Coolidge announces candidacy for Congress

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Leslie Coolidge has announced her candidacy for Congress in the new Sixth District, which includes a portion of Naperville. | Submitted

Updated: December 25, 2011 8:09AM

Leslie Coolidge, an accountant and former partner at KPMG, has announced her candidacy for Congress in the new Sixth District.

A Democrat, she said she is running for Congress because America’s economy is in trouble.

“Like many of us, I have become increasingly dismayed by the apparent unwillingness of our current Congress to address the critical issues facing our country today,” Coolidge, 52, said. “As I watched the brinksmanship this summer as Congress actually considered letting our country go into financial default, I knew I could no longer sit on the sidelines. As a CPA, I can delve into and understand complex financial matters and create innovative solutions that make sense. In addition, much of my career was spent negotiating among parties with divergent views to find ways to successfully move forward, something Congress is not doing.”

Coolidge believes that her experience working with Fortune 500 companies, both in the U.S. and internationally, would help her be effective in Congress.

“Our first priority has to be prompting economic growth and job creation,” Coolidge continued. “We also need to address growing income inequality. A survey in October by the Spectrem Group showed that a sizable majority of wealthy people are ready to pay more in taxes if it serves to get our economy moving again, which is good for everyone.”

Coolidge was born and raised in San Diego, Calif., the daughter of a World War II Navy veteran who always credited the GI Bill for his ability to graduate from college and become a high school history teacher. She attended public high school in California and Harvard College, where she graduated cum laude with a degree in government. She also has a masters’ degree in accounting from New York University. After college, she became a CPA and embarked on a 28-year career with KPMG, a leading international accounting firm.

She is a member of the World Wildlife Fund’s National Council and is vice chairman of the Board of Directors of the International Crane Foundation. Leslie also serves on the Board of Trustees of the Chicago Academy of Sciences and its Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum.

Coolidge, a 10-year Barrington Hills resident, retired from KPMG in 2009.

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