Andrew Gillum
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Andrew Demetric Gillum (born July 26, 1979) is an American former politician who served as the 126th
mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...
of
Tallahassee, Florida Tallahassee ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of and the only incorporated municipality in Leon County, Florida, Leon County. Tallahassee became the capital of Fl ...
, from 2014 to 2018. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as a Tallahassee city commissioner from 2003 until 2014, first elected at the age of 23. In 2018, Gillum was the nominee of the
Florida Democratic Party The Florida Democratic Party is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the U.S. state of Florida, headquartered in Tallahassee. Former commissioner of agriculture Nikki Fried is the current chair. Andrew Jackson, the first territorial go ...
to be the
governor of Florida The governor of Florida is the head of government of the U.S. state of Florida. The Governor (United States), governor is the head of the Government of Florida#Executive branch, executive branch of the government of Florida and is the comman ...
. He had won the Democratic
primary election Primary elections or primaries are elections held to determine which candidates will run in an upcoming general election. In a partisan primary, a political party selects a candidate. Depending on the state and/or party, there may be an "open pr ...
over a field of five other candidates, including former
U.S. representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...
Gwen Graham and former
Miami Beach Miami Beach is a coastal resort city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. It is part of the Miami metropolitan area of South Florida. The municipality is located on natural and human-made barrier islands between the Atlantic Ocean an ...
mayor Philip Levine. In the general election, he lost in a close race to Republican U.S. representative
Ron DeSantis Ronald Dion DeSantis (; born September 14, 1978) is an American politician, attorney, and former United States Navy, naval officer serving as the 46th List of governors of Florida, governor of Florida since 2019. A member of the Republican Pa ...
. Gillum's margin of defeat was just 34,000 votes (0.4%), making the election one of the closest gubernatorial races in modern American history. In 2022, Gillum was indicted on 21 felony counts, including wire fraud, conspiracy, and making false statements, for allegedly diverting money raised during the campaign to a company controlled by one of his top advisors. The jury found Gillum not guilty on the charge of making false statements and was hung on the remaining counts. In May 2023, federal prosecutors moved to dismiss the remaining charges against Gillum.


Early life and education

Gillum was born in
Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...
and raised in
Gainesville, Florida Gainesville is the county seat of Alachua County, Florida, United States, and the most populous city in North Central Florida, with a population of 145,212 in 2022. It is the principal city of the Gainesville metropolitan area, Florida, Gainesv ...
. He is the fifth of seven children born to Charles and Frances Gillum, respectively a construction worker and a school bus driver. Gillum graduated from Gainesville High School in 1998 and was recognized by the '' Gainesville Sun'' as one of the city's "persons of the year." He then moved to Tallahassee to attend Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU) to major in
political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...
. Gillum served as president of the FAMU Student Government Association from 2001 to 2002 and was the first student member of the FAMU Board of Trustees. He was recognized by the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation as "emerging leader for 2003." Gillum was also a board member of the Black Youth Vote Coalition, a program of the National Coalition of Black Civic Participation in
Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
Gillum was elected to the Tallahassee City Commission prior to the completion of his college studies.


Political career


City of Tallahassee commissioner

In 2003, aged 23, Gillum was elected to the Tallahassee City Commission for a one-year term, becoming the youngest person to be elected to the commission."Andrew Gillum." ''Contemporary Black Biography''. Vol. 128: Profiles from the International Black Community. Detroit: Gale, 2015. Retrieved via ''Biography In Context'' database, August 29, 2018. Gillum was a political science student at FAMU when he was elected. He was subsequently elected to a full four-year term, in 2004, garnering 72 percent of the vote, and was reelected in 2008 and again in 2012. Gillum served a one-year term as Mayor Pro Tem from November 10, 2004, through November 9, 2005. The joint body of city and county commissioners, known as the Capital Region Transportation Planning Agency, elected him to serve as their chairperson for a year (January 2005 through December 2005). Gillum has also served as lead commissioner for the Long Range Community Based Target Issue Committee. In 2005, Gillum was one of the commissioners who voted to give themselves a new retirement benefit through
deferred compensation Deferred compensation is an arrangement in which a portion of an employee's wage is paid out at a later date after which it was earned. Examples of deferred compensation include pensions, retirement plans, and employee stock options. The primary ...
. The policy was later repealed by the commission after public outrage.


