Charlie Dooley
Charlie A. Dooley | |
|---|---|
| 7thCounty Executive of St. Louis County | |
| In office October 14, 2003 – January 1, 2015 | |
| Preceded by | George "Buzz" Westfall |
| Succeeded by | Steve Stenger |
| Personal details | |
| Born | St. Louis, Missouri |
| Political party | Democratic |
Charlie A. Dooleyis anAmericanpolitician.He served as theCounty ExecutiveofSt. Louis County, Missouriuntil January 1, 2015. Dooley was the firstAfrican Americanto hold this position. He is aDemocrat.
Early life and career
Dooley grew up in St. Louis, attending theSt. Louis Public Schoolsand graduated fromWellston School District.He served in theUnited States Armyduring theVietnam Warand was honorably discharged in 1968.[citation needed]After his military service, Dooley went to work forMcDonnell Douglas(nowBoeing) and retired after 30 years of service in 1999.
Political career
Dooley's political career began with part-time positions in the village ofNorthwoods,where he and his family reside. Dooley was elected as anAldermanin Northwoods in 1978, and in 1983 he was electedmayor.He served as mayor until he was elected to the St. Louis County Council in 1994. He was the first African-American elected to the council, and was re-elected in 1998 and 2002. In 2000, Dooley was an unsuccessful candidate for election toCongress.He lost the DemocraticprimarytoLacy Clayin a race to succeed Clay's father,Bill Clay.
In 2003, Dooley was appointed County Executive, following the death of County ExecutiveBuzz Westfall.In November 2004, aspecial electionwas held to fill the remainder of Westfall's term. Dooley won the election defeating theRepublicannominee, former County ExecutiveGene McNary.
In 2006, Dooley was reelected to a full term as County Executive, defeating the Republican nominee, Joe Passanise, by gaining 67% of the vote. In a difficult mid-term election season for Democrats, Dooley was elected to serve a second full term as County Executive in 2010, defeating the Republican nominee,Bill Corrigan,51.1% to 46.7%, with theLibertariancandidate receiving 2.2% of the vote.[1]
On August 5, 2014, Dooley lost his bid to be the Democratic Party candidate in the County Executive election to primary challengerSteve Stenger.[2]