Coleman, Paulose and Susan Kimberly

Eric Black has again pushed the story of recently resigned and previously embattled Rachel Paulose a bit further. His hard-won interview with Sen. Norm Coleman about his role in "the rise and fall" of Paulose is a good read. But that's not what I'm here for. In Black's piece, Coleman re-visits, ever-so-briefly, a remarkable piece of history: Coleman, when he was mayor of St. Paul, appointed the first transgender deputy mayor in America: Susan Kimberly, a Republican.

In the interview article, Coleman defended his early enthusiasm for the Paulose appointment like this:

[Coleman] described Paulose as “a woman of extraordinary intellect… an immigrant background… attracting strong bipartisan support… The kind of woman you’d want to support.” Coleman said that during his public career, he has a history of appointing young women who broke glass ceilings (he mentioned several names, and added that he appointed Susan Kimberly, the first transgender deputy mayor in America).

These days Susan Kimberly lobbies on behalf of the St. Paul Chamber of Commerce. And it appears Coleman has drafted her once more--if unwittingly--this time to serve him in his ongoing effort to defend unpopular decisions.

Read the entire post here.