Andrew Gillum

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Andrew Gillum

Democratic Party

Prior offices

Mayor of Tallahassee

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Elections and appointments

Last election

November 6, 2018

Education

Bachelor's

Florida A&M University

Contact

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Personal website

Personal Facebook

Personal Twitter

Andrew Gillum was the Mayor of Tallahassee in Florida. He left office in 2019.

Gillum (Democratic Party) ran for election for Governor of Florida. He lost in the general election on November 6, 2018.

Gillum ran on a joint ticket with the lieutenant gubernatorial nominee, Christopher King (D).

Gillum was elected mayor of Tallahassee, Florida in 2014. He did not run for re-election in 2018.

Biography

Born in Miami, Gillum moved to Gainesville at a young age. While a senior at Florida A&M University, Gillum was elected to the Tallahassee City Council. As of his entrance into the 2018 gubernatorial election, Gillum had remained active in Tallahassee politics ever since.

Education

• Bachelor's - Florida A&M University

Political career

Mayor of Tallahassee

Gillum was first elected Mayor of Tallahassee in 2014. As of his entrance into the gubernatorial election, Gillum remained the city's mayor.

Tallahassee City Council (2003-2014)

Gillum was first elected to the Tallahassee City Council in 2003, while a student at Florida A&M University. Gillum remained on the city council until his election as mayor in 2014.

Elections

2018

See also: Florida gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2018

See also: Florida gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2018 (August 28 Democratic primary)

General election

General election for Governor of Florida

The following candidates ran in the general election for Governor of Florida on November 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Ron DeSantis (R)	49.6	4,076,186
		Andrew Gillum (D)	49.2	4,043,723
		Darcy Richardson (Reform Party)	0.6	47,140
		Kyle Gibson (No Party Affiliation)	0.3	24,310
	Submit photo	Ryan Foley (No Party Affiliation)	0.2	14,630
		Bruce Stanley (No Party Affiliation)	0.2	14,505
		Other/Write-in votes	0.0	66

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 8,220,560 (100.00% precincts reporting)
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Raphael Herman (No Party Affiliation)
• Randy Wiseman (L)

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Governor of Florida

The following candidates ran in the Democratic primary for Governor of Florida on August 28, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Andrew Gillum	34.4	522,164
		Gwen Graham	31.3	474,875
		Philip Levine	20.3	308,801
		Jeff Greene	10.1	152,955
		Christopher King	2.5	37,616
	Submit photo	John Wetherbee	0.9	14,426
		Alex Lundmark	0.6	8,655

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,519,492
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Richard Dembinsky (D)

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Governor of Florida

The following candidates ran in the Republican primary for Governor of Florida on August 28, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Ron DeSantis	56.5	916,298
		Adam Putnam	36.5	592,518
		Bob White	2.0	32,710
	Submit photo	Timothy Devine	1.3	21,380
	Submit photo	Bob Langford	1.2	19,842
		Bruce Nathan	0.9	14,556
	Submit photo	Don Baldauf	0.8	13,173
		John Joseph Mercadante	0.7	11,647

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,622,124
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Angel Rivera (R)

Campaign themes

2018

Campaign website

Gillum’s campaign website stated the following:

