Senator Coffin served as the Chair of the 2009 Senate Committee on Taxation and served as a member of the 2009 Senate Committee on Finance and the 2009 Senate Committee on Natural Resources.

Senator Coffin was born in Anaheim, California in 1942. He graduated from Bishop Gorman High School before attending the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, where he received a B.S. in Business Administration and Accounting. In 1962 he served with the United State Army Reserve.

Senator Coffin is a very active member of his community. He is affiliated with the Nevada Commission on Sports; the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce; the Assembly on Federal Issues, NCSL; the National Association of Latino Elected Officials; and the Booksellers Association of Southern Nevada.

Along with being an active community member, Senator Coffin was also awarded the Charles Dick Medal of Merit from the National Guard Association of the United States in 2007. He has also been named Outstanding Hispanic Citizen by the Latin Chamber of Commerce of Nevada in 1988, along with being named the Man-of-the-Year by the Hispanic Business and Professional Women of Las Vegas in 1990.

Senator Coffin is married to Mary Hausch. They have three children: James, Walter, and Anna Maria.