James Scheibel
Quick Facts
Biography
James Scheibel (born August 30, 1947) is an American politician who was endorsed by the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party. From 1990 to 1994, he served as the mayor of Saint Paul, Minnesota, succeeding George Latimer.
A graduate of Saint John's University, he worked as a community organizer, as aide to former mayor Lawrence D. Cohen, as national organizer for Fred R. Harris's 1976 presidential campaign, and as deputy director for Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA). Elected to the Saint Paul City Council in 1982, he served there until his election as mayor.
As mayor, Scheibel led efforts to tackle the problems of homelessness, hunger and refugee services.
Scheibel was succeeded by Norm Coleman. After his mayoralty, Scheibel served as vice president for the Corporation for National and Community Service and as a nonprofit executive. He now chairs the 21st Century Democrats, a progressive electoral coalition active within the national Democratic Party, and is a member of the Saint Paul Area Council of Churches. He teaches at Hamline University and is the interim executive director of the Minnesota Campus Compact. Scheibel was recently appointed president of AARP Minnesota, which has more than 650,000 members. Scheibel was instrumental in the launch of AmeriCorps.