City of Tallahassee projects

During his eleven years as a city commissioner, Gillum championed a number of community enrichment projects. The Digital Harmony Project is an initiative championed by Gillum with support from the City of Tallahassee, local businesses and technology partnerships. Digital Harmony won the Significant Achievement Award in the Web & e-Government Services category from the Public Technology Institute. For the first two years, it provided every incoming Nims Middle School sixth and seventh-grader with a new desktop computer, free internet access and online academic curriculum training on core subjects. The school holds ongoing training courses for parents and students on basic computer skills and school curriculum. This effort places 200 computers into the homes of Nims Middle School students. Gillum championed the opening of the first Tallahassee Teen Center, the Palmer Munroe Center, which serves as a safe haven for many area youth and operates a
restorative justice Restorative justice is a community-based approach to justice that aims to repair the harm done to victims, offenders and communities. In doing so, restorative justice practitioners work to ensure that offenders take responsibility for their ac ...
program. Restorative justice programs have shown significant success, compared to non-restorative measures, in improving victim and/or offender satisfaction, increasing offender compliance with restitution, and decreasing the recidivism of offenders. Gillum stressed these results as some of the reasons for the great importance of the Palmer Munroe Center. Gillum supported the city's development project of Cascades Park, located in downtown Tallahassee. The park was built in 2013 and doubles as a storm-water management facility, protecting local neighborhoods from flooding.


Mayor of Tallahassee


Election

In April 2013, Andrew Gillum announced his intention to run for mayor of Tallahassee. Gillum ran against three opponents: Larry Hendricks, Zach Richardson, and write-in candidate Evin Matthews. In the August 26, 2014
nonpartisan primary A nonpartisan primary, top-two primary, or jungle primary is a primary election in which all candidates for the same elected office run against each other at once, regardless of political party. This distinguishes them from partisan primaries, w ...
, Gillum defeated Richardson and Hendricks; capturing 76 percent of the vote with 19,658 votes. On August 27, 2014, write-in candidate Evin Matthews withdrew from the race, resulting in Gillum becoming mayor-elect.


