St. Paul Mayor Norm Coleman

MFC Exclusive Interview

May, 1997

by Kent Kaiser

Many conservative insiders view Saint Paul Mayor Norm Coleman as a political up-and-comer. But outside of St. Paul, many Minnesotans are not familiar with this man.

Norm Coleman is--above everything else--a family man. This fact seems to be demonstrated in almost everything about him.

Coleman's office at Saint Paul City Hall is quite plain. The one major feature that personalizes his office is a display of many, many framed family photos on the credenza behind his desk.

Even as Coleman describes himself, he does not focus on his personal achievements or his public position, but rather on his family. He explains that he was one of eight children his parents reared in Brooklyn, New York, where his parents still live. Even though Coleman came to the Midwest over 20 years ago, his Brooklyn accent still lingers in his speech. He graduated from law school at the University of Iowa and entered public service shortly thereafter.

Coleman's wife, Laurie, is originally from Minnesota. "I'm a Jewish kid from Brooklyn married to a nice Catholic girl from Minneapolis," he explains. The Colemans have been married for 16 years. "We have four kids--two passed away at a very young age, and two are still with us," he notes. The Colemans first son, Adam, was born in 1983 and lived for about six weeks. Their second son, Jacob, is 11, and their daughter, Sarah, is 7. A little girl, Grace, was born in 1992 and lived for about three months.

After describing his background, Coleman finally gets around to adding quietly in a partial sentence, "Been mayor since 1994."

Of his public role Coleman says, "I've always been involved in public service.... I really think that's who I am.... From my tradition, service is very important. It's kind of a reflection of who you are, and I believe it's about doing good deeds--that's what you do--you try to make the world a better place, and that's what I've done."

Coleman says he thoroughly enjoys public service, though he admits it can be hard on families. "I remember my son telling me after I got elected--true story--he said, 'Dad, are you going to be a real dad again and read to me?' Because I used to read to him every night. Well, when you're on the campaign you're not reading every night with your children--you're campaigning, and then you're always thinking about the campaign. It almost takes you over, and you've got to come back--you've got to find some balance."

Coleman finds the business of mayor to be hard because it is so very public. He says, "When you're out with your family, you've always got someone tugging on your elbow--in a nice way. In my business, I want people to say 'hi,' and I'm gregarious and outgoing by nature anyway, but what it means is that when you're watching your son play ball, and you have somebody talking, you're not really watching him. And kids pick that up--kids pick that up. Or you have so many commitments that you miss a birthday. So I struggle with keeping the balance between family and public commitment."

To maintain that balance, Coleman has made a policy of not working on Sundays. He says with his reelection campaign this year, he may have to change that policy, but for the last couple of years he says he didn't do anything on a Sunday. "That was the day that my children and my wife knew I'd be around--even when I did nothing but laid around on the couch.... I think the only exception [was] for Archbishop Roach when he retired. They had a service--I went to that."

Coleman's emphasis on family extends well beyond his own wife and children to his very philosophy of government and public service. He says one of the key questions he asks in determining what initiatives to undertake and what policies to change is, "How does it affect the family?" In fact, Coleman says this question should be used as a sort of filter for any government initiative.

"I'm not out there looking for new laws," he says. "If anything, I think we should measure what we do and decide if we really need it. I would look at [laws/policies] that are out there and say, How does it impact the family?... Does it strengthen the family? " If not, Coleman would advocate elimination or restructuring.

One example Coleman gives is that of the Saint Paul School Board neglecting to allow sibling preference in a school. As it now stands, if a child attends a school, there is no preference for other children in the same family to attend the same school. So, parents might have to deliver and retrieve their children from several different schools, deal with several different school administrations, and so on. Coleman says, "To me, that's absurd... I think it's a legitimate, important value for government to look at 'Does it strengthen the family?'"

In addition to exploring family impact, Coleman says political leaders need to measure their actions against moral absolutes. "I believe there are some rights and wrongs--and I speak about that. Are we speaking out... against things that are wrong? Or are we afraid to say anything for fear that we may offend some sensibility? I think we need to speak out and say some things are right and some things are wrong."

Coleman believes the important issues are pretty much the same for families in greater Minnesota as for families in St. Paul. "It's pretty basic. You want to feel safe. You want to be sure there's economic opportunity. You want to be sure you can afford to live where you live. You want to make sure your kids have a quality education.... And you want to live in a place where there's hope."

Lately, Coleman has been engaged in a mission to bring NHL hockey back to Minnesota. He uses the prospective NHL team as an analogy for hope. "Hockey teams are about hope," says Coleman, becoming passionate. "It's about urban vitality. It's about in the end... that St. Paul is a giver and not a taker.... My image of St. Paul is a place to raise families. That's the perception I want people to have. Hockey for me is about a place you can go for families. It's not the night life some other places have. It's the Children's Museum, the Science Museum. That's a vibrant downtown, but a place for families. So that's the image, that's the perception, that's what I want to foster. St. Paul's a great big small town. That's what we are. Which means that people are safe. Which means that people know each other. That they work with each other. A sense of community commitment--that's important."

Considering his emphasis on family, it isn't difficult to believe who Coleman primarily attributes for his success: "God, and my mom and dad, my wife. As models for leadership, Coleman looks to Winston Churchill and Robert Kennedy. He notes Kennedy's power to touch those less fortunate.

In a different category, Coleman mentions some spiritual people who have influenced him profoundly. From next to his desk he reaches for a book from which he reads regularly. It contains 'thoughts for the day' by Rabbi Bernard Raskas. Additionally he says, "I think [Archbishop] Harry Flynn's a great leader--I think we'll come to know more about him. I'm really impressed with him, with his spirituality.... He's a very decent man. I think he s going to have a profound impact on this community." Coleman notes also that as he is Jewish, he looks for guidance to some rabbis he has known--some "bright and talented people, like Morris Allen.... They're profound, rich in their thinking."

Coleman brings a lot of energy to his job. "People say, Mayor, you're everywhere, " notes Coleman. "I work hard. That's a lesson I can tell you. I tell young people, 'Work hard,' and 'Do it with integrity.' People see that. They really do. I think they measure that in you... If you work hard and do it with integrity, in the end I think you'll wind up doing the right thing."

Coleman says he believes his success has come as a result of his ability to attract and tap into the energy and views of people who are smarter than he is. Coleman, who was elected as a Democrat but recently switched to the Republican Party, sees attracting young talent as one of the biggest challenges for conservatives today. He wishes he could be a part of tapping into young talent--into identifying and grooming young people for positions in politics and government.

In addition, Coleman says, "I think as Republicans one of our failings has been not tapping into the power of our immigrant community.... The message we have of entrepreneurship, of hope, of strong families--that's a message that should be for everybody. These are very core values that are basic to all of us."

When asked about his aspirations for higher office, Coleman rejects the notion--for now. He says he is happy being mayor and enjoys his job very much. For now, he says, he will focus on being mayor of St. Paul, on being reelected this coming November, and on continuing in his current position. If, he says, at some point in the future God tells him to try moving to a different position, then--and only then--he will consider doing that.

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