Dan Cohen

Daniel Willard Cohen (June 10, 1936 – April 4, 2024) was an American author, businessperson and politician from Minneapolis, Minnesota. He had provided financial support to candidates of the Democratic and Republican parties and ran as an independent candidate in the 2013 Minneapolis mayoral election, ultimately finishing seventh out of 35 candidates.

He was a member of the Minneapolis Planning Commission and the Minneapolis Charter Commission. He was a member of the Minneapolis City Council from 1965 to 1969 (President, 1967–69) and the Planning Commission from 1976 to 1980 (President, 1977–79).

Early life Cohen grew up in Minneapolis and attended Kenwood School and the Breck School, before graduating from the Blake School in 1954. He attended Stanford University and graduated from Harvard Law School.

Career At age 29, 1965, Cohen was elected to City Council and was City Council President from 1967 to 1969. He supported long range residential street paving despite holding the endorsements of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (DFL), the Republican party, and of President Richard Nixon.

Cohen moved to Washington, D.C., and served as a Special Assistant to the Director of the Peace Corps, Washington D.C. In the 1970s, Cohen served on the Minneapolis Planning Commission for four years. The newspapers nevertheless exposed Cohen, who lost his job with the campaign and sued Star Tribune owner Cowles Media Company. The trial court found the defendants liable for $200,000 in compensatory damages. The case eventually went before the Supreme Court of the United States in 1991, which decided 5–4 in Cohen v. Cowles Media Co. that the First Amendment did not preclude such a cause of action, but left other issues of state law to the Minnesota courts. During Cohen's time on the commission, he also supported Plain Language Charter Reform.

Cohen announced his candidacy on June 18, 2013, for Minneapolis Mayor in the 2013 election, and finished in seventh place out of 35 candidates.

Dan Cohen died April 4, 2024, at age 87.

Personal life Cohen was a horseman for many years, mainly dealing with thoroughbreds and primarily for racing at Canterbury Park. and served on the Thoroughbred Breeders Fund Allocation Advisory Committee to the Minnesota Racing Commission.