Page 10 - PGM Compendium

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH
Of

M⸫W⸫ Chris J. Coffman: 2020-2021

M⸫W⸫ Chris J. Coffman was born in Seattle in 1951 and lived
in the University District until he was 7 years old. Then came
the construction of I-5 which now covers the location of his first
home and the family was forced to move to what is now
Shoreline, Washington. He attended Shorecrest High School
where he graduated in 1969. After graduation, he attended
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York. While he
was in New York his family moved to Hawaii. Being so far from
his family was not easy and he dropped out of school after one
semester. He returned to Seattle for a brief period and then
moved to Hawaii to be with his family.

While in Hawaii, Chris finished his undergraduate education at
the University of Hawaii with a degree in Political Science. He
also worked during this time providing concert security for
various venues including major all-day concerts inside of
Diamond Head with an average attendance of 80,000. After
graduation, he attended law school at Gonzaga University in
Spokane, Washington where he graduated in 1978 with honors.
He operated a solo law practice for a few years and then received
an offer to work for the Department of Social and Health Services where he served as a Contract Specialist,
managing competitive bidding and writing service contracts. At that time, he met Lynn Gaumer, the love
of his life. They were married in 1981. They have two children, Clinton and Sarah, and eight
grandchildren, Lucas, Nevaeh, Natalie, Annabelle, Rebekah, Collin, Katelynn, and Malachi.

The Washington State Lottery was formed in 1982 and Chris was one of the first four employees to work
for the State Lottery Commission. After a few years, he became restless and returned to school. He
attended the University of Florida’s Master of Laws in Taxation Program in Gainesville, Florida. While
he had some offers to work for large firms in Florida, Lynn was homesick. So, after graduation, the family
returned to Tacoma, Washington. They later moved to Spokane, Washington, where he worked for a few
years as an associate in a small law firm with an emphasis on tax law.

Eventually, the family returned to Tacoma. Chris joined the Washington State Department of Revenue
and rose through the ranks before retiring. He served in many different roles including as an
Administrative Law Judge, tax policy specialist and supervisor. He also served as Washington’s
representative on the Multi-State Tax Commission. Eventually, he chaired the Multi-State Tax
Commission Uniformity Committee’s Income Tax subcommittee. Many thought this was strange, but he
had the respect of the Uniformity Committee members and Washington State was not involved in any of
the disagreements that were before the committee. Through his work on the Uniformity Committee, he

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