| Mike Coffman | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| |||
| Member of the United States House of Representatives
|
Incumbent | ||
| Assumed office January 3, 2009 | |||
| Preceded by | Tom Tancredo | ||
| Secretary of State of Colorado | |||
In office January 3, 2007 – January 3, 2009 | |||
| Preceded by | Gigi Dennis | ||
| Succeeded by | Bernie Buescher | ||
| Colorado State Treasurer | |||
In office 2006–2007 | |||
| Preceded by | Mark Hillman | ||
| Succeeded by | Cary Kennedy | ||
In office January 3, 1999 – June 9, 2005[1] | |||
| Preceded by | Bill Owens | ||
| Succeeded by | Mark Hillman | ||
| Member of Colorado Senate from the 27th District | |||
In office December 12, 1994[2] – January 3, 1999 | |||
| Preceded by | Bill Owens[3] | ||
| Succeeded by | John Andrews | ||
| Member of Colorado House of Representatives from the 40th District | |||
In office 1989 – December 12, 1994 | |||
| Succeeded by | Gary McPherson[4] | ||
| Personal details | |||
| Born | Michael Coffman March 19, 1955 Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri | ||
| Political party | Republican | ||
| Spouse(s) | Cynthia Coffman | ||
| Residence | Aurora, Colorado | ||
| Alma mater | University of Colorado | ||
| Profession | real estate executive | ||
| Religion | Methodist | ||
| Military service | |||
| Service/branch | United States Army United States Marine Corps | ||
| Years of service | 1972-1978 (U.S. Army) 1979-1994, 2005-2006 (USMC) | ||
| Rank |  Major
| ||
| Battles/wars | Persian Gulf War Iraq War | ||
Michael "Mike" Coffman (born March 19, 1955) is the U.S. Representative for Colorado's 6th congressional district, serving since 2009. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as the Secretary of State of Colorado (2007–2009) and the Colorado State Treasurer (1999–2005 & 2006–2007).
Early life, education, and business career[]
Michael Coffman was born on March 19, 1955 in Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, to Harold and Dorothy Coffman, and is one of five children. His father served in the United States Army at Fort Leonard Wood, and after 1964, at Fitzsimons Army Medical Center in Aurora, Colorado. In 1972, Coffman enlisted in the U.S. Army, and was assigned to a mechanized infantry battalion. The following year, he earned a high school diploma through an army program. Leaving active duty for the U.S. Army Reserve in 1974, he entered the University of Colorado, graduating in 1979. He also studied at Vaishnav College in Chennai, India, and the University of Veracruz in Mexico for a year. Upon graduation from the University of Colorado, Coffman transferred from the Army Reserve to the United States Marine Corps in 1979, becoming an infantry officer. In 1983, he transferred from active duty to the Marine Reserves, serving until 1994. In 1983, he created an Aurora, Colorado-based property management firm, serving as senior shareholder until 2000.
State politics[]
Legislature[]
Coffman began his political career serving as a member of the Colorado House of Representatives from 1989 to 1995. Shortly after winning re-election in 1990, he took an unpaid leave-of-absence from the statehouse during his active duty service in the Persian Gulf War, during which he saw combat as a light armored infantry officer. In 1994, he retired from the U.S. Marine Corps after 20 years of combined service to the army, army reserve, marines, and marine reserve. When State Senator Bill Owens resigned his seat to become state treasurer, the party's vacancy committee named Coffman the replacement in December 1994. In 1996, he was elected to a full term to the Colorado State Senate unopposed.[5] He became the Chairman of the Finance Committee.
Statewide offices[]
In 1998, Coffman was elected as State Treasurer of Colorado with 51% of the vote, defeating Democratic nominee Jim Polsfut.[6] In 2002, he was re-elected with 56%, defeating Democratic State Senator Terry Phillips.[7]
He resigned from that post in 2005 in order to resume his career in the U.S. Marines, and serve in the War in Iraq, where he helped support the Independent Electoral Commission of Iraq, which oversaw two national elections, and helped establish interim local governments in the western Euphrates Valley. In 2006, he completed his duty in Iraq and was re-appointed as State Treasurer. He served that position for only a few months because in November 2006, he was elected Colorado Secretary of State with 51% of the vote, defeating Democratic State Senator and Minority Leader Ken Gordon.[8]
U.S. House of Representatives[]
Elections[]
- 2008
Coffman announced that he would run for the U.S. House seat being vacated by retiring Republican Tom Tancredo in 2008 in Colorado's 6th congressional district. The seat is considered to be the most Republican-dominated district of the Denver-area seats and is also one of the wealthiest in the nation.[9] Three other candidates decided to run in the Republican primary for the open seat: Wil Armstrong (son of former U.S. Senator Bill Armstrong), State Senator Ted Harvey, and State Senator Steve Ward. Coffman won the August primary with a plurality of 40% of the vote, beating runner-up Wil Armstrong by seven points.[10]
During the general election, several groups accused the secretary of state's office of improperly marking 6,400 voter registration forms as incomplete, because they failed to check a box on the form. Incomplete registrations require voters to either re-register or provide extra identification when they go to vote.[11] Soon after the accusations were made, Common Cause filed suit against Coffman, in his official capacity as secretary of state. The secretary of state's office denied wrongdoing, and Coffman said he believes his office was correctly applying the law.[12] On October 30, 2008, the court approved a preliminary injunction allowing purged voters to participate in the 2008 election.[13] Bernie Buescher, Coffman's successor as secretary of state, replaced Coffman as defendant in the case in January 2009.[14] The bulk of the litigation was settled in January 2010 after changes to Colorado's election regulations, and the remaining portions were decided in January 2011.
