James H. Coleman – Wikipedia

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American politician

James Hsuchen Coleman (Chinese: 柯文建; born June 3, 1999) is an American politician currently serving on the South San Francisco City Council, representing District 4.[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[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

  1. ^ “City Council”. City of South San Francisco.
  2. ^ Pollack, David (4 June 2021). “Leadership Reflective of Our Diverse Communities”. San Mateo Daily Journal. Retrieved 8 January 2022.
  3. ^ 李, 晗 (11 November 2020). “21歲哈佛華裔生 當選南金山議員”. World Journal (in Chinese). Retrieved 9 January 2022.
  4. ^ Vainshtein, Annie (13 November 2020). “How LGBTQ climate activist, age 21, toppled longtime South S.F. incumbent”. San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 9 January 2022.
  5. ^ a b Lempert, Sue (16 November 2020). “Meet South City’s 21-year-old councilman”. San Mateo Daily Journal. Retrieved 9 January 2022.
  6. ^ a b c d Toledo, Aldo (8 December 2021). “South San Francisco’s Youngest Council Member Ever Elected Announces Run for Assembly”. The Mercury News. Retrieved 8 January 2022.
  7. ^ Rumple, Jennifer (13 July 2017). “ABC7 Star Scholar: South San Francisco’s James Coleman”. ABC7 KGO-TV. Retrieved 9 January 2022.
  8. ^ “James Coleman”. City of South San Francisco.
  9. ^ “The Team”. The Sahay Lab.
  10. ^ Krystal Ball and Saagar Enjeti (29 November 2019). “Divest Harvard activist explains why they stormed the field”. The Hill’s Rising. The Hill.
  11. ^ Pesantez, Gabrielle”; Meimei, Xu (8 October 2020). “James Coleman’s Campaign of Necessity”. The Harvard Crimson. Retrieved 9 January 2022.
  12. ^ Goodman, Jasper; Griffin, Kelsey (10 September 2021). “Harvard Will Move to Divest its Endowment from Fossil Fuels”. The Harvard Crimson. Retrieved 9 January 2022.
  13. ^ Chan, Nancy (23 November 2020). “Young progressive set to shake up South City”. San Francisco Examiner. Retrieved 9 January 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 9 January 2022.
  16. ^ Calvey, Mark (10 September 2021). “South San Francisco is piloting a new path to economic equity”. San Francisco Business Times. Retrieved 9 January 2022.
  17. ^ Rancaño, Vanessa (2022-11-04). “In Pushing Affordable Housing Measures, Local Leaders Ask Voters to Contend With Racist Housing Law”. KQED. Retrieved 2023-03-03.
  18. ^ Toledo, Aldo (2022-02-17). “South San Francisco could get social housing ballot measure in November election”. Mercury News. Retrieved 2023-03-03.
  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. 2021-05-03. Retrieved 2022-04-02.
  21. ^ “Socialist James Coleman Thinks California Is Ready for a Leftward Shift”. jacobinmag.com. Retrieved 2022-04-02.