Mike Colona is a Democratic

Democratic Party (United States)

The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

 member of the Missouri House of Representatives

Missouri House of Representatives

The Missouri House of Representatives is the lower chamber of the Missouri General Assembly. It has 163 members, representing districts with an average size of 31,000 residents. House members are elected for two-year terms during general elections held in even-numbered years.In 1992 Missouri...

. Colona represents the 67th district, which is centered on the Tower Grove South

Tower Grove South, St. Louis

Tower Grove South is a neighborhood of St. Louis, Missouri. Formerly known as Oak Hill, Tower Grove South is bounded by Arsenal Street on the north, Chippewa Street on the south, Kingshighway Boulevard on the west, and Grand Boulevard on the east. The majority of the neighborhood was built...

 area within the city of St. Louis

St. Louis, Missouri

St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...

. Colona also serves as the House Minority Whip

Whip (politics)

A whip is an official in a political party whose primary purpose is to ensure party discipline in a legislature. Whips are a party's "enforcers", who typically offer inducements and threaten punishments for party members to ensure that they vote according to the official party policy...

 for the 96th General Assembly.

Personal history

Mike Colona was born in St. Louis

St. Louis, Missouri

St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...

 in 1969. He is a 1987 graduate of Fox High School in Arnold, Missouri

Arnold, Missouri

Arnold is the largest city in Jefferson County, Missouri, United States. The population was estimated to be 20,603 in 2008, slightly more than the 19,965 number reported in the 2000 census.-Geography:Arnold is located at...

. Colona earned a Bachelor of Science

Bachelor of Science

A Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years .-Australia:In Australia, the BSc is a 3 year degree, offered from 1st year on...

 from Truman State University

Truman State University

Truman State University is a public liberal arts and sciences university in Missouri, United States and a member of the Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges. About 6,000 students attend Truman, pursuing degrees in 43 undergraduate and 9 Graduate programs. It is located in Kirksville in...

 and a J.D.

Juris Doctor

Juris Doctor is a professional doctorate and first professional graduate degree in law.The degree was first awarded by Harvard University in the United States in the late 19th century and was created as a modern version of the old European doctor of law degree Juris Doctor (see etymology and...

 from St. Louis University. A lawyer in private practice, he specializes in personal injury, worker’s compensation and some first amendment

First Amendment to the United States Constitution

The First Amendment to the United States Constitution is part of the Bill of Rights. The amendment prohibits the making of any law respecting an establishment of religion, impeding the free exercise of religion, abridging the freedom of speech, infringing on the freedom of the press, interfering...

 cases. Colona has also served as an adjunct professor of criminal justice for the University of Missouri - St. Louis. Colona is openly gay and both his 2008 and 2010 campaigns won the support of the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund

Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund

The Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund is an American political action committee dedicated to increasing the number of openly LGBT public officials in US political life.The Victory Fund was founded in 1991...

. He is one of three openly LGBT

LGBT

LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...

 legislators in Jefferson City, alongside Sen. Jolie Justus

Jolie Justus

Jolie L. Justus is an American lawyer and politician from Missouri. A Democrat, she is a member of the Missouri State Senate, representing the state's 10th District in Kansas City.-Early life and career:...

 (D–Kansas City

Kansas City, Missouri

Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...

) and Rep. Jeanette Mott Oxford

Jeanette Mott Oxford

Jeanette Mott Oxford is an American activist and politician from the state of Missouri. She is a currently a member of the Missouri House of Representatives, representing a portion of St. Louis...

 (D–St. Louis).

Political history

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. No Republican ran for the seat so Colona was unopposed in the November 2008 general election. In the 2010 general election Colona handily defeated Republican

Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

 challenger Curtis Farber with 82-percent of the vote to win a second term.

Organizations

• Board member, St. Louis Effort for AIDS.
• Ex-officio board member Grand Oak Hills Neighborhood Association.
• Past President, Truman State University Alumni Association.
• Member, Missouri Association of Trial Attorneys.

External links

• Campaign website
• Legislative homepage