Garnet Fredrick Coleman (born September 8, 1961) is an American politician. From 1991 to 2022, he was a member of the

Texas House of Representatives The Texas House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Texas Legislature. It consists of 150 members who are elected from single-member districts for two-year terms. There are no Term limits in the United States, term limits. The ...

for the 147th district, located entirely within

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

and Harris County.

Early life and education

Coleman was born on September 8, 1961, in

Washington, DC Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and Federal district of the United States, federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from ...

and raised in

Houston, Texas Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

. His father is John B. Coleman, a Houston doctor. As of 2006, the family of Coleman's father had lived in Houston's Third Ward neighborhood for over 100 years. Coleman graduated from Jack Yates High School in

,Distinguished HISD Alumni
," ''

Houston Independent School District The Houston Independent School District (HISD) is the largest Public school (government funded), public school system in Texas, and the eighth-largest in the United States. Houston ISD serves as a community school district for most of the ci ...

''. Retrieved on October 20, 2011. "Garnet F. Coleman (1979) State Representative for District 147, which includes the Third Ward, Fourth Ward, South Park, downtown, midtown, Sagemont, and Hobby Airport areas" and the University of Saint Thomas in Houston. Coleman attended

Howard University Howard University is a private, historically black, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity" and accredited by the Mid ...

in Washington, D.C. and in 1990 graduated from the University of St. Thomas cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts. He also completed the Harvard University Senior Executive Program for State and Local Government.

Political career

Coleman was elected to his first term as a state representative in 1991 at age 29. His district includes

Downtown Houston Downtown is the largest central business district in the city of Houston and the largest in the state of Texas, located near the geographic center of the metropolitan area at the confluence of Interstate 10 in Texas, Interstate 10, Interstate 45 ...

, the Hobby Airport area, Midtown Houston, Sagemont, and the Third Ward. Coleman has been named ''

Texas Monthly ''Texas Monthly'' (stylized as ''TexasMonthly'') is a monthly American magazine headquartered in Downtown Austin, Texas. Founded in 1973 by Michael R. Levy, ''Texas Monthly'' chronicles life in contemporary Texas, writing on politics, the Natura ...

'' Ten Best Legislators List on two occasions. Most recently he received the 2005 Reintegration Award presented by

Eli Lilly and Company Eli Lilly and Company, Trade name, doing business as Lilly, is an American multinational Medication, pharmaceutical company headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, with offices in 18 countries. Its products are sold in approximately 125 count ...

, a national award given in acknowledgment of efforts to increase services and decrease the stigma associated with mental illness.

Incident with police officer

On July 14, 2015, Coleman was stopped by a police officer for driving 94 miles per hour. Coleman later said of the incident, "He talked to me like I was a child... He was so rude and nasty. Even when he found out I was a legislator, he became more rude and nasty. And I didn't understand why this guy was continuing to go on and on and treat me like a child. And basically like I'm saying is treat me like a boy. I want to be very clear about that." Even so, Coleman was neither issued a citation for speeding nor charged with perjury. However, KHOU and the Houston Chronicle later reported an analysis of the audio from a dashcam recording of Coleman's accusations against the police officer which appeared to show the police officer treating Coleman with respect and Coleman asking for special treatment.

Political positions

Coleman, in regards to the Third Ward, expressed his opposition to

gentrification Gentrification is the process whereby the character of a neighborhood changes through the influx of more Wealth, affluent residents (the "gentry") and investment. There is no agreed-upon definition of gentrification. In public discourse, it has ...

and a desire to keep the original residents in the neighborhood. Coleman had some control over the Midtown Tax Increment Financing District, which bought land in the Third Ward and enacted deeds restricting what may be done with the land, so that the land could indefinitely be used to house low income residents.Buntin, John.
Land Rush
" '' Governing''. March 2006. Retrieved on July 3, 2011. In 2009, Coleman said "We learned a lot from the debacle in the Fourth Ward. So it would be stupid not to respond to the negative byproducts of rapid development. We want to find people who will make this community better by becoming part of its fabric, not by changing its fabric."Axtman, Kris.
After years in the suburbs, many blacks return to city life
" ''

The Christian Science Monitor ''The Christian Science Monitor'' (''CSM''), commonly known as ''The Monitor'', is a nonprofit news organization that publishes daily articles both in Electronic publishing, electronic format and a weekly print edition. It was founded in 1908 ...

''. April 29, 2004. Retrieved on May 1, 2009. In regards to the Fourth Ward in 2009, Coleman said that it cannot recapture the sense of community that it used to have. Coleman added "the residents got pushed to the suburbs, and the businesses got wiped away."Feldman, Claudia.
A road called Almeda
" ''

Houston Chronicle The ''Houston Chronicle'' is the largest daily newspaper in Houston, Houston, Texas, United States. it is the third-largest newspaper by Sunday circulation in the United States, behind only ''The New York Times'' and the ''Los Angeles Times''. ...

''. October 29, 2009. Retrieved on November 1, 2009.

References

External links

Texas House of Representatives - Garnet Coleman
official TX House website
Garnet Coleman
official campaign website
Project Vote Smart - Representative Garnet F. Coleman (TX)
profile *''Follow the Money'' - Garnet Coleman
20062004200220001998
campaign contributions {{DEFAULTSORT:Coleman, Garnet Democratic Party members of the Texas House of Representatives 1961 births Living people African-American state legislators in Texas Harvard Kennedy School alumni Howard University alumni University of St. Thomas (Texas) alumni 21st-century African-American politicians 20th-century African-American politicians 21st-century members of the Texas Legislature