Mike Coffman
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Mike Coffman (born 1955), is an American politician from Colorado. He is a member of the Republican Party.
[edit] Early life and career
Mike Coffman was born in Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, and is one of Harold and Dorothy Coffman's five children. His father served the United States Army, serving at Fort Leonard Wood, and after 1964, at Fitzsimons Army Medical Center in Aurora, Colorado.
In 1972, he followed in his father's footsteps enlisting 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 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, becoming an infantry officer. In 1983, he transferred from active duty to the Marine Reserves. That same year, he created an Aurora, Colorado-based property management firm, serving as senior shareholder until 2000.
[edit] Political career
Coffman began his political career serving as a member of the Colorado House of Representatives from 1989 to 1995. Shortly after winning reelection in 1990, he took an unpaid leave-of-absence from the State House 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. That same year, he was also elected to the Colorado State Senate, where he served as Chairman of the Finance Committee.
In 1998, Coffman was elected as State Treasurer of Colorado. 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. Following completion of his tour-of-duty in Iraq in 2006, he was elected to his current post, as Colorado Secretary of State.
Coffman has announced that he will run for the U.S. House seat being vacated by Republican Tom Tancredo in 2008. His 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.
[edit] References
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Bill Owens |
State Treasurer of Colorado 1999–2005 |
Succeeded by Mark Hillman |
| Preceded by Mark Hillman |
State Treasurer of Colorado 2006–2007 |
Succeeded by Cary Kennedy |
| Preceded by Donetta Davidson |
Colorado Secretary of State 2007 – Present |
Succeeded by Incumbent |
