James H. Coleman
Member of the
South San Francisco City Council
from District 4
Assumed office
December 9, 2020
Preceded byRichard Garbarino
Mayor of
South San Francisco
Assumed office
December 5th, 2023
Preceded byBuenaflor Nicolas
Personal details
Born (1999-06-03) June 3, 1999 (age 24)
South San Francisco, California, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
EducationHarvard University (BA)

James Hsuchen Coleman (Chinese: 柯文建; born June 3, 1999) is an American politician currently serving as Mayor of South San Francisco. He represents District 4 on the City Council.[1][2][3] Elected at the age of 21, he is one of the youngest elected officials in the United States.[4]

Early life and education

Coleman was born in South San Francisco.[5] His mother is a Taiwanese immigrant who works as a lab technician at Kaiser Permanente. His father was a FedEx worker and died when James was 16.[5][6] Coleman graduated from South San Francisco High School in 2017, and from Harvard University in 2021.[6][7]

At Harvard, Coleman majored in human developmental and regenerative biology with a minor in government.[8] He conducted undergraduate research in the Sahay Lab, a neuroscience laboratory at Massachusetts General Hospital.[9] Coleman was also active in Harvard's fossil fuel divestment campaign from 2018 to 2020, in which Harvard announced their intentions to divest on September 9, 2021.[10][11][12]

Political career

Coleman was elected to the South San Francisco City Council in the middle of his senior year at college in 2020, defeating 18-year incumbent Richard Garbarino with 52.27% of the vote.[13][14] He became the city's youngest ever and first openly LGBTQ+ council member.[15]

On the city council, Coleman has led the passage of a $5 Hazard Pay ordinance for grocery workers, and worked with Mark Nagales to establish a Universal Basic Income pilot program providing $500 per month for 12 months to 160 families.[6][15][16]

On December 7, 2021, Coleman announced a run for California State Assembly, to succeed incumbent Kevin Mullin.[6] Mullin is not seeking reelection since he is running for Congress, following Jackie Speier's announcement that she would not run for reelection in 2022.[15] On June 7, 2022, Coleman was defeated in the primary by San Mateo Mayor Diane Papan, who went on to win the general election.

In 2022, Coleman successfully led the passage of Measure AA to allow the City of South San Francisco build or acquire city-owned affordable housing, or social housing.[17][18] On November 8, 2022, Measure AA passed with 58.85% of voters voting yes.[19]

Coleman identifies as a democratic socialist.[20][21]

References

  1. ^ "City Council". City of South San Francisco.
  2. ^ Pollack, David (June 4, 2021). "Leadership Reflective of Our Diverse Communities". San Mateo Daily Journal. Retrieved January 8, 2022.
  3. ^ 李, 晗 (November 11, 2020). "21歲哈佛華裔生 當選南金山議員". World Journal (in Chinese). Retrieved January 9, 2022.
  4. ^ Vainshtein, Annie (November 13, 2020). "How LGBTQ climate activist, age 21, toppled longtime South S.F. incumbent". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved January 9, 2022.
  5. ^ a b Lempert, Sue (November 16, 2020). "Meet South City's 21-year-old councilman". San Mateo Daily Journal. Retrieved January 9, 2022.
  6. ^ a b c d Toledo, Aldo (December 8, 2021). "South San Francisco's Youngest Council Member Ever Elected Announces Run for Assembly". The Mercury News. Retrieved January 8, 2022.
  7. ^ Rumple, Jennifer (July 13, 2017). "ABC7 Star Scholar: South San Francisco's James Coleman". ABC7 KGO-TV. Retrieved January 9, 2022.
  8. ^ "James Coleman". City of South San Francisco.
  9. ^ "The Team". The Sahay Lab.
  10. ^ Krystal Ball and Saagar Enjeti (November 29, 2019). "Divest Harvard activist explains why they stormed the field". The Hill's Rising. The Hill.
  11. ^ Pesantez, Gabrielle"; Meimei, Xu (October 8, 2020). "James Coleman's Campaign of Necessity". The Harvard Crimson. Retrieved January 9, 2022.
  12. ^ Goodman, Jasper; Griffin, Kelsey (September 10, 2021). "Harvard Will Move to Divest its Endowment from Fossil Fuels". The Harvard Crimson. Retrieved January 9, 2022.
  13. ^ Chan, Nancy (November 23, 2020). "Young progressive set to shake up South City". San Francisco Examiner. Retrieved January 9, 2022.
  14. ^ "November 3, 2020 Election Results". San Mateo County Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder & Chief Elections Officer.
  15. ^ a b c Bajko, Matthew. "Political Notebook: Bi councilman Coleman enters Assembly race". Bay Area Reporter. Retrieved January 9, 2022.
  16. ^ Calvey, Mark (September 10, 2021). "South San Francisco is piloting a new path to economic equity". San Francisco Business Times. Retrieved January 9, 2022.
  17. ^ Rancaño, Vanessa (November 4, 2022). "In Pushing Affordable Housing Measures, Local Leaders Ask Voters to Contend With Racist Housing Law". KQED. Retrieved March 3, 2023.
  18. ^ Toledo, Aldo (February 17, 2022). "South San Francisco could get social housing ballot measure in November election". Mercury News. Retrieved March 3, 2023.
  19. ^ "November 8, 2022 Election Results". San Mateo County Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder & Chief Elections Officer.
  20. ^ "Meet James Coleman, South San Francisco District 4's new Socialist City Council Member". San Francisco Independent Journal. May 3, 2021. Retrieved April 2, 2022.
  21. ^ "Socialist James Coleman Thinks California Is Ready for a Leftward Shift". jacobinmag.com. Retrieved April 2, 2022.
Categories