SOUTH FLORIDA – The mayor of a Florida city who was on the national stage during his days in Tallahassee is looking to run for president.
No, it’s not former Tallahassee mayor Andrew Gillum, but Miramar Mayor Wayne Messam, who on Wednesday (March 6th) requested an advisory opinion from the state Division of Elections about when he would have to resign from office if he makes a longshot run for POTUS.
Messam’s national aspirations haven’t been a secret in South Florida, nor is his concern about the makeup of the already crowded Democratic presidential field.
“I’m not convinced that there’s been someone who is addressing these critical issues head on,” Messam said Tuesday while on NBC 6 in Miami. “Also, there lacks a sense of urgency to plan for our future as well as to deal with the crises that we see right here, like gun violence, like climate change, access to health care, crippling student debt.”
Messam, the American-born son of Jamaican parents, owns a construction firm and has been mayor of the state’s 13th-largest city since 2015.
Messam’s name may be familiar to sports fans as he was a freshman wide receiver when Florida State University won the 1993 national championship. He played all four years for legendary coach Bobby Bowden and started his senior year, when he was also elected student body vice president.