Tenure in office

Before taking office, Gillum met with various mayors to learn from their successes. He also launched the Tallahassee Mayoral Fellows Program in partnership with Florida Agricultural And Mechanical University and
Florida State University Florida State University (FSU or Florida State) is a Public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preeminent university in the s ...
, allowing high-achieving graduate students to gain experience working in City government. Gillum was sworn into Office on November 21, 2014. In January 2015, Gillum strongly supported the City of Tallahassee joining in the Ban the Box campaign; arguing that the initiative does not stop the city from conducting background checks, but rather gives applicants a fair shot at employment and reduces
recidivism Recidivism (; from 'recurring', derived from 'again' and 'to fall') is the act of a person repeating an undesirable behavior after they have experienced negative consequences of that behavior, or have been trained to Extinction (psycholo ...
. On January 28 the Tallahassee City Commission voted 3–2 to drop the box. On February 17, 2015, Gillum welcomed
United States secretary of transportation The United States secretary of transportation is the head of the United States Department of Transportation. The secretary serves as the principal advisor to the president of the United States on all matters relating to transportation. The secre ...
Anthony Foxx to Tallahassee to kick off the Grow America Express Tour. Gillum also contributed to the DOT Fastlane Blog, in which he stressed the importance of long-term
transportation Transport (in British English) or transportation (in American English) is the intentional Motion, movement of humans, animals, and cargo, goods from one location to another. Mode of transport, Modes of transport include aviation, air, land tr ...
investments for America's mid-size cities. In an effort to overhaul how City Advisory Committees, a series of local
advisory board An advisory board is a body that provides non-binding strategic advice to the management of a corporation, organization, or foundation. The informal nature of an advisory board gives greater flexibility in structure and management compared to the ...
s, operate in Tallahassee, Mayor Gillum released a survey in March 2015 to gain feedback into the city's numerous boards and motivate citizens to get involved with local government. Also in March 2015, Gillum participated in a conference call with other Florida mayors and
United States deputy secretary of commerce The United States deputy secretary of commerce is a high-ranking position within the United States Department of Commerce, U.S. Department of Commerce. It was created on December 13, 1979, when President Jimmy Carter sent a letter to the United Sta ...
, Bruce Andrews; a call in which Gillum stated his support for
Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...
to pass trade promotion legislation that would bolster international trade, and stressed the importance for local governments of a leveled playing field. On March 27, 2015, Gillum held the Mayor's Summit on Children, a large conference in which business and community leaders came together to learn about the importance of investments in quality Early Childhood Education (ECE). Speakers included Dr. Craig Ramey, research scholar of human development at
Virginia Tech The Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, commonly referred to as Virginia Tech (VT), is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia, United States ...
, who spoke about the importance of ECE to
language development Language development in humans is a process which starts early in life. Infants start without knowing a language, yet by 10 months, babies can distinguish speech sounds and engage in babbling. Some research has shown that the earliest learning b ...
and the vocabulary gap that can form between those who receive quality ECE and those who do not; and Rob Grunewald, economist at the
Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis The Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, located in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, in the United States, covers the 9th District of the Federal Reserve, which is made up of Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota, North and South Dakota ...
, who spoke about the importance of early learning to the long-term economic success of a community. On the heels of the Summit on Children, Gillum launched four community-led task forces as part of his Family First Agenda; these task forces, which Gillum introduced at the Summit, examine: Improved Quality and Affordable Child Care,
Family Friendly Family (from ) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictability, structure, and safety ...
Workplaces and Culture, Greater Community Investments in Children and Families, and Resources and Training for Parents and Families. Gillum stressed that investments in early childhood education have been proven to return six dollars for every one dollar invested; this is due to lowering community costs on those children as they grow older. In May 2015, Gillum launched a 1,000 Mentors Initiative, which aimed to recruit 1,000 men and women from diverse backgrounds to increase
youth mentoring Youth mentoring is the process of matching mentorship, mentors with young people who need or want a caring, responsible adult in their lives. Adult mentors are usually unrelated to the child or teen and work as volunteers through a community-, schoo ...
opportunities in Tallahassee, and help youth in need. Also in May 2015, Gillum, in partnership with several local and national organizations, orchestrated the Tallahassee Future Leaders Academy (TFLA), a summer jobs program which employed over 100 youths throughout city government. Gillum summarized the importance of a program like the TFLA in a July
Op-ed An op-ed, short for "opposite the editorial page," is a type of written prose commonly found in newspapers, magazines, and online publications. They usually represent a writer's strong and focused opinion on an issue of relevance to a targeted a ...
, in which he highlighted how similar summer jobs programs from around the country have been shown to reduce arrests for violent crime, reduce youth
mortality rate Mortality rate, or death rate, is a measure of the number of deaths (in general, or due to a specific cause) in a particular Statistical population, population, scaled to the size of that population, per unit of time. Mortality rate is typically ...
s, and increase the likelihood of college attendance. In response to an increase in shootings, Gillum and the Tallahassee Police Department worked with community organizations to implement Operation Safe Neighborhoods in 2015. This initiative called for an increase in law enforcement visibility and capacity; strengthening strategic partnerships and community programs/opportunities; and enhancing community engagement and response, through the implementation of a community watch program called, Neighbors on the Block. In October 2015, more than 400 strangers gathered around a 350-foot-long table in downtown Tallahassee to participate in the launch of The Longest Table, an annual initiative aiming to use the dinner table as a medium for generating meaningful conversation among people of diverse ethnic, religious, and political backgrounds. Organized by the Office of the Mayor and spearheaded by Community Engagement Director Jamie Van Pelt, the project won a $57,250 grant from the Knight Cities Challenge via the Knight Foundation.


