Alexander Cooke
General election candidate (Founder & CEO, Optimist Capital LLC, an institutional wealth management firm based in Palm Beach Gardens; 20+ years in investment management, fixed income trading, and portfolio management; BS Finance, Fairfield University; formerly Director at Fairfield Bush & Co.; Mayor and Councilmember of Juno Beach, FL, March 2022–March 2024; lost re-election bid to Peggy Wheeler in March 2024; running as an NPA candidate against incumbent Brian Mast in the general election, 11/3/2026)
Last updated: 2026-08-21
Integrity & Legal Record 25 / 25
Criminal History
`[NOT FOUND — searched: nationwide Google/news search "Alexander Cooke" Juno Beach arrested OR convicted OR indicted — 2026-08-14]`. No adverse findings.
- Nationwide Google/news search — 2026-08-14 — no adverse matches
Civil Court History
`[NOT FOUND — searched: nationwide Google/news search "Alexander Cooke" Juno Beach lawsuit OR litigation — 2026-08-14]`. No adverse civil litigation found.
- Nationwide Google/news search — 2026-08-14 — no adverse matches
Ethics Violations
No ethics complaints found against Cooke personally. Separately, a 2024 Juno Beach council controversy ("Juno Beach clash") involved a colleague council member being convicted of battery against Cooke's wife at a campaign event; Cooke was not the subject of any charge or complaint in this matter.
- WLRN — "Jury finds Juno council member guilty but judge gives her a break" (9/20/2024) — 2026-08-14
- Stet News — "Juno Beach clash" (7/1/2024) — 2026-08-14
- Florida Commission on Ethics — https://ethics.state.fl.us/Complaints/Complaints.aspx — 2026-08-14 — no complaint found
Campaign Finance Violations
`[NOT FOUND — searched: nationwide Google/news search "Alexander Cooke" FL-21 campaign finance FEC violation — 2026-08-14]`. No violation records found.
- Nationwide Google/news search — 2026-08-14 — no adverse matches
Residency Confirmed
Documented resident of Juno Beach, FL (Palm Beach County, within FL-21), consistent with his 2022–2024 mayoral service.
- Campaign website (alexander-cooke.com); Florida Jolt — 2026-08-14
- Approval formality completed 2026-09-10 — this category's findings were fully researched 2026-08-14 (clean record across all five metrics) but the suggested-to-final approval step was never recorded at the time; added now with no change to the underlying findings or score.
- Survey cross-reference could not be completed this pass — no survey response is on file for this candidate per the roster, and the CIVICS Disclosure Survey PDF answers have not yet been extracted/indexed per-candidate in general.
Professional & Business Transparency 23 / 25
Business Ownership
Per his SEC IAPD report (CRD# 4325623, "Alexander Runels Cooke"), his sole current business is Optimist Capital LLC (Firm CRD# 292023), where he has served as Managing Director/Founder since December 2017, registered as an Investment Adviser Representative in Florida (since 6/13/2018) and California (since 7/25/2019). Prior employment: Fairfield, Bush & Co. (Director, 2005–2017, New Haven CT) and Main Street Management Company (2002–2004, Wallingford CT), both investment-related. Critically, the report's "Other Business Activities" section — which specifically requires disclosure of any other proprietorship, partnership, officer, or director role — states "No information reported," meaning he has no other reported business activity beyond Optimist Capital.
- SEC Investment Adviser Public Disclosure (IAPD) — full report, CRD# 4325623 (reports.adviserinfo.sec.gov) — 2026-08-21
Financial Conflicts of Interest
No government-contract overlap identified. Cooke's local elected role (Juno Beach Mayor/Councilmember, 2022–2024) is a small-town, non-regulatory-authority position; no indication his wealth-management firm did business with the Town of Juno Beach or any other government body. Notably, as a council member he created Juno Beach's first Audit Committee, a resident-oversight body for town funds — a good-governance credential, not a conflict.
