Mark Cole

Cole grew up in Monticello, Kentucky and graduated from Monticello High School.{{cite web|last=Cole|first=Mark|title=About Mark Cole|url=http://marklcole.com/MarkColeBio.html|access-date=March 21, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150306184625/http://marklcole.com/MarkColeBio.html|archive-date=March 6, 2015|url-status=dead}} He has a bachelor's degree in civil engineering technology from the Western Kentucky University, an associate degree in computer information systems from Germanna Community College and a bachelor's degree in computer science from the University of Mary Washington.{{cite web |url=http://virginiageneralassembly.gov/house/members/members.php?id=H0142|title= Information for Mark Cole |publisher=Virginia House of Delegates |access-date=March 23, 2015}}

After graduation from Western Kentucky University in 1980, Cole entered the United States Navy and was commissioned as an officer. He served on {{USS|Mississippi|CGN-40}} as ordnance officer and assistant combat systems officer. He left active duty in 1985 but continued to serve in the United States Naval Reserve where he retired as a commander in 2004.

After leaving the Navy in 1985, Cole was employed as a systems analyst and manager by Northrop Grumman supporting the Navy at Dahlgren, Virginia, until 2012. In 2013 he was hired by Spotsylvania County, Virginia as deputy county administrator.{{cite news |url=http://www.fredericksburg.com/news/local/spotsylvania/republican-del-mark-cole-named-spotsy-s-new-deputy-county/article_ccab4933-0ae9-5077-ad7c-ea862408522c.html |title=Republican Del. Mark Cole named Spotsy's new deputy county administrator |date=December 11, 2012 |newspaper=The Free Lance-Star |publisher=fredericksburg.com |access-date=November 14, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220605190504/https://fredericksburg.com/news/local/spotsylvania/republican-del-mark-cole-named-spotsy-s-new-deputy-county/article_ccab4933-0ae9-5077-ad7c-ea862408522c.html |archive-date=June 5, 2022 |url-status=live }}

Cole was elected to the Spotsylvania County, Virginia Board of Supervisors in 1999, where he served until 2002 when he took office in the Virginia House of Delegates. He was the chairman of the House Privileges and Elections Committee until the Democratic Party took the majority in the Virginia House of Delegates in the 2019 election. He is also a member of the House Finance and Education Committees.

Cole describes himself as a fiscal and social conservative that supports individual rights while opposing tax increases.{{cite web|last=Cole|first=Mark|title= Mark Cole On the Issues |url= http://marklcole.com/MarkColeIssues.html|access-date=March 21, 2015}} He opposed Republican initiatives to raise taxes in 2007 {{cite web |url= http://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?071+sum+HB3202|title= House Bill 3202 |publisher=Virginia House of Delegates |access-date=March 23, 2015}} and 2013.{{cite web |url= http://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?131+sum+HB2313|title= House Bill 2313 |publisher=Virginia House of Delegates |access-date=March 23, 2015}}

Cole voted against Medicaid expansion, HB5001, in the 2018 legislative session. The bill passed 68–30 in the House of Delegates with bipartisan support.{{cite web |url=https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?182+vot+HV1704+HB5001 |title=HB5001 |work=LIS Virginia |access-date=October 31, 2019}}

Cole was criticized in February 2010 for comments made by him about his sponsorship of HB53, a bill in the House of Delegates which would ban involuntary implantation of microchips into humans by their employers:{{cite web |url=http://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?101+sum+HB53 |title=HB 53 Human tracking devices; unlawful use thereof by insurer or employer |author=Cole, Mark L. |date=December 22, 2009 |publisher=Virginia General Assembly |access-date=November 14, 2017}}

{{blockquote|My understanding -- I'm not a theologian -- but there's a prophecy in the Bible that says you'll have to receive a mark, or you can neither buy nor sell things in end times, some people think these computer chips might be that mark.{{cite news| url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/09/AR2010020903796.html | work=The Washington Post | title=Human microchips seen by some in Virginia House as device of antichrist | first1=Fredrick | last1=Kunkle | first2=Rosalind S. | last2=Helderman | date=February 10, 2010 | access-date=May 12, 2010}}}}

