James Cooper (born January 5, 1964) is the current Sheriff of Sacramento County [1] and politician who served in the California State Assembly.

He is a Democrat who represented the 9th Assembly District, which encompassed portions of Sacramento and San Joaquin Counties.

[2] Prior to being elected to the Assembly in 2014, he was an Elk Grove Founding Mayor and 15-year City Councilmember and 30-year Sacramento County Sheriff's Captain.

On March 3, 2022, Cooper was stopped by TSA officers at the Sacramento airport for having a loaded gun in his purse.

[7][8][9][10][11] Cooper unsuccessfully ran for Sheriff of Sacramento County, California in 2010 and lost against Scott Jones.