 Kolb ran for mayor of Ann Arbor as the Democratic nominee in 1996 and 1998, accusing incumbent Republican mayor Ingrid Sheldon of not doing enough in the areas of environmental policy, affordable housing, and downtown vitality, but he lost both races by narrow margins.In 2000, he ran for state representative in the 53rd district, seeking to succeed the term-limited Liz Brater.He ran unopposed in the Democratic primary and won the general election with 27,682 votes (71%) to his Republican opponent's 11,553 (29%).