James Coleman becomes key dealmaker as Colorado Senate president
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Sen. James Coleman in December 2023. Photo: Helen H. Richardson/Denver Post via Getty Images
When the General Assembly reconvenes Wednesday, Denver's James Coleman will become the second-ever Black state Senate president and arguably its most powerful lawmaker.
Why it matters: The 37-year-old's pragmatic political views stand apart from his more ideological Democratic colleagues and position him as a dealmaker in the increasingly liberal Legislature.
The big picture: Coleman tells Axios Denver his priority this session is steering Colorado away from what's happening in Washington, D.C., both in terms of protecting vulnerable populations from the incoming Trump administration and the Legislature's culture from becoming too polarized.
What he's saying: He says his goal is to "help us pass high-quality legislation that's going to ultimately be implemented — not just passed, but implemented."
- "I'm going to be involved in all the stakeholding, all the conversations," he adds.
Zoom in: His life experience has pushed his legislative career toward moderate stances.
- Coleman is an advocate for school choice because he used a school voucher program to attend a small church-based school after getting kicked out of middle school for fighting.
- His near-miss with the juvenile justice system as a result made him a proponent of criminal justice reforms that favor rehabilitation over incarceration.
- His work leading nonprofits and a small business explains his middle-of-the-road stance on enforcing new mandates on industry.
Between the lines: Coleman's passion for public service came from his "Obama moment" in school, when he met then-Mayor Wellington Webb, a prominent Black politician, and from his father, a street pastor he connected with at age 11, who took him to nursing homes and food banks to help others.
- Coleman won his first legislative race in a 2016 state House primary by fewer than 100 votes but easily cruised to re-election in the Senate last year.
- If he holds his position, he could serve as Senate president for a rare four years.
The bottom line: "I just wanted to be with [my Dad], and so I've been conditioned to do this work my entire life," Coleman says. "And so that's part of what … why I love service."