- Florida Jolt — "Mayor Alexander Cooke Fights For the Soul of Juno Beach" — 2026-08-21
Bankruptcy History
His own SEC IAPD disclosure report affirmatively states "Are there events disclosed about this representative? No" — covering bankruptcies and unpaid judgments/liens per FINRA's own disclosure-event definition, a self-attested, regulator-verified negative. Separately, a CourtListener search surfaced a 2005-decided Connecticut bankruptcy adversary proceeding, Cooke v. Cooke (In re Cooke), Bankr. D. Conn., in which "Maryalice Cooke, individually and as the next friend of Richard Thomas Cooke, Jr. and Alexander Cooke" sued her ex-husband Richard Thomas Cooke (the debtor) over dischargeability of debts tied to their 1992 divorce; the opinion notes Richard Thomas Cooke admitted to forging his ex-wife's signature and was criminally convicted of that forgery in 1995. Given this candidate's strong, independently-documented Fairfield/New Haven, Connecticut professional ties (SEC record above) and the case's Fairfield, CT venue, this is a plausible but not conclusively confirmed match — if it is the same family, "Alexander Cooke" was a minor child represented by his mother "as next friend," i.e., a protected beneficiary of the litigation, not a defendant or wrongdoer; the adjudicated misconduct (forgery, criminal conviction) belongs to his father, not to him. This would not be an adverse finding against the candidate even if confirmed, but is documented for completeness and to explain a plausible name match.
- SEC IAPD report — Disclosure Information section — 2026-08-21
- CourtListener — Cooke v. Cooke (In re Cooke), 335 B.R. 269 (Bankr. D. Conn. 2005) — 2026-08-21
Tax Liens
`[NOT FOUND]` beyond the SEC IAPD "No disclosed events" finding above, which specifically covers unpaid judgments/liens as a matter of federal regulatory disclosure. Per this project's standing methodology, this is treated as a stronger-than-usual signal (a regulator-verified disclosure requirement) but still not scored as an absolute clean record given general online-indexing limitations for non-federally-regulated liens.
- SEC IAPD report — Disclosure Information section — 2026-08-21
Board Memberships
No outside corporate or nonprofit board membership was identified via web search or his SEC "Other Business Activities" disclosure (which reported none). His wife, Bianca Giancoli Cooke, was identified via news search; no nonprofit board affiliation was found for her, and Sunbiz could not be checked due to the tooling block.
- Nationwide Google/news search: "Alexander Cooke" Juno Beach board member/director nonprofit — 2026-08-21 — no matches
- ⚠️ REVIEW FLAG: A plausible-but-unconfirmed 2005 Connecticut family bankruptcy case (Cooke v. Cooke) involving an "Alexander Cooke" as a minor "next friend" plaintiff; not adverse even if confirmed as this candidate. Documented for completeness.
- ⚠️ TOOLING BLOCK: Sunbiz unresponsive this session; spouse (Bianca Giancoli Cooke) business check not completed.
- Survey cross-reference could not be completed this pass — no survey response is on file for this candidate per the roster.
Policy & Platform Consistency 19 / 20
Voting Record
Unlike most non-incumbent candidates in this project, Cooke has an actual local elected-office record: elected to the Juno Beach Town Council in 2022, then elevated to Mayor by fellow councilmembers in 2023. His documented achievement as Mayor was revising Juno Beach's zoning code, reinstating an "80-20 rule" requiring developers to provide 80% residential/20% commercial development, aimed at controlling development pressure in the small (under 4,000-resident, 1.8-square-mile) town. His congressional platform includes ending tariffs he says are driving up grocery prices, clean water/Everglades restoration, stopping toxic discharges, and — directly contrasting with incumbent Brian Mast's Category 1 PRIORITY STOCK Act finding — a congressional stock-trading ban.
