Mike Coffman
Encyclopedia
Michael "Mike" Coffman is the U.S. Representative
for , serving since 2009, and a former Secretary of State of Colorado
. He is a member of the Republican Party
.
, 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.
, 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. He became the Chairman of the Finance Committee.
.
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 Democrat State Senator and Minority Leader Ken Gordon
.
Coffman announced that he would run for the U.S. House seat being vacated by Republican Tom Tancredo
in 2008 in Colorado's 6th congressional district
. He won the Republican primary election, and went on to defeat Democrat Hank Eng in the general election. 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. The Denver Post endorsed Coffman on October 10, 2008. Governor Bill Ritter designated State Representative Bernie Buescher
, a Democrat to succeed Coffman as Secretary of State.
Groups including American Civil Liberties Union
of Colorado, Common Cause
of Colorado, the Brennan Center for Justice
at New York University School of Law
and the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund
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. 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. On October 30, 2008, the court approved a preliminary injunction allowing purged voters to participate in the 2008 election. Bernie Buescher, Coffman's successor as Secretary of State, replaced Coffman as defendant in the case in January 2009. 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.
2010
Coffman was challenged by Democratic Party nominee John Flerlage
, Libertarian nominee Rob McNeally, and Independent Michael S. Kearns
. He won convincingly with 66% of the votes. Flerlage got 31%, McNeally got 2%; results for Kearns were not recorded. Coffman's 66% of the vote represents a gain of 6 percentage points over his first House election in 2008.
, and was previously Chief Counsel in the office of then-Governor Bill Owens.
Coffman is a Methodist.
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
for , serving since 2009, and a former Secretary of State of Colorado
Secretary of State of Colorado
The Secretary of State of Colorado is the secretary of state of the state of Colorado in the United States. The office is one of five elected constitutional offices in the state...
. He is a member of the Republican Party
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
.
Early life, education, and business career
Michael Coffman was born on March 19, 1955 in Fort Leonard WoodFort Leonard Wood, Missouri
Fort Leonard Wood is a census-designated place in Pulaski County, Missouri, United States. The population was 13,667 at the 2000 census. It is named in honor of Major General Leonard Wood, who was awarded the Medal of Honor...
, Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
, to Harold and Dorothy Coffman, and is one of five children. His father served in the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
at Fort Leonard Wood, and after 1964, at Fitzsimons Army Medical Center
Fitzsimons Army Medical Center
The Fitzsimons Army Medical Center was a medical facility of the United States military during the 20th century located on in Aurora, Colorado...
in Aurora, Colorado
Aurora, Colorado
City of Aurora is a Home Rule Municipality spanning Arapahoe, Adams, and Douglas counties in Colorado. Aurora is an eastern suburb of the Denver-Aurora-Broomfield, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area . The city is the third most populous city in the Colorado and the 56th most populous city in the...
.
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
University of Colorado at Boulder
The University of Colorado Boulder is a public research university located in Boulder, Colorado...
, graduating in 1979. He also studied at Vaishnav College
Vaishnav College
DG Vaishnav College , commonly known as DGV, is an arts, commerce and science college in Chennai, India. It is an autonomous institution affiliated with the University of Madras...
in Chennai
Chennai
Chennai , formerly known as Madras or Madarasapatinam , is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal. Chennai is the fourth most populous metropolitan area and the sixth most populous city in India...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, and the University of Veracruz in Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
for a year. Upon graduation from the University of Colorado, Coffman transferred from the Army Reserve to the United States Marine Corps
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
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.
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 State House during his active duty service in the Persian Gulf WarGulf War
The Persian Gulf War , commonly referred to as simply the Gulf War, was a war waged by a U.N.-authorized coalition force from 34 nations led by the United States, against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion and annexation of Kuwait.The war is also known under other names, such as the First Gulf...
, 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. 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. In 2002, he was re-elected with 56%, defeating Democrat State Senator Terry PhillipsTerry Phillips
Terry Phillips is a journalist, author and media consultant. As a foreign correspondent, he covered events around the world for CBS News, and reported regularly for NPR, MonitoRadio and the NBC/Mutual Broadcasting System....
.
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 Democrat State Senator and Minority Leader Ken Gordon
Ken Gordon
Kenneth "Ken" Gordon is a Trinidadian businessman and former politician.He went to Saint Mary's College and went away to study in the United States and United Kingdom to further his studies. He went into broadcasting in the early 1950s as a radio announcer for Radio Trinidad. He later became...
.
Elections
2008Coffman announced that he would run for the U.S. House seat being vacated by Republican Tom Tancredo
Tom Tancredo
Thomas Gerard "Tom" Tancredo is an American politician from Colorado, who represented the state's sixth congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 1999 to 2009, as a Republican...
in 2008 in Colorado's 6th congressional district
Colorado's 6th congressional district
Colorado's 6th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Colorado. Located in central Colorado, the district encompasses much of the southern part of the Denver-Aurora Metropolitan Area, including the suburbs of Littleton, Centennial and portions of Aurora.The district...
. He won the Republican primary election, and went on to defeat Democrat Hank Eng in the general election. 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. The Denver Post endorsed Coffman on October 10, 2008. Governor Bill Ritter designated State Representative Bernie Buescher
Bernie Buescher
Bernie Buescher is the former secretary of state of Colorado. A Democrat, he was appointed to the office in 2009 by Governor of Colorado Bill Ritter to fill the vacancy left by the resignation of Republican Mike Coffman....
