County Supervisor Elizabeth Coggs announced this week that she has a exploratory committee seeking information and support as she looks at running for the seat recently vacated by State Representative Annette Polly Williams.
Elizabeth Coggs was elected and has served as 10th District Supervisor since 1988 and was re-elected in 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004 and 2008. Supervisor Coggs is currently chairman of the Finance and Audit Committee and a member of the Health and Human Needs Committee and Parks, Energy and Environment Committee. From 1996 to 2000 she was the second vice chair of the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors, the first person of color and first female to be elected to this position by her peers.
Supervisor Coggs is a graduate of Lincoln High School and the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree. She is also an alumna of Future Milwaukee.
She continues the legacy of politics as a family tradition. Her father, Isaac N. Coggs, was one of the first African Americans elected to the State Legislature in 1952 and the Milwaukee County Board in 1964. Her mother, Marcia P. Coggs, was the first African- American woman elected to the Wisconsin State Legislature in 1976. Presently two cousins serve in State Government: State Representative Leon D. Young and State Senator G. Spencer Coggs
Supervisor Coggs values her roots and upbringing and appreciates the community for upholding the accomplishments of her parents by the naming of the Isaac N. Coggs Community Health Connection in 1987 and the naming of the Marcia P. Coggs Human Services Center and the D.J. Young/Marcia P. Coggs Academy in 2004. These facilities uphold the visionary legacy of her ancestors: giving back to the community to better the quality of life.
Supervisor Coggs has served as chairman of the Combined Community Services Board for the past four years. She is also a member of the National Association of County Officials and the National Organization of Black County Officials. She’s also a member of the Leaders Forum and the Historic Concordia Neighborhood Association.
She has a lifetime of involvement in the Milwaukee community. She is founder of the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Back to School Festival, chairman of Vision for Vliet, and a member of the Milwaukee Urban League Guild, NAACP and Holy Redeemer Institutional Church of God In Christ.
Coggs is the dedicated mother of Priscilla, Chloé and Devona and grandmother to Solomon Kingston. She and her family attend Holy Redeemer Institutional Church of God In Christ. Supervisor Coggs lives by the motto of “God first, then family and community” and believes in the power of “Faith, Hope & Harmony.”
Her committee will be making a official announcement on June 1, 2010 regarding her election for State Representative of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