- Florida Jolt — "Mayor Alexander Cooke Fights For the Soul of Juno Beach" — 2026-08-21
- alexander-cooke.com — "All About Alex" — 2026-08-21
- alexcookeforcongress.com — campaign platform — 2026-08-21
Position Consistency
Cooke's local-government development-control priorities (Juno Beach zoning/80-20 rule) and his congressional cost-of-living/anti-corruption platform reflect a consistent theme of controlling outside pressures (development, corporate influence, tariffs) on his community. `[No documented reversal identified — searched: nationwide Google/news search — 2026-08-21]`.
- alexander-cooke.com — 2026-08-21
Flip-Flops
`[NOT FOUND — searched: nationwide Google/news search "Alexander Cooke" FL-21 flip-flop reversed position — 2026-08-21]`. No documented instance of Cooke reversing a stated position was identified.
- Nationwide Google/news search — 2026-08-21 — no matches
Endorsements
Cooke has a documented, explicit policy of declining all endorsements as a matter of principle, stating: "I don't accept endorsements when people offer, because I don't want any situation where people think they have control over me." This is a deliberate, stated position rather than an absence of coalition-building effort, and should be weighed accordingly — his campaign site has a "Resident Endorsements" page featuring individual constituent testimonials rather than institutional/organizational endorsements. `[Endorsements given — NOT FOUND — 2026-08-21]`.
- Campaign material/interview quote (via web search aggregation) — 2026-08-21
- alexander-cooke.com — "Resident Endorsements" — 2026-08-21
- Cross-reference: Cooke's congressional stock-trading-ban platform plank directly contrasts with the Category 1 PRIORITY STOCK Act finding documented against incumbent Brian Mast (also noted in Martin_James's Category 3 file for the same reason).
- Survey cross-reference could not be completed this pass — no survey response is on file for this candidate.
Community Engagement & Character 16 / 25
Community Involvement
Cooke and his wife Bianca are licensed foster parents in Florida and have cared for several young children over the past few years — a sustained, hands-on personal community-service commitment independent of his campaign or elected role. ⚠️ CROSS-REFERENCE: his documented record as Juno Beach Mayor/Councilmember (2022–2024) — including creating the town's first Audit Committee and leading its zoning-code "80-20 rule" reform — is detailed in Categories 2 and 3 and not re-litigated here, but is directly relevant civic-engagement context.
- alexander-cooke.com — "All About Alex" — 2026-08-24
- Florida Jolt — "Mayor Alexander Cooke Fights For the Soul of Juno Beach" — 2026-08-24
Veteran / First Responder Service
`[NOT FOUND]`. No personal veteran or first-responder service identified.
- Nationwide Google/news search — 2026-08-24 — no matches
Faith-Based Involvement (scored on character consistency)
`[NOT FOUND]`. A nearby house of worship (Holy Spirit Lutheran Church, Juno Beach) appeared in general local search results, but no source connects Cooke personally to it or to any other faith community; this is not attributed to him. Per methodology, absence of documented faith involvement is not scored negatively.
- Nationwide Google/news search — 2026-08-24 — no personal connection found
Debates / Town Halls
General references to Cooke's participation in "debates and candidate forums" for his FL-21 congressional run were found in search aggregation, but no specific, itemized debate or town hall event could be independently confirmed this session. As Mayor, he presided over public council meetings on contentious zoning/development matters (per Category 3), consistent with an engaged public-meeting record; no instance of declining or avoiding a debate or town hall was found.
- DecodeTheVote — Florida US House District 21 Race 2026 candidate/records page — 2026-08-24
- Nationwide Google/news search — 2026-08-24
Social Media Presence & Consistency
Active, multi-platform presence with consistent handles across Facebook (@Cookeforflorida), Instagram, X (@alexanderRcooke), and LinkedIn, all reflecting his independent, grassroots-campaign messaging ("no party backing, no billionaire safety net, no outside control") focused on insurance, cost of living, and clean water for the Treasure Coast. No controversial or inconsistent posts identified.