“	Criminal Justice Reform Andrew believes that after someone pays the penalty for their mistake, they should be given a second chance. Too often, our society perpetually punishes people for one mistake, and creates barriers to positive re-entry. Andrew supports the legalization of marijuana in order to generate new revenue to pay for teacher and instructional staff pay increases and to reduce the mass incarceration of people with low-level drug offenses. Andrew wants to reform our bail system so that we stop disenfranchising people of lower economic means, and work with the legislature to find common ground on minimum sentencing reforms. His first priority as Governor will be appointing three new Supreme Court justices who share the values of this state, and he’ll appoint diverse, qualified judges who represent the breadth and depth of people in this state. One of Andrew’s first acts as Mayor was to usher in a new Ban the Box Policy to help former offenders find employment in the City, and he continued to fight for more programs focused on helping offenders and at-risk juveniles from falling deeper into the criminal justice system. Andrew believes that the best way to fight crime in any city is to ensure that every man or woman in a community has the chance to earn a good-paying job that allows them to support their family. Andrew also launched Operation Safe Neighborhoods; a community collaborative focused on building stronger relationships between citizens and law enforcement, and better-applying resources in the City’s highest crime areas. Through increased investments in law enforcement, diversion and re-entry programs, and an expansion of human services in the highest crime areas of the City, Tallahassee is the safest it has been since 2013, including a 10%+ decrease in total crime. As a City Commissioner, Andrew helped create the Palmer-Munroe Teen Center, equipped with the Community Connections Restorative Justice Program. This new center works with youth offenders to build non-violent communication skills within teens to help them adjust their life trajectory and make better choices. The program has resulted in a 90%+ success rate among recidivism rates for youth who complete the program. Economy and Jobs Nearly half of Florida’s households struggle to make ends meet, and as the son of a bus driver and construction worker, Andrew knows firsthand what it’s like to have your parents choose between which bills to pay before a service gets cut off. As Governor, he will address the devastating inequality that has hurt our working families, who are forced to live paycheck to paycheck and feel that the opportunity to get ahead isn’t available to them anymore. Andrew has proposed the “Fair Share for Florida’s Future” Plan to finally make real investments in our public schools and working families — and ask the richest corporations to pay a little more of their fair share. By adjusting our state corporate tax level to a modest 7.75%, which allows our richest corporations to receive a tax cut and keeps our corporate tax rate more than 1% lower than California, we’ll be able to recoup at least $1 billion and put it where we need it most — investing in our future. The “Fair Share” plan calls for rebuilding our public schools, paying teachers a minimum starting salary of $50,000, investing in early childhood education programs, and investing in SHOP 2.0 and vocational training to help get workers the training they need for higher paying jobs. He wants to help working families get ahead, including pushing for family-friendly policies like paid family leave that help workers take care of their families. Under Andrew’s leadership, Tallahassee is the fastest-growing economy per capita in Florida, and President Obama designated Tallahassee a TechHire city — at the time, one of 50 in the country and one of only two in the state of Florida — for being a leader in training workers to have advanced technical skills. He led Tallahassee’s successful push to become one of the only cities in Florida to eliminate the local business tax, saving businesses over $2 million per year, and inserted over $5 million back into local businesses through a utility rebate program. Andrew took the lead on preparing for the future economy by welcoming innovative technology. He crafted policy templates for ridesharing and home-sharing that are mirrored around Florida. Andrew believes that the Sunshine State should become the Solar Capital of the country, putting Floridians to work in jobs that cannot be outsourced overseas. A Gillum administration will also push for a plan for Florida’s economic future that doesn’t rely on tourism alone, but maximizes all the assets of our state, including our best asset — our people — to build Florida’s future economy. Education Andrew believes a quality, public education is still the best path to equal opportunity, but that Florida’s education reform has been a failure. Our education system and its over-reliance on high-stakes testing has failed our children, our parents, our teachers and our state. He has proposed a $1 billion investment in our public schools, students, and teachers to boost early childhood education, raise teachers’ starting salaries to $50,000, restore public school construction funds, and increase SHOP 2.0 vocational training. He also proposed the legalization and taxation of marijuana to generate badly-needed revenue so that all Florida teachers and staff can receive a pay raise up to the national average, veteran teachers can be compensated for their years of service, and so we can raise teachers’ starting salaries. Andrew believes that instead of demonizing our teachers, we should be supporting them and paying them fairly to do one of the most difficult jobs on Earth — to mold, shape, and develop humanity. Teachers have earned a raise, and Andrew is the only candidate with a plan to achieve that. As Governor, Andrew would work to rebuild Florida’s education system so that we can make sure our kids are ready for Kindergarten earlier. By third grade, 100% of kids in our state should be reading at grade level and as they progress, learning critical thinking skills to compete. When our children graduate from high school they should have access to training for a career or a college education that won’t leave them with crippling debt. As Governor, Andrew would focus on making college debt free and encouraging businesses to share responsibility for educating the workforce they want to hire. We need to invest in “SHOP 2.0” — a revitalization of vocational training in our public schools. We must integrate computer education into all of our vocational programs so that students can learn the skills they need to build a career and support a family. Andrew’s strongly opposed to unaccountable, for-profit charter schools who want to use public dollars to enrich their executives. Environment Andrew believes that climate change is a real and urgent threat. Politicians like Donald Trump, who call it a “hoax,” and Governor Rick Scott, who banned the words “climate change” and “global warming,” are putting us and future generations of Floridians at risk. These