78th District Delegate John Cosgrove

John A. Cosgrove, a Republican, represents the City of Chesapeake in the 78th House District. Elected in 2001, and now serving his fourth term in the Virginia General Assembly, John has focused his efforts on improving public safety, education, transportation and protecting the Chesapeake Bay, as well as working hard to protect our family values.

John was born in Montgomery, Alabama and later moved to Springfield, Virginia. He was first elected to office in 1998 as City Council Member for the City of Chesapeake and served as Vice Mayor from 2000-01. In 2001 he was elected to the Virginia General Assembly.

John attended Shenandoah College and Conservatory of Music to study his love of music. This also happens to be where he met his wife, Sue. He later continued his education and graduated from Tidewater Community College in 1983 and in 1985 graduated from Old Dominion University with a degree in Electrical Engineering Technology.

John served in the United States Navy as an Aerospace Engineering Officer / Maintenance Officer station with F-14 Squadron VF-202, Helicopter Combat Support Special Squadron Four (HCS-4), and Naval Air Systems Command Units.

Since being elected to the Virginia House of Delegates in 2001, John has demonstrated strong commitment to his constituents. He continues that tradition by placing a high priority on making Chesapeake a better place to live, work, and raise a family. He continually works with federal, state, and local agencies to ensure that Chesapeake and the Commonwealth of Virginia remain terrific places to make a home.

 

As Your Legislator

In the General Assembly, John serves on four important committees:

John is the current Chairman of the Virginia Housing Commission, and serves as Vice Chairman of the Virginia Delegation of the Chesapeake Bay Commission. He has been appointed to the Joint Commission on Technology and Science (JCOTS), where he is Chairman of the Modeling and Simulation Sub-Committee, Chairman of the Energy Sub-Committee and a member of the Nanotechnology working group. John also serves on the Governor's Commission on Military Bases and Federal Facilities which works on issues related Virginia installations that provide thousands of jobs to our Commonwealth. John also chairs the Virginia National Guard Caucus in the General Assembly.

John has been the chief sponsor of legislation on various issues, including but not limited to, the Constitutional Amendment on Marriage, which preserves traditional marriage in the Commonwealth of Virginia, the "Laci Peterson Bill" that makes it a murder to kill the child of an expectant mother, as well as bills establishing Veteran's Recognition Week, a School Supply Sales-Tax Holiday, and a Study of Science, Math and Technology Education in K-12 Education.

Two of John's most important bills to Hampton Roads include the Restructuring of the Southeastern Public Service Authority (SPSA) and the reform of the Hampton Roads Transportation Authority.

 

As Your Neighbor

John is also deeply committed to the community, as reflected by his many memberships, affiliations and awards, including:

John attends Great Bridge Baptist Church and lives in the Hickory section of Chesapeake with his wife Sue. He and Sue have been married since 1978 and have two sons, Michael (wife Beth) and Brian (wife Katie).