- facebook.com/Cookeforflorida — 2026-08-24
- twitter.com/alexanderrcooke — 2026-08-24
- alexcookeforcongress.com — 2026-08-24
- Notable positive finding: licensed foster parenting is a genuine, sustained personal community-service commitment distinct from his campaign or elected-office record.
- Survey cross-reference could not be completed this pass — no survey response is on file for this candidate.
Campaign Transparency 18 / 25
Top Donors / Donor Composition
`[A precise total-raised figure was NOT FOUND this session — searched: FEC.gov (Committee C00844993), FloridaDonorTrack — 2026-08-26]`. His campaign website explicitly brands itself as having "no party affiliation and no corporate PACs" — consistent with the principled no-endorsements stance already documented in Category 3.
- alexcookeforcongress.com — "Florida First Independent for FL-21" — 2026-08-26
PAC / LLC / Funneling Structures
`[NOT FOUND — no PAC involvement identified — consistent with his campaign's explicit "no corporate PACs" branding — searched: FEC.gov — 2026-08-26]`.
- alexcookeforcongress.com — as above — 2026-08-26
Advertising Spend
`[NOT FOUND — searched: FEC.gov expenditure reports — 2026-08-26]`.
- Nationwide Google/news search — 2026-08-26 — no matches
Grassroots Engagement
`[No specific documented canvassing/phone-banking events located this session — searched: nationwide Google/news search "Alexander Cooke" FL-21 campaign volunteer 2026 — 2026-08-26]`. ⚠️ CROSS-REFERENCE: as documented in Category 4, he and his wife are licensed Florida foster parents with a sustained personal community-service commitment, distinct from a campaign-specific ground game.
- Cross-referenced from Category 4 — 2026-08-26
Donations to Political Figures
`[NOT FOUND — searched: FEC.gov, nationwide Google/news search — 2026-08-26]`.
- Nationwide Google/news search — 2026-08-26 — no matches
- No adverse findings; an explicit, principled no-corporate-PAC campaign-finance philosophy consistent with his Category 3 no-endorsements stance.
- Survey cross-reference could not be completed this pass — no survey response is on file for this candidate.
Issue-Based Positions 27 / 40
2A Rights Score
`[NO STATED POSITION FOUND — scored 3 per protocol — sources searched: NRA, GOA, campaign website (alexander-cooke.com) — 2026-08-26]`.
- Nationwide Google/news search — 2026-08-26 — no matches
Pro-Life / Pro-Family Score
`[NO STATED POSITION FOUND — scored 3 per protocol — sources searched: SBA Pro-Life America, campaign website — 2026-08-26]`.
- Nationwide Google/news search — 2026-08-26 — no matches
Fiscal Conservatism Score
Platform commits to "ending blank-check spending that ignores communities."
- alexander-cooke.com — 2026-08-26
Parental Rights Score
`[NO STATED POSITION FOUND — scored 3 per protocol — sources searched: Moms for Liberty, campaign website — 2026-08-26]`.
- Nationwide Google/news search — 2026-08-26 — no matches
Election Integrity Position
Platform references "restoring real checks and balances in government," a general governance-reform message rather than a specific voter-ID/mail-ballot/audit position.
- alexander-cooke.com — 2026-08-26
Housing / Insurance Position
Explicitly states he is "fighting for the Treasure Coast on insurance, cost of living, and clean water" as a named campaign priority.
- alexander-cooke.com — 2026-08-26
Education / School Choice Position
`[NO STATED POSITION FOUND — scored 3 per protocol — sources searched: Parents Defending Education, campaign website — 2026-08-26]`.
- Nationwide Google/news search — 2026-08-26 — no matches
Environment / Everglades Position
Names "clean water" as a top campaign priority for the Treasure Coast region.
- alexander-cooke.com — 2026-08-26
- Consistent with his no-endorsements, independent-branding record documented in Cat3; strongest metrics cluster around cost-of-living/clean-water priorities.
- Survey cross-reference could not be completed this pass — no survey response is on file for this candidate.