politicians have failed to take action against climate change, with Florida having the most property at risk in the nation. Not only does their lack of action threaten the future of the planet, it also ignores an enormous economic opportunity to make the U.S. the world’s leader in clean energy and to put people to work at every rung of the income ladder. Over the last two decades, Tallahassee has reduced its carbon emission intensity by 40%, and under his leadership, has reduced the carbon footprint of electricity users in the city by 20%. The Mayor has worked both as Mayor and City Commissioner to implement and improve programs like free residential and commercial audits, low-interest energy loans, and community outreach programs, as well breaking ground on the new 120-acre solar farm that will triple the City’s solar energy capacity. Andrew believes that the best way to address the impacts of climate change is to embrace a plan to transition Florida to clean energy as rapidly as possible. Achieving this goal will put us on a path to a completely clean energy economy, creating thousands of new jobs in Florida, and cleaner air and healthier families. Andrew is also deeply concerned with Donald Trump and the Republicans’ assault on the EPA and its critical role of protecting our children and families from toxic pollution. If Trump and the Republicans roll back critical safeguards like the Clean Air and Water Act, Andrew will act to make sure that Florida implements its own safeguards, so that corporate polluters are not allowed to spew unlimited amounts of mercury, lead, sulfur dioxide or other pollutants into our air and water. This approach will sharply reduce toxic pollutants like carbon, mercury and sulfur dioxide. Doctors say this will dramatically reduce the rates of heart disease, asthma, respiratory diseases, and even cancer – especially for children and seniors. We have an obligation to do something now, so we don’t leave our children and grandchildren a planet that is damaged and polluted. As Governor, Andrew will take on the challenge of rebuilding Florida into a more resilient state and protecting our natural resources that make Florida the nation’s number one tourist destination. Andrew will make protecting the Everglades and Lake Okeechobee a priority, work to keep our water clean from toxic algae blooms, and fight to protect Florida’s access to clean water sources. Our state’s climate change crisis is not confined to our environment — it’s an economic challenge that is threatening homes and businesses, and if we simply leaned into this challenge, we could create good-paying jobs that you can’t outsource overseas. These jobs would allow people to better support their families as we manage the greatest environmental threat Florida faces. Governor Scott has turned his back on creating these jobs and the wages that come with them. Gun Safety Andrew is the only candidate who has fought the powerful gun lobby in court and won. He has beaten the gun lobby, including the National Rifle Association, to protect a law that bans firing a weapon in a city park — where our kids play and our families picnic. In the wake of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School tragedy, Andrew led the charge for more common sense gun safety policies including a ban on assault weapons, large capacity magazines, and bump stocks; strengthening and requiring universal background checks for all gun sales; closing private sale loopholes; restricting gun access for the mentally ill and known foreign and domestic terrorists; closing the “Boyfriend Loophole” and prohibiting gun possession for those with felony and misdemeanor domestic violence and stalking convictions; and banning the purchase and possession of armor piercing bullets. He led marches on Florida’s state capital arm-in-arm with college and high school students to demand real action on this national gun violence epidemic. He helped register high school students to vote in Broward County — only miles away from Parkland — to ensure those students have their voices heard this year. He has met with students, families, and community members affected by daily incidents of gun violence across the state, including in Tallahassee. He believes that no mother or grandmother should fear walking into an airport. No father, son, or daughter should lose their life for meeting those they love for a night out. No parent should lose sleep wondering if a stray bullet will take their baby that day. As Governor, Andrew will never back down from common sense solutions to keep our streets, parks, and schools safe from gun violence. Healthcare Andrew believes that healthcare should be a fundamental right, not a privilege. Instead, extreme politicians refuse to acknowledge that Floridians struggle every day to keep themselves and their families from going bankrupt due to the lack or cost of healthcare. Andrew believes that Senator Sanders’ Medicare for All plan will help lower costs and expand coverage to more Floridians. Gillum has promised to fight the new health care premium increases that are a result of President Trump, Rick Scott and Congressional Republicans trying to attack Obamacare. The Trump Health Care Plan is disastrous, and Governor Rick Scott’s complicity in the development of this plan is unacceptable. Trumpcare is nothing more than a tax cut for millionaires and a rise in costs for everyone else. Hundreds of thousands of seniors would pay more for coverage and women who rely on Planned Parenthood will be denied coverage. Nearly 1.8 million Floridians stand to lose their healthcare by 2026 and it slashes Medicaid and Medicare. Florida never received the opportunity to benefit from the full impact of the Affordable Care Act due to Governor Scott’s refusal to extend Medicaid to over 1 million Floridians. As Governor, Andrew will work to expand Medicaid and strengthen the Affordable Care Act. Andrew has proposed passing a Florida law protecting people with pre-existing conditions from being denied coverage, being charged more for their care due to a pre-existing condition, or women being charged more than men. He was also the only candidate who proposed a law protecting women’s access to no-cost contraceptive care under Obamacare. As Governor, Andrew will restore Floridians’ healthcare security — the knowledge that if something horrible happens to a loved one that they’ll be taken care of. The knowledge that if they were born with a genetic disorder or chronic illness, that they won’t be denied coverage, or face the inhumane choice between bankruptcy or healthcare. With that security comes an entire economy of good-paying jobs around it. People visit their doctor; they speak with a nurse or specialist; they undergo a test or a scan — those all require skilled workers, machines, and facilities. As Governor, Andrew will restore healthcare security and rebuild our economy so that more Floridians have good-paying jobs in helping care for one another. Immigration Immigrants strengthen our society and have played a vital role in Florida becoming one of the leading economic states in the Union. Andrew is the only candidate for Governor who