# Christopher Coleman *Mayor of Saint Paul, Minnesota (2006–2018)* Christopher B. Coleman (born September 1, 1961) is a lawyer and politician who was the 54th mayor of [[Saint Paul, Minnesota]]. He took office on January 3, 2006, after unseating the incumbent mayor, Randy Kelly, in the 2005 election. He left office on January 2, 2018, when city councilman Melvin Carter succeeded him.[^1] His campaigns for mayor and his bids for higher office were as a Democratic-Farmer-Labor (DFL) candidate.[^1][^6] He has no family relation to Norm Coleman, the former Saint Paul mayor and U.S. senator.[^2] Coleman appears in the at-issue record in one entry. According to the validated dossier, he appointed [[John Choi]] as Saint Paul City Attorney in 2006. The dossier also identifies him as the mayor whom a joint staff report on the *Magner* case names as having accepted the arrangement.[^3][^4] The dossier records the appointment as "a proximity fact, not an allegation". It states that the record "does not place Choi in the Magner negotiations."[^3] ## Who Coleman was born in Saint Paul into a Roman Catholic family. His father, Nicholas Coleman Sr., was majority leader of the Minnesota Senate from 1973 to 1981.[^2] He went to Cretin High School in Saint Paul and then studied at the [[University of Minnesota]] for both his undergraduate and law education. For eight years he was a public defender and a prosecutor in Hennepin County.[^2] His first campaign for the [[Saint Paul City Council]] was prompted by proposals to site a metal shredder on the [[Mississippi River]] in Saint Paul. He then held the Ward 2 seat from 1997 to 2003.[^5] While on the council, he advised nonprofit organizations and endowments as an investment management consultant with RBC Dain Rauscher. He was also president of United Family Practice Medical Center.[^5] In 2000 he sought the DFL nomination for the [[United States House of Representatives]] seat in Minnesota's 4th congressional district and lost. [[Betty McCollum]] won the nomination and the general election.[^6] ## What In the 2005 Saint Paul mayoral race, Coleman challenged Kelly, a DFL incumbent who had endorsed Republican George W. Bush in the 2004 presidential election. Wesley Clark, John Kerry and Bill Richardson came to the city to campaign for Coleman.[^7] Soon after he took office, Coleman signed an ordinance that barred smoking in every bar and restaurant in the city, a measure Kelly had long opposed.[^8] As mayor, Coleman: - joined Mayors Against Illegal Guns, a coalition formed in 2006 with mayors Michael Bloomberg of New York City and Thomas Menino of Boston as co-chairs;[^8] - worked with [[R. T. Rybak]], then [[Minneapolis mayor]], to attract a national party convention, and Saint Paul was selected for the 2008 Republican National Convention;[^8] - served as president of the National League of Cities until his term ended at the close of 2014;[^9] - oversaw the launch of the Sprockets after-school network during his administration.[^9] He did not seek a fourth term.[^9] In 2009 Coleman considered running for the DFL nomination for [[Governor of Minnesota]] in 2010. He dropped the idea before making any formal announcement.[^10] On December 13, 2016, he declared a candidacy for governor in the 2018 election, which he later withdrew. In June 2018 he became president and chief executive of the Twin Cities chapter of Habitat for Humanity.[^11] ## When - 1997–2003: represents Ward 2 on the Saint Paul City Council.[^5] - 2000: loses the DFL nomination contest in the 4th congressional district.[^6] - 2005: defeats incumbent Randy Kelly for mayor.[^7] - January 3, 2006: takes office as mayor.[^1] - 2006: appoints John Choi Saint Paul City Attorney.[^3] - 2009: re-elected to a second term.[^12] Considers, then abandons, a 2010 run for governor.[^10] - 2010: Choi leaves the City Attorney's office.[^3] - January 2011: Choi becomes [[Ramsey County Attorney]].[^3] - February 2012: the withdrawal in the *Magner* matter is executed under Choi's successor as City Attorney, Sara Grewing.[^3] - 2013: wins a third term.[^12] - End of 2014: his National League of Cities presidency ends.[^9] - December 13, 2016: announces a candidacy for governor, later withdrawn.[^11] - January 2, 2018: Melvin Carter succeeds him as mayor.[^1] - June 2018: becomes president and CEO of Habitat for Humanity's Twin Cities chapter.[^11] ## How many Coleman's mayoral election results were: - 2005: 69% to Kelly's 31% in the general election.[^7] - 2009: 69% to 31% for his Republican opponent, Eva Ng.[^12] - 2013: 78% of the vote, against three challengers.[^12] ## In the at-issue record Coleman's entry is pair 18 in Tier I, *The Doctrinal Spine*, of the Ramsey package (AI-Ramsey-018). It describes Coleman as the mayor named in a joint staff report as having accepted the arrangement and as the same mayor who appointed Choi City Attorney in 2006.[^4] Choi now holds the county attorney's office. The entry describes that office as one "that once produced a Supreme Court Justice."[^4][^3] The entry draws its conclusion in two sentences: the record does not place Choi in the *Magner* negotiations, and "It places the appointment and the withdrawal in the same administration."[^4] According to the dossier, Choi had left the City Attorney's office in 2010. The withdrawal was carried out in February 2012, during Coleman's second term, under City Attorney Sara Grewing.