H. Brent Coles

H. Brent Coles (born ) is an American politician who served as mayor of Boise, Idaho from 1993 to 2003. Coles resigned from office after accepting an illegal trip to the 2002 Winter Olympics from an insurance company. Coles was a candidate in the 2019 Boise mayoral election, placing fourth out of seven candidates in first round of voting. Early life and education Born in Idaho Falls, Coles moved to Boise with his family in 1968 and graduated from Borah High School in 1970. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from Brigham Young University and a Master of Public Administration from California State University, Long Beach. Career Coles was appointed mayor in January 1993 by the Boise City Council, upon the resignation of Dirk Kempthorne, who was elected to the United States Senate in 1992. Coles was elected to a full term as mayor in November 1993, defeating Tracy Andrus, and was re-elected in 1997 and 2001. In 2000 and 2001, Coles served as president of the United States Conference of Mayors.