opposed both Donald Trump and Rick Scott’s policies that target immigrants. During the child separation crisis, Andrew spoke out loudly and forcefully against the Trump Administration’s inhumane and cruel zero-tolerance policy that separated young children from their parents. Gillum held Rick Scott and the Republicans accountable for their silence during this fight, and demanded Rick Scott support S. 3036, the Keeping Families Together Act. Gillum canceled events to join protestors in Homestead, Florida who are marching against a child detention facility. Andrew wants to remove the immoral family separation policies that have torn families apart and made us less safe. Donald Trump has turned ICE into a police and child separation agency — not a border enforcement agency that treats people humanely and compassionately. A decision between security or compassionate immigration policy is a false choice; we can have them both, and Andrew will fight for that as Governor. President Trump’s attack on cities friendly to immigrants must end. His attacks are not a projection of strength, but a reflection of weakness. Trump’s actions are inconsistent with our highest values and cause us to shrink from our rich history as a nation of immigrants. As Governor, Andrew will continue to fight mass deportation policies that threaten to split families and hurt Florida’s economy. Andrew has forcefully defended immigrants from all around the world, including Syrian refugees fleeing violence and Haitian-Americans who have Temporary Protected Status (TPS) here in the United States. He knows we must be a welcoming state for all people. Andrew believes that a decision between security or compassionate immigration policy is a false choice; we can have them both. Immigrants attend public schools alongside our children and graduate as valedictorians and standout students. They are critical members of our state’s economy and greatly contribute to the culture of our society. LGBTQ Equality Andrew has always been a staunch supporter of LGBTQ rights during his years as a public leader. As a City Commissioner, Gillum led the charge to expand domestic partner benefits for City employees. As Mayor, when more than a dozen counties were refusing to grant marriage licenses to same-sex couples in Florida, Gillum raised his voice in opposition and extended an invitation for couples to get married in Florida’s capital – Tallahassee. In the wake of the Pulse Nightclub tragedy, he spoke up unapologetically for the victims and their families. Despite the tremendous victory for equal rights that was achieved when the Supreme Court made same-sex marriage a constitutional right in the United States, there still remains much work ahead to advance equality for LGBTQ Floridians. In Florida, gay, lesbian, transgender and bisexual citizens may not be protected from discrimination in public or in the workplace from one county to the next. As Governor, Andrew will work to address these issues through statewide policies that ensure equal treatment and equal rights for all Floridians from every corner of our state. Puerto Rico Mayor Gillum is proud to stand with our fellow citizens from Puerto Rico — both as they recover in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, and as they strive for better-paying jobs, better-funded schools, and a state that puts everyday people first. Andrew’s proud to have the endorsement of Congressman Luis Gutierrez, who is retiring after this Congress to live in Puerto Rico. Gutierrez was the first Latino ever elected to Congress from Illinois and he has been an unflinching advocate for the Puerto Rican community. As Governor, Andrew will stand in the gap for our Puerto Rican brothers and sisters, including using his platform as Governor to advocate for new federal legislation and assistance. Gillum is a strong supporter of ensuring FEMA’s Transitional Sheltering Assistance (TSA) program is expanded for Puerto Ricans who were forced to leave after Hurricane Maria. Gillum will push for FEMA to initiate the Disaster Housing Assistance Program, which helped provide affordable housing for victims of Hurricane Katrina and Rita. He is a supporter of Senator Bill Nelson’s bill to initiate this program. The Gillum Administration will push for licensing reciprocity in professional trades and higher education, as well as move for Florida to recognize Puerto Rican drivers licenses so that Puerto Ricans can return to their normal daily lives as soon as possible. Affordable housing remains a significant, long-term problem in Florida, and Puerto Ricans have suffered greatly due to the constant raids on the Sadowski Housing Trust Fund. As Governor, Andrew will stop these raids and ensure the affordable housing is available, including advocating for local housing authorities to consider waiving rental eligibility requirements for those displaced by natural disasters. Gillum will also increase the number of disaster assistance case managers across the state, and ensure that these managers are highly-integrated in their local communities so that citizens get the assistance they deserve. As part of his commitment to higher education, Andrew will provide free 2-year and 4-year college tuition for displaced Puerto Ricans. Under Governor Gillum, Florida will be a welcoming place for all people, especially our fellow American citizens from Puerto Rico. We must never waver in our commitment to that community. Women’s Rights When women succeed, Florida succeeds. As Governor, Andrew would support the state legislature ratifying the Equal Rights Amendment. Florida should make it clear that civil rights will not be denied based on gender. Andrew believes Florida must have Equal Pay for Equal Work, so women are given an equal opportunity to succeed at every level. As Governor, Andrew would push for equal pay legislation that levels the playing field for women in the workplace. A Gillum administration will work to protect and encourage women-owned businesses and lead by example to hire the best and brightest women to help lead our state forward. When Governor Rick Scott and the Republican legislature tried to defund Planned Parenthood, Andrew called them out for jeopardizing women’s health with ideological games. As Governor, Andrew will stop the Legislature from using women’s health as a political football. Andrew trusts women to make their own healthcare decisions with their doctor — not politicians — and he will oppose any attempt to make it harder for women to access quality healthcare. He is the only candidate to propose a law protecting women’s access to no-cost contraceptive care under Obamacare. As Mayor of Tallahassee, Andrew launched a Family Friendly Workplaces program, with over 100 businesses from the private, public, and non-profit sectors. Priorities like paid sick days, work-sharing, health insurance, mental health programs, safe and clean breastfeeding rooms, on-site childcare centers and subsidies for childcare, attract talent and limit employee turnover. As Governor, Andrew will make Florida the best state in the country to live, work, and raise a family.	”
—Andrew Gillum’s campaign website (2018)

