Paul Yelverton Coble (born October 19, 1953, in
Raleigh
Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the seat of Wake County in the United States. It is the second-most populous city in North Carolina, after Charlotte. Raleigh is the tenth-most populous city in the Southeas ...
,
North Carolina
North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and ...
) served one term as
Mayor of Raleigh, North Carolina
The mayor of Raleigh is the mayor of Raleigh, the state capital of North Carolina, in the United States. Raleigh operates with council-manager government, under which the mayor is elected separately from Raleigh City Council, of which they ar ...
from December 1999 to December 2001. Coble served on the
Wake County Board of Commissioners from 2006 to 2014, and served as chairman of the board from 2010 to 2012. In 2015, he became the Legislative Services Officer for the
North Carolina General Assembly.
Early life
Coble is the son of Jack and Betsey Coble and the nephew of the late
U.S. Senator Jesse Helms. He attended
Needham B. Broughton High School
Needham B. Broughton High School, commonly known as Broughton High School, is one of thirty-two high schools in the Wake County Public School System. It is located at 723 St. Mary's Street, Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. Broughton w ...
, earned a Bachelor of Science degree at
Wake Forest University
Wake Forest University is a private research university in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Founded in 1834, the university received its name from its original location in Wake Forest, north of Raleigh, North Carolina. The Reynolda Campus, the un ...
in business. In 1992, he completed a Registered Health Underwriter designation through
Northeastern University.
Political career
Coble served on
Raleigh City Council
Raleigh City Council is the governing body for the city of Raleigh, the state capital of North Carolina.
Raleigh is governed by council-manager government. It is composed of eight members, including the Mayor of Raleigh. Five of the members ar ...
from 1993 to 1999. While on the council, he served as chairman of the budget committee and the planning committee. He also served as mayor pro tem. Councilman Coble worked to cut the tax rate four times. Like his predecessor, Mayor
Tom Fetzer
Thomas Harrison Fetzer Jr. is an American politician and lobbyist who served three two-year terms as Mayor of Raleigh, North Carolina from 1993 to 1999. He was chairman of the North Carolina Republican Party from 2009 to 2011.
Early life
Tom Fe ...
, he was a
conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...
Republican
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
. He was sworn in as Mayor on December 7, 1999, after winning the
1999 Raleigh mayoral election.
Coble served until 2001. During Coble's term as mayor, the city had to rapidly respond to a record 25-inch snow storm and opened the
Progress Energy Center for the Performing Arts. Coble focused on public safety issues and promoted a program to prosecute gun violence under Federal laws.
Coble ran for reelection in 2001, facing Democrat
Charles Meeker. On the first ballot, with a voter turnout of about 40,000 people, Coble received 49.15% of the votes while his opponent garnered 47.65%. In the subsequent run-off election voter turnout climbed to approximately 50,000 and Meeker defeated Coble, 50.97% to 48.87% of the votes. The following year, Coble ran unsuccessfully for a seat in the
North Carolina State Senate
The North Carolina Senate is the upper chamber of the North Carolina General Assembly, which along with the North Carolina House of Representatives—the lower chamber—comprises the state legislature of North Carolina. The term of office for e ...
against Democrat Eric Reeves. Reeves won with 49.29% of the votes to Coble's 48.39%.
In 2006, Coble sought a comeback to elective office by running for an open seat on the
Wake County Board of Commissioners. He handily defeated
Air Force
An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an ...
veteran Rodger Koopman 54.42% to 45.58%. Coble served as chairman of the Public Safety Committee and serves on the Wake County Fire Commission. He was re-elected to the commission in 2010, defeating Wake County attorney and former Wake County Democratic Party chair Jack Nichols. Coble served as chairman of the commissioners for two terms, in both 2011 and 2012. In private life, Coble was in the
insurance
Insurance is a means of protection from financial loss in which, in exchange for a fee, a party agrees to compensate another party in the event of a certain loss, damage, or injury. It is a form of risk management, primarily used to hedge ...
business. He is married to Connie Coble and has two daughters, Courtney and Paige.
In December 2008, Coble downplayed reports that he was considering running for
Governor of North Carolina in
the 2012 election, challenging
Bev Perdue
Beverly Eaves Perdue (born Beverly Marlene Moore; January 14, 1947) is an American businesswoman, politician, and member of the Democratic Party who served as the 73rd governor of North Carolina from 2009 to 2013. She was the first female gov ...
. Instead, he later announced that he would run for the U.S. House in
North Carolina's 13th congressional district
The thirteenth congressional district of North Carolina was re-established in 2002 after the state gained population in the 2000 United States census. Previously, the state had 13 districts from the first election following the 1810 census unti ...
, then occupied by U.S. Representative Brad Miller.
2012 Congressional Run
Coble, former
U.S. Attorney
United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal ...
George E.B. Holding, and
2010 nominee Bill Randall
ran for the Republican nomination.
Former Winston-Salem city council member Vernon Robinson and Nathan Tabor, who ran unsuccessfully in the 5th district in
2004, had both planned to seek the Republican nomination in the 13th district in 2012, but Robinson instead ran in the 8th district,
while Tabor declined to run as a result of changes made to the district in redistricting. On May 8,
George Holding
George Edward Bell Holding (born April 17, 1968) is an American politician, lawyer, and former federal prosecutor who is a former United States Representative for North Carolina's 2nd congressional district from 2017 to 2021. He previously repr ...
won the Republican primary with almost 44 percent of the vote.
News & Observer: U.S. House, District 13: Holding defeats Coble in GOP primary
/ref>
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Coble, Paul
1953 births
County commissioners in North Carolina
Living people
Mayors of Raleigh, North Carolina
Wake Forest University alumni
North Carolina Republicans
Raleigh City Council members