Corruption and misuse investigations

In February 2017, Gillum apologized after the ''Tallahassee Democrat'' reported that his government office had been used to send emails through web-based software purchased from NGP VAN, a company that provides technology to Democratic and progressive campaigns. An investigation into the emails started after Paul Henry, a retired state trooper from Monticello, wrote State Attorney Jack Campbell in March to allege Gillum committed grand theft and official misconduct by paying for the software with city funds when he believed they served no public purpose. Gillum reimbursed the city for the $5,082.45 cost of the software on March 2, 2017. In August 2017, a Leon County grand jury declined to indict Gillum personally due to lack of evidence of criminal wrongdoing. During his mayoral campaign in 2014, Gillum faced allegations of misconduct after hiring
private equity Private equity (PE) is stock in a private company that does not offer stock to the general public; instead it is offered to specialized investment funds and limited partnerships that take an active role in the management and structuring of the co ...
investor Adam Corey as the treasurer. Corey is an investor in The Edison, a restaurant that received taxpayer money from the city to help with the Cascades Park development project. During a
Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...
(FBI) investigation into the matter, city officials stated that Gillum's vote did not constitute a
conflict of interest A conflict of interest (COI) is a situation in which a person or organization is involved in multiple wikt:interest#Noun, interests, financial or otherwise, and serving one interest could involve working against another. Typically, this relates t ...
and Gillum cut ties with Corey. According to text messages uncovered by the ''
Tampa Bay Times The ''Tampa Bay Times'', called the ''St. Petersburg Times'' until 2011, is an American newspaper published in St. Petersburg, Florida, United States. It is published by the Times Publishing Company, which is owned by The Poynter Institute ...
'', Gillum accepted tickets to the Broadway musical ''
Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...
'' from his brother, Marcus Gillum, who got them through an undercover FBI agent conducting a corruption investigation. The agent was posing as a real estate developer. Gillum responded to the ''Tampa Bay Times'' story, "These messages only confirm what we have said all along. We did go to see ''Hamilton''. I did get my ticket to ''Hamilton'' from my brother. At the time, we believed that they were reserved by friends of Adam's, Mike Miller. And when I got there after work, got my ticket, we went in there and saw it, assumed my brother paid for it, and so far as I know, that was the deal." In late January 2019, the
Florida Commission on Ethics The Florida Commission on Ethics, created in 1974 by the Florida Legislature, is tasked with investigating complaints alleging breaches of public trust by public officers and employees in Florida, other than judges. It is headquartered in Tallaha ...
found probable cause that Gillum violated state ethics laws when he accepted gifts during out-of-town excursions with lobbyists and vendors and failed to report them. Ultimately, a $5,000 settlement was agreed to on four out of the five charges.


2018 gubernatorial campaign

Gillum announced his candidacy for governor in March 2017, and was the first to declare his intention to run as a Democrat. Gillum won the Democratic nomination for governor in an upset victory over the expected winner, former congresswoman Gwen Graham, 34–31%. Gillum was the first black nominee for governor in Florida's history. Gillum conceded to Republican candidate Ron DeSantis on the evening of November 6, 2018. However, when the recount began, Gillum withdrew his concession, saying: "I am replacing my words of concession with an uncompromised and unapologetic call that we count every single vote." Gillum conceded again on November 17, after a machine recount was completed. The final tally showed DeSantis had successfully beaten Gillum by 36,219 votes, equalling about 0.4% of the over 8.2 million total votes cast. The campaign was marked by racial controversy, as DeSantis was accused of using the verb ''monkey'' as a dog whistle when he said, "The last thing we need to do is to monkey this up by trying to embrace a socialist agenda with huge tax increases and bankrupting the state. That is not going to work. That's not going to be good for Florida." This “disastrous gaffe” was discussed by
Dexter Filkins Dexter Price Filkins (born May 24, 1961) is an American journalist known primarily for his coverage of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan for ''The New York Times''. He was a finalist for a Pulitzer Prize in 2002 for his dispatches from Afghanistan ...
in ''
The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...
'':
DeSantis insisted that there was no racial motive behind the statement—"He uses a lot of dorky phrases like that," one of his former colleagues told me—and the outrage didn't endure. But his tone-deafness created a disadvantage. "We were handling Gillum with kid gloves," the lawyer close to DeSantis told me. "We can't hit the guy, because we're trying to defend the fact that we're not racist."
During the campaign, President Donald Trump claimed that Gillum was a "thief," which was also interpreted as a racial dog whistle. In May 2019, the FBI subpoenaed Gillum regarding his gubernatorial campaign.


