Coleman, Norm, 1949-

Norman Bertram Coleman Jr. (born August 17, 1949) is an American lobbyist, attorney, and politician. Elected Mayor of Saint Paul, Minnesota in 1993 as a Democrat, he joined the Republican Party in 1996 and was elected U.S. Senator from Minnesota in 2002. Coleman lost his 2008 Senate reelection bid to Al Franken by 312 votes out of over three million cast.

Born in New York City, he graduated from James Madison High School in Brooklyn before earning a B.A. from Hofstra University. After working as a roadie for a period, he attended Brooklyn Law School and earned a J.D. from the University of Iowa School of Law. After graduating from law school, Coleman joined the office of the Minnesota Attorney General as a prosecutor, eventually rising to chief prosecutor and then solicitor general. In 1993, Coleman was elected Mayor of St. Paul, Minnesota. One of Coleman's accomplishments as mayor of Saint Paul was to bring professional ice hockey back to Minnesota. Coleman also successfully fought property tax increases, freezing property tax rates for the eight years he served as mayor. During Coleman's mayoralty St. Paul's job rate grew by 7.1 percent and 18,000 jobs were added. After easily securing the Republican nomination for Governor of Minnesota. Though polling even with Democrat Hubert H. Humphrey, III for most of the race, both Coleman and Humphrey were ultimately upset by Reform Party candidate Jesse Ventura.

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