Michael B. Coleman, the city of Columbus’ longest-serving mayor and subsequently the city’s most sought-after lobbyist, has retired from one of the city’s best-known law firms.
Coleman was mayor from 2000 through 2015, then later worked at the Ice Miller law firm for a decade. Ice Miller thanked Coleman, who’s retiring at 71, in an announcement on April 30.
Coleman’s departure from lobbying comes after he worked on one last big deal at City Hall: the public-private partnership that secured Columbus a National Women’s Soccer League franchise. He registered with the city to lobby on the legislation on behalf of the team’s private investors. Coleman said it would be inappropriate to comment on his work for a client, but said he’s glad Columbus got the team.
Despite his retirement from law, Coleman, a titan who still wields significant influence in the city, won’t be receding into obscurity.
“I’m retiring from the law firm, but I’m not retiring from life,” Coleman told The Dispatch.
Coleman said he’s weighing getting involved in voter registration because he’s concerned about Ohioans not voting and about Vivek Ramaswamy’s campaign for governor. Coleman said he recently had a long conversation with fellow Democrat Stacey Abrams, who led a successful campaign to boost voter turnout in Georgia.
He also says he’s not done mentoring the next generation of Columbus leaders. Coleman’s mentees include Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther, Council President Shannon Hardin and a host of other elected city and county officials.
Coleman will still be the director of Adelphi Bank and a board member at the Columbus Museum of Art, to name a few of his roles in the community.
He’s also considering writing a book or a play about the Lincoln Theatre.
Government and politics reporter Jordan Laird can be reached at jlaird@dispatch.com. Follow her on X, Instagram and Bluesky at @LairdWrites.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Michael Coleman retires from lobbying. Influential ex-mayor eyes his next move
Reporting by Jordan Laird, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
