Rep. Mark Cohen has served in the House of Representatives since 1974. Voters in the 202, please take a moment to read this biography prepared by Rock the Capital before you cast a vote.

Rep. Mark Cohen (D-Philadelphia): Mr. Cohen was elected in 1978. He served as the Majority Caucus Chairman from 1990-1992, Majority Whip from 1993-1994, Democratic Caucus Chairman from 1994-2006, and as Majority Caucus Chairman from 2007 to 2010.

Mr. Cohen voted for the pension spike in 2001 and he voted for the pay raise in 2005. Mr. Cohen voted to repeal the raise, then took the money. He  collected $46,270 in per diems between 2004-2005, and read 800 books over a year at a cost to tax payers of $28,200. (Philadelphia Inquirer, April 2, 2006)

“High Society”: “If you want recent, there was last week’s disclosure that he’d turned in bills for $2,000 for attending the annual Pennsylvania Society blowout in New York in 2004, 2005, and 2006. More about this in a moment.”

“If you want massive, go back to 1990 when the Daily News’ John Baer reported that Cohen had racked up expenses of $104,000 in a 20-month period. Put Cohen in a blond wig, hand him a Chihuahua and you’ve got Paris Hilton.” (Philadelphia Inquirer, June 11, 2007)

Credit rating: “Rep. Mark Cohen, (D-Philadelphia), revealed a credit card balance with a 24.99 percent interest rate and that he accepted an interest-free loan from his longtime administrative assistant, Dorothy Kelly. ‘She was aware that I was shopping around for a loan, and she offered to pay, she offered to loan me the money,’ Cohen said. He has since repaid the loan, which was for slightly more than $6,500,’ he said.” (Associated Press, May 4, 2007, Source: Statement of Financial Interests for 2006, State Ethics Commission)

Back taxes: “The Dauphin County Tax Claim Bureau recently slapped a delinquency notice on the front door of a Harrisburg row home. It proclaimed the owner to be $452.02 in arrears for 2011 county property taxes. The house is in the shadow of the Capitol, and its owner is one of the longest serving members in the state House, Philadelphia Democrat Mark Cohen…”

“In 2011, as ABC 27 reported Thursday, Cohen was the prince of per diems. He claimed nearly $40,000 in mostly tax-free, taxpayer money that’s intended to reimburse lawmakers for lodging and meal expenses while on business. But neighbors tell us the Harrisburg row home is Cohen’s lodging most days.” (Dennis Owens  WHTM-27, 2012.)

Rep. Cohen uses Nazi reference in radio show scuffle over per diems: “Cohen unleashed a string of invectives on Epstein during a segment on “The Bob Durgin Show” on WHP in Harrisburg.”

On the radio program Cohen defended his record of per diem use, saying he is in Harrisburg a lot because he is a “workaholic.”

Epstein and Cohen got into a scuffle when Epstein challenged the per diems as unnecessary – with the base pay for lawmakers topping $80,000 – and undocumented. Then it gets personal. Cohen blurts out that Epstein “hates legislators the way the Nazis hated Jews.” (Philly.com, August 21, 2012.)

Taxpayer funded education: While serving as a full time legislator Mr. Cohen completed graduate work at Temple University, Gratz College and Pennsylvania State University, received a law degree from the Widener School of Law and an MBA from Lebanon Valley College in 2000.

Per diem prince: The “per diem” or daily allowance is an undocumented reimbursement lawmakers receive in addition to their salary for food and lodging. If a per diem is taken on a session day or for a committee meeting, taxes are not taken out or paid on the per diem pursuant to IRS rules. If a legislator receives a per diem for a non session day, taxes are taken out.

“One dollar bill”: A report by Dennis Owens of WHTM-TV found that Cohen collected per diems for dozens of days the legislature was not in session including Easter, July 4th and entire month of August. (Similar reviews by the Inquirer, the Daily News and other publications have found similar results in other years.)

Owens reports that when the per diem rate went up by a $1 in April 2011 to $158 a day, Cohen submitted a retroactive invoice for the extra dollar. (Philly.com, August 21, 2012.)

Mark Cohen’s per diem tab from 2009-2012:
Per diems 2009: $31,473.
Per diems 2011: $39,333.75.
Per diems 2012: $38,000

Pension: Mr. Cohen is currently the Democratic Chairman of the State Government Committee and will enjoy a generous pension payout. Benefits covered by the pension system in effect before 1974 utilize a higher “multiplier” to calculate benefits for Mr. Cohen.

The pre-1974 tier uses a 7.5% multiplier of the average salary of the three highest years compared to a 3% multiplier for lawmakers elected after 1974 and uses a 2.5% multiplier for state employees.