Via Facebook.

Via Facebook.

A.J. Cooper, who was campaigning for a seat on the D.C. Council, has died suddenly of a heart attack. He was 34.

The Post’s Mike DeBonis first reported the news of Cooper’s death, and Cooper’s mother, Brenda Cooper, confirmed his death this morning.

Cooper, a two-time At-Large Council candidate, was pursuing a campaign to fill the Ward 4 Council seat, currently occupied by mayor-elect Muriel Bowser, at the time of his death. He became engaged over the Thanksgiving weekend.

As DeBonis noted, Cooper first rose to prominence as a host of Teen Summit on Black Entertainment Television before entering in the Marine Corps and then graduating from the University of Maryland in 2009. He first became involved in D.C. politics working as the policy director for the D.C. Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy. He first ran for office in 2012 when he ran for an At-Large Council seat as an independent.

In addition to his political career, Cooper was a big champion of urban farming, having founded Freedom Farms, an initiative to grow food in the city and hire low-income D.C. residents in need of a job. Cooper bought a 2.5-acre plot of land in Hyattsville, Md. that he turned into something of a pilot program for what he’d like to do in D.C.

“I said, ‘Well, if it can work on Mars, maybe it can work in Southeast,’” Cooper recently told Elevation D.C. “Ideally, in the next five years, we’ll have dozens of centers in D.C.,”

Since news of his passing spread this morning, local politicians have expressed their deep sadness:

Here’s a statement on his passing from his campaign Facebook page:

Algernon (“Jay”) Cooper, III passed suddenly and unexpectedly this morning after complaining about chest pain and dizziness. The son of A. J. Cooper, Jr. and Brenda Rhodes Miller, Cooper had recently announced his intent to run for the Ward 4 City Council seat that will be vacated by Mayor-elect Muriel Bowser.

Born and raised in Washington, Cooper graduated from Roosevelt HS and the University of Maryland. He served as Policy Director for D.C. Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy.

Cooper had just become engaged to Miss Ryan Palmer over the Thanksgiving holiday. He was excited about beginning a life with Ryan and being more involved in the life of the city.

He was loved by many and will be truly missed.

And Ward 5 Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie released the following statement on his passing:

Today, I lost a friend, and the District of Columbia lost a young activist, social entrepreneur, and above all, a public servant.

A native Washingtonian and product of the District’s public schools, A.J. Cooper had a remarkable and ambitious upbringing. From an early age, he championed HIV and public health issues that deeply impacted young men and women in the District. After attending college, he graduated from the Marine Corps’ Officer Candidate School and honorably served our country. Our paths would later cross when he served as Policy Director of D.C. Campaign to Prevent Teenage Pregnancy, where he successfully advocated for programs to reduce teen pregnancy and increase low-income women’s access to birth control.

It is rare to meet someone so young and yet deeply passionate about the District. A.J. Cooper was involved with numerous civic organizations and political campaigns, including my own. We met on several occasions over the last year to discuss his urban farming initiative, a plan to connect under-served communities to green jobs with specialized training. A.J. Cooper had the vision to not only bring a much needed source of employment to neighborhoods with high poverty rates, but saw an opportunity where anyone, regardless of his or her socio-economic status, could contribute to the overall sustainable economic development we are embracing across the District of Columbia. I will always remember A.J. Cooper for his selfless service to his neighborhood, his community, the District of Columbia and our country.

My thoughts and prayers are with his family and all those who were fortunate enough to count him as a friend. Like many of the individuals who came into contact with him at one point or another in his lifetime, I envisioned a bright future for A.J. Cooper. I will miss him deeply.

Filed Under: a.j. cooper, d.c. council candidate,