[^3][^12] The entry is anchored to the White House presidential action *Restoring Integrity to America's Financial System* (May 2026), on the stated principle that "continuity of office is the unit of analysis, not continuity of person." The anchor supplies the entry's framing, not the appointment fact.[^13] The record as carried here does not set out the terms of the arrangement described in the joint staff report.[^4] The entry sits within the project's record of the federal actions against the State. On January 14, 2026, the [[United States Department of Justice]] issued release No. 26-21, *United States Department of Justice Files Lawsuit Against Minnesota's 'Affirmative Action' Regime*. The title uses the United States' own term for the State's apparatus: "Minnesota's 'Affirmative Action' Regime". Attorney General Pamela Bondi certified the case as a matter of general public importance.[^14] The record here does not carry the suit's docket or current status, and it does not connect Coleman to that action.[^14] ## Notes [^1]: Wikipedia, *Chris Coleman (politician)*, lead section (revision 1353679923, retrieved 2026-10-27) — birth date; 54th mayor of Saint Paul; defeat of Randy Kelly in 2005; took office January 3, 2006; succeeded by Melvin Carter January 2, 2018. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Coleman_(politician)> [^2]: Wikipedia, *Chris Coleman (politician)*, "Family and early career" (retrieved 2026-10-27) — birth in Saint Paul; father Nicholas Coleman Sr., State Senate majority leader 1973–1981; Cretin High School; University of Minnesota; eight years as Hennepin County public defender and prosecutor; no relation to Norm Coleman. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Coleman_(politician)> [^3]: Warren E. Burger apex dossier, §VIII (validated pack source "Warren_E_Burger_Apex_Dossier_2026-09-02.md") — Choi appointed Saint Paul City Attorney 2006–2010 by Mayor Chris Coleman; Coleman named in the *Magner* report as having accepted the arrangement; Choi left in 2010; withdrawal executed February 2012 under Sara Grewing; Choi Ramsey County Attorney since January 2011; "proximity fact, not an allegation." The record carries no URL for this dossier's underlying sources. [^4]: Ramsey package, at-issue entry AI-Ramsey-018 (rank 18, Tier I; sources listed as en.wikipedia.org and oversight.house.gov) — text pairing Coleman's naming in the joint staff report with the 2006 Choi appointment. The record carries no URL for the joint staff report. [^5]: Wikipedia, *Chris Coleman (politician)*, "Family and early career" (retrieved 2026-10-27) — metal-shredder proposal prompting his council run; Ward 2 seat 1997–2003; RBC Dain Rauscher consulting; United Family Practice Medical Center presidency. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Coleman_(politician)> [^6]: Wikipedia, *Chris Coleman (politician)*, "Family and early career" (retrieved 2026-10-27) — unsuccessful 2000 bid for the DFL nomination in Minnesota's 4th congressional district; Betty McCollum won the nomination and seat. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Coleman_(politician)> [^7]: Wikipedia, *Chris Coleman (politician)*, "Mayorship" (retrieved 2026-10-27) — 2005 challenge to DFL incumbent Kelly after Kelly's 2004 Bush endorsement; national Democratic campaigners; 69%–31% general-election result. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Coleman_(politician)> [^8]: Wikipedia, *Chris Coleman (politician)*, "Mayorship" (retrieved 2026-10-27) — bar-and-restaurant smoking ordinance; Mayors Against Illegal Guns membership; convention bid with R. T. Rybak and selection of Saint Paul for the 2008 Republican National Convention. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Coleman_(politician)> [^9]: Wikipedia, *Chris Coleman (politician)*, "Mayorship" (retrieved 2026-10-27) — National League of Cities presidency to end of 2014; Sprockets after-school network; decision not to seek a fourth term. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Coleman_(politician)> [^10]: Wikipedia, *Chris Coleman (politician)*, "2010 Governor's Race" (retrieved 2026-10-27) — 2009 consideration of a DFL bid for governor, withdrawn before formal announcement. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Coleman_(politician)> [^11]: Wikipedia, *Chris Coleman (politician)*, "2018 Governor's Race" (retrieved 2026-10-27) — December 13, 2016 candidacy announcement, later withdrawn; June 2018 appointment at Habitat for Humanity Twin Cities. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Coleman_(politician)> [^12]: Wikipedia, *Chris Coleman (politician)*, "Mayorship" (retrieved 2026-10-27) — 2009 re-election, 69% to Republican Eva Ng's 31%; 2013 third term with 78% against three challengers. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Coleman_(politician)> [^13]: The White House, *Restoring Integrity to America's Financial System* (May 2026) — anchor document listed for at-issue entry AI-Ramsey-018 ("continuity of office is the unit of analysis, not continuity of person"); it does not itself establish the appointment. <https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2026/05/restoring-integrity-to-americas-financial-system/> [^14]: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Public Affairs, *United States Department of Justice Files Lawsuit Against Minnesota's 'Affirmative Action' Regime*, release No. 26-21 (Jan. 14, 2026) — release title; Attorney General Pamela Bondi's certification of the case as a matter of general public importance. <https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/united-states-department-justice-files-lawsuit-against-minnesotas-affirmative-action-regime>