, a Democrat to succeed Coffman as Secretary of State.
Groups including American Civil Liberties Union
American Civil Liberties Union
The American Civil Liberties Union is a U.S. non-profit organization whose stated mission is "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States." It works through litigation, legislation, and...
of Colorado, Common Cause
Common Cause
Common Cause is a self-described nonpartisan, nonprofit lobby and advocacy organization. It was founded in 1970 by John W. Gardner, a Republican former cabinet secretary under Lyndon Johnson, as a "citizens' lobby" with a mission focused on making U.S. political institutions more open and...
of Colorado, the Brennan Center for Justice
Brennan Center for Justice
The Brennan Center for Justice at New York University Law School is a non-partisan public policy and law institute that focuses on issues involving democracy and justice...
at New York University School of Law
New York University School of Law
The New York University School of Law is the law school of New York University. Established in 1835, the school offers the J.D., LL.M., and J.S.D. degrees in law, and is located in Greenwich Village, in the New York City borough of Manhattan....
and the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund
Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund
The Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund is a national non-profit civil rights organization formed in 1968 to protect the rights of Latinos in the United States...
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. 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. On October 30, 2008, the court approved a preliminary injunction allowing purged voters to participate in the 2008 election. Bernie Buescher, Coffman's successor as Secretary of State, replaced Coffman as defendant in the case in January 2009. 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.
2010
Coffman was challenged by Democratic Party nominee John Flerlage
John Flerlage
John Flerlage is a retired U.S. Marine Corps Lieutenant Colonel and the Democratic nominee for U.S. House of Representatives in Colorado's 6th congressional district. He is currently a Boeing 767 captain flying international routes for Delta Air Lines...
, Libertarian nominee Rob McNeally, and Independent Michael S. Kearns
Michael S. Kearns
Michael S. Kearns was a 2010 candidate for Colorado's 6th congressional district, running on a "Grassroots Leadership" platform, which promotes a Direct Democracy Self-governance Consortium for advancing fully transparent Internet Socio-political consensus decision-making functionality for...
. He won convincingly with 66% of the votes. Flerlage got 31%, McNeally got 2%; results for Kearns were not recorded. Coffman's 66% of the vote represents a gain of 6 percentage points over his first House election in 2008.
Tenure
Coffman's proposals to cut military entitlements has raised controversy on the House Armed Services Committee.Committee assignments
- Committee on Armed ServicesUnited States House Committee on Armed Servicesthumb|United States House Committee on Armed Services emblemThe U.S. House Committee on Armed Services, commonly known as the House Armed Services Committee, is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives...
- Subcommittee on Military Personnel
- Subcommittee on Oversight and InvestigationsUnited States House Armed Services Subcommittee on Oversight and InvestigationsHouse Armed Services Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations is a subcommittee of the House Armed Services Committee in the United States House of Representatives.-Jurisdiction:...
- Subcommittee on Seapower and Projection Forces
- Committee on Natural Resources
- Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral ResourcesUnited States House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral ResourcesThe United States House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources is one of the five subcommittees within the House Natural Resources Committee-Members, 112th Congress:-External links:*...
- Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public LandsUnited States House Natural Resources Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public LandsThe United States House Natural Resources Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands is one of the five subcommittees within the House Natural Resources Committee-Members, 112th Congress:-External links:*...
- Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources
- Committee on Small BusinessUnited States House Committee on Small BusinessThe United States House Committee on Small Business is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives.-History:On December 4, 1941, the U. S...
- 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 AmericansCongressional Caucus on Turkey and Turkish AmericansThe "Congressional Caucus on Turkey and Turkish Americans" was established by US Congressmen Robert Wexler , Ed Whitfield and Kay Granger in March 2001....
- Congressional Coal Caucus
- International Conservation CaucusUnited States Congressional International Conservation CaucusThe U.S. Congressional International Conservation Caucus is a bipartisan congressional organization that was founded in September 2003 with the conviction that “the United States of America has the opportunity, the obligation and the interests to advance the conservation of natural resources for...
- Natural Gas Caucus
- Republican Study CommitteeRepublican Study CommitteeThe Republican Study Committee [RSC] is a caucus of over 170 conservative members of the Republican Party in the United States House of Representatives...
- Sportsmen's Caucus
- Tea Party CaucusTea Party CaucusThe Tea Party Caucus is a caucus of the United States House of Representatives and Senate launched and chaired by Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann on July 16, 2010. The caucus is dedicated to promoting what it considers fiscal responsibility, adherence to the movement's interpretation of...
Personal life
Coffman's wife, Cynthia Coffman, is currently Chief Deputy Attorney General in the office of Colorado Attorney General John SuthersJohn Suthers
John William Suthers is the current Attorney General of Colorado. He is a practicing Catholic and member of the Republican Party.-Background:Suthers was born in Denver, Colorado and adopted a month later by a Colorado Springs couple....
, and was previously Chief Counsel in the office of then-Governor Bill Owens.
Coffman is a Methodist.
External links
- Congressman Mike Coffman official U.S. House website
- Mike Coffman for Congress official campaign website
- Profile at SourceWatchSourceWatchSourceWatch is an internet wiki site that is a collaborative project of the liberal Center for Media and Democracy...
- 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