The week in politics: How House Republicans plan to fund their version of voucher bill

Welcome to Cooper(s)ville: Your guide to all the Coopers in Nashville politics

Yihyun Jeong
The Tennessean

There's a lot of them. 

We're talking all those Coopers that are involved in Nashville politics and government. 

We're all bound to mix them up at some point. But perhaps together, with this guide, we can get this right — eventually. 

So here it goes. Your guide to, shall we call it, Cooperville.

(We'd call it Coopertown, but in deference to our friends in Robertson County, they beat Nashville to it. The town there was incorporated in 1996.)

John Cooper is mayor of Nashville.

This is John. He is the mayor. 

John Cooper was sworn in Sept. 28 as the ninth mayor of Nashville's metropolitan government. He defeated former Mayor David Briley in a landslide runoff, becoming the first person in Metro's history to defeat an incumbent. 

Cooper served a single term as an at-large Metro council member. He largely campaigned on getting the city's fiscal house in order. 

Cooper, a 63-year-old former developer, is married with one adult child and two teenagers. After earning his MBA at Vanderbilt University, he worked in finance on Wall Street before returning to Nashville to embark on a career in real estate development and business.

► Keep up with the latest in Nashville politics on the Tennessean app.

He mostly focused his development projects in Williamson County, particularly the mixed-use office and retail district of Maryland Farms. He's also behind the retirement development The Heritage at Brentwood, and founded the charitable business Happy Retales.

While Cooper's run for council in 2015 was his first bid for public office, his family is familiar to Nashville voters.

His brother is U.S. Rep. Jim Cooper, D-Nashville, and his father Prentice Cooper was governor of Tennessee in the 1940s.

U.S. Rep. Jim Cooper spent 12 years in Congress in the 1980s and '90s, then returned to the House in 2003. He's the brother of Nashville Mayor John Cooper.

This is Jim. He is the congressman. 

Rep. Jim Cooper, D-Nashville, is John Cooper's older brother by two years. 

The 65-year-old is a Harvard Law School graduate, a former banker, small-business owner and professor.

After getting his law degree, he spent two years working for the law firm Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis, LLP in Nashville. 

Jim Cooper served 12 years in Congress, representing Tennessee's 4th Congressional District from 1983 to 1995.

He ran for U.S. Senate in 1994 and lost to Republican Fred Thompson. But he returned to Congress in 2003 after winning the 5th Congressional District seat. The district includes Nashville and much of Dickson and Cheatham counties.  

Fun fact: Jim Cooper had to tell his constituents in 2006 that he was not Jerry Cooper, the Democrat state senator from Morristown, Tennessee, who was charged with bank fraud, mail fraud and conspiracy for his role in a deal involving land he owned, an inflated appraisal and a $1.7 million bank loan. Cooper received a lot of calls from concerned residents and a company even canceled a meeting with him following the news.

Jim and John Cooper have another brother, William Cooper, who is a Nashville attorney.

Bob Cooper is the former state attorney general and new Metro law director.

This is Bob. He is the new Metro law director.

Bob Cooper — no relation to Mayor John or U.S. Rep. Jim — is the newest Cooper to join Metro. 

Cooper will be joining as the administration as the new director of law on Nov. 4. Currently a member of the compliance and government investigations practice group at Bass, Berry & Sims, Cooper also serves on Nashville's police community oversight board

He served as Tennessee attorney general from 2006 to 2014 under former mayor and Democratic Gov. Phil Bredesen, and has also taught at Vanderbilt Law School as an adjunct professor.

By joining the administration, he will have to resign from his position on the citizen-led board that reviews actions of Nashville police. Appointed to the 11-member board by former Mayor David Briley, Cooper will be replaced by on the board by the new mayor. 

Cooper is also the former law clerk for U.S. District Judge Louis F. Oberdorfer in Washington, D.C.

Jon Cooper, left, was Metro law director under former Mayor Megan Barry, right. He's now the top attorney for the Metro Council, a role he's held before.

This is Jon. He is Metro Council Attorney (again).

Jon Cooper (also no relation to Jim and John and please, note there's no "h") is Metro Council's top attorney.

He works for council members, while Bob Cooper works for the mayor. 

Council Attorney is a role Jon Cooper served in for seven years before he joined former Mayor Megan Barry's administration as law director. Yes, (Bob) Cooper is replacing (Jon) Cooper. 

Metro Council confirmed his appointment last week during its second council meeting of the new term. 

Cooper, a graduate of Hume-Fogg Academic High School and Middle Tennessee State University, initially worked in the music industry out of college before switching careers and serving as a legal assistant for a private attorney while attending Nashville School of Law.

He began working in the council office in 2001 as special assistant. A member of the Nashville Bar Association, he previously served on the board of directors of the Tennessee County Attorneys Association.

Yihyun Jeong covers politics in Nashville for USA TODAY Network - Tennessee. Reach her at yjeong@tennessean.com and follow her on Twitter @yihyun_jeong.