| Michael B. Coleman | |
|---|---|
| 52nd Mayor of Columbus | |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office January 1, 2000 |
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| Preceded by | Greg Lashutka |
| Personal details | |
| Born | November 18, 1954 Indianapolis, Indiana |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Frankie Coleman |
| Residence | Columbus, Ohio |
| Alma mater | St. John's Jesuit High School University of Cincinnati (B.A.) University of Dayton (J.D.) |
| Profession | Attorney |
Michael B. Coleman (born November 18, 1954) is an American politician of the Democratic Party, the 52nd and current mayor of Columbus, Ohio. He is the first African-American mayor of Ohio's capital.
Coleman was born in Indianapolis, but moved to Toledo at an early age. After growing up in the Toledo area, Coleman earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from the University of Cincinnati and a Juris Doctor from the University of Dayton School of Law. Coleman was a member of the Columbus City Council from 1992–1999, and served as president of this city council from 1997-1999. In 1998, Coleman was the running mate for gubernatorial candidate Lee Fisher. Coleman ran for and won the Columbus mayorship in 1999 and was re-elected unopposed November 4, 2003.[1]
In February 2005, Coleman announced that he would run for the Democratic nomination for governor of Ohio in the 2006 gubernatorial race, but subsequently dropped out of the race on November 29, 2005, citing heavy work and family obligations. In 2007, Mayor Coleman won a third term as mayor of Columbus. In 2011, he was re-elected for a fourth term.
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Coleman served as Columbus City Council President from 1997 until his election as mayor in 1999. Michael B. Coleman began his career in public office when he was appointed to Columbus City Council in 1992. He was subsequently re-elected to two terms in office.
Mayor Coleman was selected as the democratic nominee for Lieutenant Governor, on the same ballot as Lee Fisher. Fisher and Coleman lost a heavily contested race to Bob Taft and Maureen O'Connor.
In 2005, Michael B. Coleman was the first Democrat to announce in the Democratic primary for governor of Ohio. But on November 29, 2005, he withdrew from the race. He cited family concerns and also that the city of Columbus needed him.
Coleman later endorsed fellow Democrat Ted Strickland for governor. After Strickland’s victory in November 2006, Coleman was selected as chair for Strickland’s transition team.
During the 2007 mayoral campaign, Coleman was opposed by lawyer William Todd, a Republican. Todd claimed Coleman was soft on crime and ineffective on economic development. In early returns, Coleman was ahead 71 percent to Todd's 29 percent.[2] Coleman was re-elected.
Mayor Coleman is running for a fourth term as Mayor of Columbus. The election was November 8th, 2011. He was reelected in a landslide. Should Coleman serve the full length of his fourth term, he will be Columbus's longest serving mayor in its history.[3]
Since 2000, under Mayor Coleman, the city of Columbus has spent $54 million less than budgeted. At the same time, he helped boost the city's spending on police and fire services from 63 percent of the city operating budget to 71 percent in 2005. Under Coleman, the city has also cut more than $190 million from continuation budgeting levels since 2000, despite increases in costs for medical insurance, wages and workers compensation. As of 2007, the city of Columbus had a AAA bond rating, the highest possible credit rating.
Coleman is a member of the Mayors Against Illegal Guns Coalition,[4] a bi-partisan group with a stated goal of "making the public safer by getting illegal guns off the streets." The coalition is co-chaired by Boston Mayor Thomas Menino and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
Coleman was longlisted for the 2008 World Mayor award.
With his re-election he is now Columbus's longest serving mayor.
In the spring of 2010 Mayor Coleman banned city workers from traveling to Arizona in a boycott over an Arizona law allowing police officers to demand documentation of citizenship of anyone suspected of being in the United States illegally. Coleman compared the Arizona measure to 19th-century laws that required freed slaves to carry emancipation papers. He said his boycott was intended to show Arizona that its law enforcing illegal immigration measures is not the American way. While travel by city workers to Arizona is prohibited, police officers will be able to travel for the purpose of criminal extradition. Contracts with Arizona companies will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis by the Mayor. Redflex Traffic Systems, which is based in Arizona, operates 20 red-light cameras in Columbus. The red-light cameras issue tickets to red-light runners, the program will not be rescinded as a result of the ban, and in fact the number of red-light cameras will double as recently approved by city council.[5]
Michael B. Coleman was born in Indianapolis, Indiana[6] on November 18, 1954 and raised in Toledo, Ohio. In 1984,[7] Coleman married his wife Frankie; it was the second marriage for both. The Colemans have three adult children: Kimberly; Justin, who is an officer with the Columbus Division of Police; and John-David, who is a currently a sergeant in the United States Marine Corps.
In an October, 2009, issue of The Other Paper, it was announced that Coleman and his wife are in the process of getting a divorce.[8]
In early 2011 the Colemans filed for a dissolution and it was subsequently granted.
| Political offices | ||
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| Preceded by Gregory S. Lashutka |
Mayor of Columbus, Ohio 2000–present |
Incumbent |
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