Rob Boston of Americans United for Separation of Church and State said of this on MSNBC that "the sort of paranoid strain of thinking among these folks just—it advances to meet the new technology that we have."{{cite news |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna35347645 |title='Countdown with Keith Olbermann' for Wednesday, February 10th |date=February 10, 2010 |publisher=NBC News |access-date=November 14, 2017}} Despite MSNBC's crusade against Delegate Cole, calling him "Mark of the Beast Cole" his bill (similar to one passed in other states) passed the House on a bi-partisan vote 88 to 9.{{cite web |url=http://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?101+sum+HB53|title=HB 53 Human tracking devices; unlawful use thereof by insurer or employer. |author=Cole, Mark L. |date=December 22, 2009 |publisher=Virginia General Assembly |access-date=August 10, 2018}}

In 2016, Cole sponsored House Bill 663, a bathroom bill restricting public restroom use according to a person's "anatomical sex", defined as "the physical condition of being male or female, which is determined by a person's anatomy", with violators liable for a civil penalty not to exceed $50. HB663 was introduced on January 11, 2016, and died in committee in February 2016.{{cite web |url=http://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?161+sum+HB663 |title=HB 663 Restroom facilities; use of facilities in public buildings or schools |author=Cole, Mark L. |date=January 11, 2016 |publisher=Virginia General Assembly |access-date=November 14, 2017}} It was widely reported that HB663 would require adults to inspect the genitals of children before they were allowed to enter the appropriate facilities, but this was dismissed by Snopes as a misleading interpretation of the bill's text,{{cite news |url=https://www.snopes.com/mark-cole-controversy/ |title=Cole's Law |author=LaCapria, Kim |date=January 13, 2016 |publisher=Snopes |access-date=November 14, 2017}} which states that administrators "shall develop and implement policies that require every restroom ... that is designated for use by a specific gender to solely be used by individuals whose anatomical sex matches such gender designation." Cole sponsored House Bill 781 one day later on January 12, 2016, which used the same wording but substituted "biological sex" for "anatomical sex". The use of "biological sex" allowed for an update via amended birth certificate. HB781 also died in committee in February.{{cite web |url=http://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?161+sum+HB781 |title=HB 781 Restroom facilities; use of facilities in public buildings or schools, definition of biological sex |author=Cole, Mark L. |date=January 11, 2016 |publisher=Virginia General Assembly |access-date=November 14, 2017}}

In 2017, Cole sponsored House Bill 1598, which would require those registering to vote after January 1, 2018, for state and local elections to provide proof of citizenship.{{cite web |url=http://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?171+sum+HB1598 |title=HB 1598 Voter registration; proof of citizenship required to register to vote in certain elections |author=Cole, Mark L. |date=January 3, 2017 |publisher=Virginia General Assembly |access-date=November 14, 2017}} HB1598 passed the House of Delegates on a 64–37 party line vote in February 2017.{{cite news |url=https://wtop.com/virginia/2017/02/virginia-house-passes-proof-of-citizenship-voting-bill-2/ |title=Virginia House passes proof-of-citizenship voting bill |author=Iannelli, Nick |date=February 2, 2017 |publisher=WTOP |access-date=November 14, 2017}}

In 2019, Cole sponsored an amendment to Virginia's Constitution (HJ615) {{cite web |url=http://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?171+sum+HB1598 |title=HJ 615 Constitutional amendment; Virginia Redistricting Commission (first reference) |author=Cole, Mark L. |date=January 1, 2019 |publisher=Virginia General Assembly |access-date=April 22, 2022}} to establish a bipartisan commission to redraw legislative and congressional district lines after the national decennial census.{{cite news |url=https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/overview-virginia-redistricting-reform-amendment-hj615sj306 |title=Overview: Virginia Redistricting Reform Amendment (HJ615/SJ306) |author=Brennan Center for Justice |date=March 28, 2019 |publisher=Brennan Center for Justice |access-date=April 22, 2022}} After passing the General Assembly a second time in 2020,{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/politics/virginia-house-passes-redistricting-amendment-despite-democratic-leadership-disapproval |title=Virginia House passes redistricting amendment despite Democratic leadership disapproval |author=Arnold, Tyler |date=March 9, 2020 |publisher=The Washington Examiner |access-date=April 22, 2022}} the amendment was overwhelmingly approved by voters{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/virginia-politics/virginia-redistricting-amendment-results/2020/11/02/5d1ef242-19f8-11eb-befb-8864259bd2d8_story.html |title=Virginians approve turning redistricting over to bipartisan commission |author=Weiner, Rachel |date=November 4, 2020 |publisher=The Washington Post |access-date=April 22, 2022}} and was in effect during Virginia's 2021 redistricting.{{cite news |url=https://www.pilotonline.com/government/virginia/vp-nw-virginia-redistricting-20211228-jxtkdya3pbaphckiyljxce242a-story.html |title= Redistricting is complete: Virginia Supreme Court signs off on new legislative maps |author= Associated Press |date=December 28, 2021 |publisher=The Virginian-Pilot |access-date=April 22, 2022}}

