Cohelan, Jeffery, 1914-1999

Jeffery Cohelan, born in 1914 in San Francisco, California, was a graduate of the University of California. He attended Leeds and Oxford universities in 1953-54 as a Fulbright research scholar. He was elected secretary-treasurer of the Milk Drivers' and Dairy Employees' Local 302, Alameda and Contra Costa counties, in 1942. He also served as a consultant to the University of California Institute of Industrial Relations and as a member of the Berkeley Welfare Commission from 1949-1953 and the Berkeley City Council, 1955-1958.

In 1958, Cohelan was elected as a Democrat from the Seventh District of California to the U.S. House of Representatives, where he served in the Eighty-sixth through Ninety-first Congresses (January 3, 1954-January 3,1971). California's Seventh District includes Berkeley and north Oakland and is usually considered one of the nation's most left-leaning congressional districts. During his tenure in Congress, Cohelan served on the Armed Services, Appropriations, and District of Columbia Committees.