John Harrington (American politician)

John Harrington
Commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Public Safety
Assumed office
January 5, 2019
Appointed byTim Walz
Preceded byRamona Dohman
Member of the Minnesota Senate
from the 67th district
In office
January 4, 2011  September 3, 2012
Preceded byMee Moua
Succeeded byFoung Hawj
55th Chief of the Saint Paul Police Department
In office
July 1, 2004  June 30, 2010
Appointed byRandy Kelly
Preceded byWilliam Finney
Personal details
Born (1956-01-16) January 16, 1956
Chicago, Illinois
Political partyDemocratic–Farmer–Labor
ChildrenSeven
ResidenceSaint Paul, Minnesota
Alma materDartmouth College
College of St. Thomas
OccupationTeacher, legislator, former police chief

John Mark Harrington (born 1956) is the Commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Public Safety for the U.S. State of Minnesota, appointed by Governor Tim Walz. He has served since January 2019. Harrington previously served as Chief of the Saint Paul Police Department (2004-2010) and Chief of the Metro Transit Police (2012-2019) in Minneapolis–Saint Paul. He is a former member of the Minnesota Senate who represented District 67, which includes portions of the city of Saint Paul in Ramsey County. A Democrat, he is a teacher and manager at Metropolitan State University in Saint Paul.