Cole voted against a bill to eliminate a law banning sexual intercourse before marriage in the 2020 legislative session. The bill passed 91–5 with bipartisan support in the house.{{cite web |url=http://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?201+vot+HV0448+HB0245 |title=HB0425 |work=LIS Virginia |access-date=February 9, 2020}}

Cole served as chairman of the House Privileges and Elections Committee from 2008 until 2020, when Democrats took the majority in the House.{{cite web |url=https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?191+com+H18 |title=House Privileges and Elections |author=Legislative Services |date=January 1, 2019 |publisher=Virginia General Assembly |access-date=April 22, 2022}} He also served on the House Finance, Education, General Laws, Science and Technology, and Counties, Cities and Towns committees during his tenure.{{cite web |url=https://virginiageneralassembly.gov/house/committees/all.php |title=Virginia House of Delegates Committees List |author=Legislative Services |date=January 1, 2022 |publisher=Virginia General Assembly |access-date=April 22, 2022}}

{{main|2020–21 United States election protests}}

Cole was one of three GOP delegates in Virginia that sent a letter to Vice President Pence asking him to delay the certification of the state's election results, which gave President-elect Joe Biden the win and Virginia's 13 electoral votes, until an audit of the election could be completed. The letter included two co-signers, Del. Dave LaRock (R-Loudoun) and Del. Ronnie Campbell (R-Lexington), requesting “a stay of any designation of Presidential Electors from our state until such time as a comprehensive forensic audit of the November 3, 2020, election has taken place to determine the actual winner.”{{Cite web|last=Mercury|first=Ariana Figueroa and Laura Olson/Virginia|title=Dozens of GOP lawmakers, including at least two Virginians, will reject certifying Biden as president|url=https://www.fauquier.com/news/dozens-of-gop-lawmakers-including-at-least-two-virginians-will-reject-certifying-biden-as-president/article_c3fda2cc-5032-11eb-bd31-6f5e790f92d2.html|access-date=January 12, 2021|website=Fauquier Times|language=en}} On January 13, a Virginia Circuit Court issued a consent order agreeing with one of the major points of the letter, that the conduct of the 2020 election was contrary to Virginia law.{{Cite web|title=Judge bans Virginia’s practice of accepting ballots without postmarks after Election Day|url=https://potomaclocal.com/2021/01/28/judge-bans-virginias-practice-of-accepting-ballots-without-postmarks-after-election-day/?fbclid=IwAR0gA77PLTPtzfDBIOV4Z9Pe_V98oRF38HkEvAmQOGQRVpqD47KF3MTFnhA|access-date=April 27, 2021|website=potomaclocal.com}} Cole played a role in Virginia's election policy in the past as a former chairman of the House Privileges and Elections Committee.{{Cite web|title=House of Delegates Committees|url=https://virginiageneralassembly.gov/house/members/members.php?committee=H18|access-date=January 12, 2021|website=virginiageneralassembly.gov}}

{{reflist|30em}}

• {{cite web | title = Richmond Sunlight; Delegate Mark Cole | url = http://www.richmondsunlight.com/legislator/mlcole/}}
• {{cite web | title = Virginia Public Access Project; Mark L Cole | url = http://www.vpap.org/candidates/profile/home/35256}}
• {{cite web|title=Virginia State Board of Elections; Election Information; Election Results |url=http://www.sbe.virginia.gov/cms/Election_Information/Election_Results/Index.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100617084700/http://www.sbe.virginia.gov/cms/Election_Information/Election_Results/Index.html |archive-date=June 17, 2010 }}

{{Virginia House of Delegates}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cole, Mark L.}}

Category:1958 births

Category:Living people

Category:County supervisors in Virginia

Category:Republican Party members of the Virginia House of Delegates

Category:Western Kentucky University alumni

Category:University of Mary Washington alumni

Category:People from Spotsylvania County, Virginia

Category:Politicians from Louisville, Kentucky

Category:People from Monticello, Kentucky

Category:21st-century members of the Virginia General Assembly