The Denver Post endorsed Coffman on October 10, 2008.[15] In November, Coffman defeated Democrat Hank Eng, an Appleton, Wisconsin City Common Councilman, 61%-39%.[16] Governor Bill Ritter designated State Representative Bernie Buescher, a Democrat, to succeed Coffman as Secretary of State.[17]
- 2010
Coffman defeated Democrat John Flerlage 66%-31%.[18]
- 2012
In redistricting, Colorado's 6th congressional district was made more favorable to Democrats than previously: its population was evenly split between Democrats, Republicans and unaffiliated voters. In fact, Barack Obama was projected to have gotten 54% in Coffman's district in 2008, which is in line with the statewide results. [19] Aurora was added to the district.[20] Democratic State Representative Joe Miklosi decided to challenge Coffman.[21] During a campaign fundraiser in Elbert County on May 12, 2012, Coffman expressed doubt that President Barack Obama had been born in the United States and declared that: "I don't know whether Barack Obama was born in the United States of America. I don't know that. But I do know this, that in his heart, he's not an American. He's just not an American."[22] Coffman later apologized saying that he had "misspoken".[23] In September 2012, Coffman said that he had a "fundamental concern" that President Obama would use the military to aid his re-election bid in an attempted October surprise conspiracy.[24]
Coffman defeated Miklosi 48%-46%, a difference of 6,992 votes. At the same time, Obama defeated Romney in the district 52%-47%.[25] Miklosi won the Arapahoe County part of the district 48%-45%. Coffman made up the deficit by winning Adams County 46%-45% and Douglas County 60%-35%.[26]
Tenure[]
In 2011, Coffman proposed a half billion dollars in cuts to military programs such as education reimbursements, the Selective Service and the military's health plan, TRICARE. Coffman stated, "I think they (the programs) have been neglected for a long time. Every dollar wasted is a dollar not going to our war fighters."[27]
- Taxes
Coffman is a signer of Americans for Tax Reform’s Taxpayer Protection Pledge.[28]
Committee assignments[]
- Committee on Armed Services
- Subcommittee on Military Personnel
- Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations
- Subcommittee on Seapower and Projection Forces
- Committee on Natural Resources
- Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources
- Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands
- Committee on Small Business
- Subcommittee on Economic Growth, Tax and Capital Access
- Subcommittee on Contracting and Workforce
- Subcommittee on Investigations, Oversight and Regulations (Chairman)
Caucus memberships[]
- Congressional Balanced Budget Amendment Caucus (Chairman)
- Congressional Bike Caucus
- Congressional Caucus on Turkey and Turkish Americans
- Congressional Coal Caucus
- International Conservation Caucus
- Natural Gas Caucus
- Republican Study Committee
- Sportsmen's Caucus
Personal life[]
Coffman's wife, Cynthia Coffman, is currently Chief Deputy Attorney General in the office of Colorado Attorney General John Suthers, and was previously Chief Counsel in the office of then-Governor Bill Owens.
Coffman is a Methodist.[29]
References[]
- ↑ "Hillman taking treasurer's role". June 9, 2005. http://www.bizjournals.com/denver/stories/2005/06/06/daily58.html?jst=b_ln_hl.
- ↑ "Error: no
|title=specified when using {{Cite web}}". http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=RM&p_theme=rm&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EB4E1D7141E4F80&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM. - ↑ "Error: no
|title=specified when using {{Cite web}}". http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=RM&p_theme=rm&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EB4E1E7CDA998E0&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM. - ↑ "Error: no
|title=specified when using {{Cite web}}". http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=DP&p_theme=dp&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EAF443AF2E3C7E6&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM. - ↑ http://www.sos.state.co.us/pubs/elections/ElectionArchives/1996/General/1996StateSenateResults.pdf
- ↑ http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=882
- ↑ http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=878
- ↑ http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=179258
- ↑ "Race to Watch: U.S. House, Colorado - 6th District". CQPolitics.com. http://www.cqpolitics.com/wmspage.cfm?docID=district-CO-06.
