved 2008-08-09.
  5. ^ "Maida Coleman takes side in tough Tower Grove primary". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. 2008-07-21. Archived from the original on 2008-08-30. Retrieved 2008-08-09.
  6. ^ "Missouri Secretary of State: August 2008 primary results". Retrieved 2008-08-09.
  7. ^ "Intriguing Democratic contest goes to Colona". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. 2008-08-06. Retrieved 2008-08-09. [permanent dead link‍]
  8. ^ "State Of Missouri | State of Missouri General Election - November 2, 2010 General Election". www.sos.mo.gov. Archived from the original on 2012-10-05.
  9. ^ Bettye Johnson (op-ed) "ALEC is no friend of we the people" The Olympian, April 25, 2012
  10. ^ "Two red hot primaries: Colona vs. Landmann, Wright-Jones vs. Hubbard". The Vital Voice. 2008-07-11. Archived from the original on 2008-08-02. Retrieved 2008-08-09.
  11. ^ "Victory Fund endorsed candidates: Mike Colona". Retrieved 2008-08-09.
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