Meet Joe Hawver

Don Cooney is running for U.S. Representative from the Sixth District and Joe Hawver is his campaign manager.  You will see much of Joe everywhere in the district in the next few months.

Joe is not new to Kalamazoo or the KCDP.  While attending WMU in the 90s he was involved in local Democratic races.  He was a Political Science major and did his honors thesis with the late Pete Renstrom.  

Joe was first involved in politics as a 17 year old working in the John Dingell campaign in l996.  He cut his teeth knocking on doors for Dingell.  After graduating with a new law degree in 2006 he got even more personally involved in politics when, at the request of the local party, he became a candidate for Representative  from the 20th District (Western Wayne County).  He knocked on every door in the 20th district and although he lost in a  primary fight, his door to door campaign provided even more experience for his work as a campaign manager now.

Joe moved back to Kalamazoo last year where he worked with the Iraq campaign project in the 6th District.  Last fall he organized a major town meeting on the war which attracted Don Cooney’s attention and led to his being chosen for this campaign and helping to construct the campaign vision.

The Cooney Vision

Don has called on Fred Upton to come to Kalamazoo for a public meeting to explain his position on the war and to meet him in public meetings throughout SW Michigan.  Joe explains that Upton has not had truly public meetings in several years and it is time for him to make public his positions on critical issues.

In addition to the war, the Cooney campaign intends to focus on four other critical areas – the economy, health care and energy and the environment.  The campaign has planned  major meetings and presentations on each of these issues beginning with a kick-off on July 10.  At the kickoff  Prexy Nesbitt, an activist and educator from Chicago will be the keynote speaker and, according to Don, will energize and ignite the audience.  The location will be announced soon to plan to be there – where ever it is!

Jared Bernstein, one of Obama’s economic advisors will join Don in another town hall meeting on July 29the and Colonel Ann Wright (who you may have seen with Cindy Sheehan) will speak on the Iraq war on August 5th.  Hawver is in the process of confirming other nationally known people to speak on the other issues which are part of the Cooney Vision.

Cooney has already made public appearances through out SW Michigan and with every stop has received very positive, front page, press coverage.  He intends to open an office in each of the 6th District counties which are the traditional Upton strongholds.

Watch for Don’s public meetings in Kalamazoo.  He and Joe Hawver  plan to have many events focused on the Cooney Vision so that we all will know what to expect when Don becomes the next U. S. Representative from the Sixth Congressional District.