- ↑ http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=384928
- ↑ Kim, Myung Oak (October 14, 2008). "Voting forms ruled incomplete for lack of check mark". Rocky Mountain News. http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/oct/14/voting-forms-ruled-incomplete-for-lack-of-check/. Retrieved 2008-10-24.
- ↑ "Lawsuit alleges voters in Colorado illegally purged from rolls". CNN. October 27, 2008. http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/10/27/lawsuit-alleges-voters-in-colorado-illegally-purged-from-rolls/.
- ↑ "Order Approving Parties' Stipulated Preliminary Injunction" (republished by the Moritz College of Law). October 30, 2008. http://moritzlaw.osu.edu/electionlaw/litigation/documents/Coffman-Order-10-30-08.pdf. Retrieved 2009-11-15.
- ↑ "Notice of Substitution of Party by Defendant Michael Coffman" (republished by the Moritz College of Law). January 21, 2009. http://moritzlaw.osu.edu/electionlaw/litigation/documents/Coffman-Notice-1-21-09.pdf. Retrieved 2009-11-15.
- ↑ "Editorial: Coffman's financial skills needed in D.C." (republished by Mike Coffman for Congress). Denver Post. October 10, 2008. http://www.coffmanforcongress.com/news22.htm.
- ↑ http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=384916
- ↑ Kim, Myung Oak (December 19, 2008). "Buescher first Dem to become secretary of state since 1963". Rocky Mountain News. http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/dec/19/ritter-name-buescher-new-secretary-state/?partner=yahoo_headlines.
- ↑ "Beyond the Results: House". The Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/special/politics/2010-race-maps/house/. Retrieved 7 April 2011.
- ↑ Stokols, Eli (November 10, 2011). "Judge decides redistricting battle in favor of Democrats". Fox 31 Denver. http://www.kdvr.com/news/politics/kdvr-judge-decides-redistricting-battle-in-favor-of-democrats-20111110,0,4498129.story. Retrieved November 14, 2011.
- ↑ Hoover, Tim (November 12, 2011). "New map may shake up Colorado congressional races". The Denver Post. http://www.denverpost.com/legislature/ci_19320116. Retrieved November 14, 2011.
- ↑ Lee, Kurtis (July 29, 2011). "Not your average Joe launches congressional campaign". The Denver Post. http://blogs.denverpost.com/thespot/2011/07/29/not-your-average-joe-launches-campaign/35021/. Retrieved August 1, 2011.
- ↑ Clark, Kyle (16 May 2012). "Coffman Speech in Elbert County". Denver Post. http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_20642001/mike-coffman-says-obama-not-an-american-at. Retrieved 2 June 2012.
- ↑ Southall, Ashley (24 May 2012). "Republicans Apologetic After Raising Issue of Obama’s Birthplace". The New York Times. http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/05/24/republicans-apologetic-after-raising-issue-of-obamas-birthplace/. Retrieved 25 May 2012.
- ↑ Lee, Kurtis (4 September 2012). "Coffman says his "fundamental concern" is Obama might use military for political gain". Denver Post. http://blogs.denverpost.com/thespot/2012/09/04/coffman-fundamental-concern-obama-engage-military-conflict-reelection-bid/80084/. Retrieved 10 September 2012.
- ↑ http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/11/19/1163009/-Daily-Kos-Elections-presidential-results-by-congressional-district-for-the-2012-2008-elections#
- ↑ http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=705065
- ↑ Sherry, Allison. "Coffman's proposed military cuts face strong opposition." Denver Post, 21 April 2011.
- ↑ "The Taxpayer Protection Pledge Signers 112th Congressional List". Americans for Tax Reform. http://s3.amazonaws.com/atrfiles/files/files/091411-federalpledgesigners.pdf. Retrieved November 30, 2011.
- ↑ "About Mike Coffman". Mike Coffman for Congress. http://www.coffmanforcongress.com/about.htm.
External links[]
- Congressman Mike Coffman official U.S. House website
- Mike Coffman for Congress
- Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
- Profile at Project Vote Smart
- Financial information (federal office) at the Federal Election Commission
- Legislation sponsored at The Library of Congress
- Profile at SourceWatch
- Colorado Ethics Watch Report on Mike Coffman
- Coffman in Fight over Seat with Republicans Pueblo Chieftain, August 17, 2008
- Colorado Faces Suit in Voter Purges New York Times, October 25, 2008
The original article can be found at Mike Coffman and the edit history here.