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.
John Harrington grew up in Chicago until he finished high school at De La Salle Institute.
He received his Bachelor of Arts from Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire, where he majored in Far East religion and minored in Chinese.
As chief of police, he addressed some of Saint Paul’s most difficult problems, developing innovative programs that greatly reduced domestic violence and gang involvement.
[1][4] Harrington vacated his seat weeks before the November 2012 election and was named chief of the Metro Transit Police.