A candidate for the D.C. Council seat being vacated by Mayor-elect Muriel Bowser died suddenly on Wednesday morning after complaining of chest pains.
A.J. Cooper III, 34, announced last month his intentions to run for the Ward 4 seat, staging a kick-off rally at his Brightwood home in Northwest in November.
A message posted on his campaign’s Facebook page Wednesday said he died “suddenly and unexpectedly this morning after complaining about chest pain and dizziness.”
Mr. Cooper was well-known across the city, having hosted the BET show “Teen Summit” when he was a student at Roosevelt High School in Northwest. He spent several years in the Marines and later went on to work as the policy director for D.C. Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy.
But his political aspirations had bloomed in recent years, prompting him to run for an at-large seat on the council in 2012.
The message on his campaign’s Facebook page also notes that Mr. Cooper had just gotten engaged to his fiance, Ryan Parker, over the Thanksgiving holiday.
• Andrea Noble can be reached at anoble@washingtontimes.com.
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