Campaign advertisements

The following is an example of an ad from Gillum's 2018 election campaign.

"One Thing" - Gillum campaign ad released October 16, 2018

Noteworthy events

Gillum indicted on wire fraud charges (2022)

On June 22, 2022, Gillum was indicted on 21 counts of wire fraud connected to campaign donations. According to a Justice Department press release, the indictments against Gillum and adviser Sharon Janet Lettman-Hicks allege that between 2016 and 2019, they diverted campaign funds for personal use to a company owned by Lettman-Hicks.

Gillum was arrested in Tallahassee, Florida, on June 22, and Lettman-Hicks agreed to surrender herself to the FBI on the same day.

Gillum responded to the charges, saying "Every campaign I've run has been done with integrity. Make no mistake that this case is not legal, it is political. There’s been a target on my back ever since I was the mayor of Tallahassee. They found nothing then, and I have full confidence that my legal team will prove my innocence now."

Gillum's trial took place in April of 2023. Following five days of deliberation, the jury was deadlocked on the charges relate to the misuse of campaign funds. U.S. District Judge Allen Winsor then declared a mistrial on those charges.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Gary Milligan II said the government planned to retry Gillum and Lettman-Hicks.

Gillum present during alleged crystal meth overdose (2020)

On March 13, 2020, a Miami police incident report was filed which listed Andrew Gillum as present during a possible drug overdose at a Miami Beach hotel. According to the report, Gillum was inebriated and unable to communicate with officers.

In a statement posted later that day, Gillum said: "I was in Miami last night for a wedding celebration when first responders were called to assist one of my friends. While I had too much to drink, I want to be clear that I have never used methamphetamines. I apologize to the people of Florida for the distraction this has caused our movement.” On March 15, Gillum made an additional statement announcing plans to seek treatment at a rehabilitation facility and step down "from all public facing roles for the foreseeable future."

The incident was not processed as a criminal case.

See also

• Governor of Florida
• Florida gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2018
• Florida gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2018 (August 28 Democratic primary)

External links

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• Search Google News for this topic
• Office of the Governor of Florida
• Andrew Gillum for Florida Governor
• Andrew Gillum - Facebook
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• Andrew D. Gillum - Instagram