Political positions

Gillum has been widely described as a progressive, and by some
conservatives Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilizati ...
as a
democratic socialist Democratic socialism is a left-wing economic and political philosophy that supports political democracy and some form of a socially owned economy, with a particular emphasis on economic democracy, workplace democracy, and workers' self-mana ...
. During the 2018 gubernatorial campaign, DeSantis said that Gillum had a "far left socialist platform";
PolitiFact PolitiFact.com is an American nonprofit project operated by the Poynter Institute in St. Petersburg, Florida, with offices there and in Washington, D.C. It began in 2007 as a project of the ''Tampa Bay Times'' (then the ''St. Petersburg Times ...
rated this assertion as false. Gillum supports the replacement of the
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement The United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE; ) is a Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement agency under the United States Department of Homeland Security. ICE's stated mission is to protect the Un ...
with the
U.S. Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the U.S. government that oversees the domestic enforcement of federal laws and the administration of justice. It is equi ...
. He seeks to expand Medicaid to cover "700,000 people, who right now don't have access to health care". He supports the removal of Confederate monuments. Gillum wants to raise the Florida corporate tax rate to 7.75 percent, up from the current 5.5 percent, which he said would be used to fund education. Gillum supports a $15 minimum wage. He was endorsed by
Bernie Sanders Bernard Sanders (born September8, 1941) is an American politician and activist who is the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from the state of Vermont. He is the longest-serving independ ...
and received financial support from
Tom Steyer Thomas Fahr Steyer (; born June 27, 1957) is an American climate investor, businessman, hedge fund manager, philanthropist, environmentalist, political candidate and liberal activist. Steyer is the founder and former co-senior-managing-partner ...
and
George Soros George Soros (born György Schwartz; August 12, 1930) is an American investor and philanthropist. , he has a net worth of US$7.2 billion, Note that this site is updated daily. having donated more than $32 billion to the Open Society Foundat ...
. Gillum has called for the impeachment of Donald Trump. Gillum accepts the
scientific consensus on climate change There is a nearly unanimous scientific consensus that the Earth has been consistently warming since the start of the Industrial Revolution, that the rate of recent warming is largely unprecedented, and that this warming is mainly the result o ...
, and has warned that climate change causes sea level rise with adverse effects for Florida. He opposed the Trump administration's decision to withdraw from the
Paris Agreement The Paris Agreement (also called the Paris Accords or Paris Climate Accords) is an international treaty on climate change that was signed in 2016. The treaty covers climate change mitigation, adaptation, and finance. The Paris Agreement was ...
, and said that he would as Florida governor work with other states in a state-based climate alliance. Gillum opposes Florida's
stand-your-ground law A stand-your-ground law, sometimes called a "line in the sand" or "no duty to retreat" law, provides that people may use deadly force when they reasonably believe it to be necessary to defend against certain violent crimes (right of self-defense ...
. Gillum is in favor of a 2018 ballot proposition, Amendment 4, to restore the voting rights of most individuals who have completed felony convictions. Gillum said, "Floridians who have paid their debts deserve a second chance and they should have a voice in our state's future. Our current system for rights restoration is a relic of
Jim Crow The Jim Crow laws were state and local laws introduced in the Southern United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries that enforced racial segregation, " Jim Crow" being a pejorative term for an African American. The last of the ...
that we should end for good."


Indictment and dismissal

On June 22, 2022, Gillum was indicted by the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Northern District of Florida on 21 felony counts, including wire fraud, conspiracy, and making false statements for allegedly diverting money raised during the campaign to a company controlled by Sharon Lettman-Hicks, one of his top advisors on his campaign, who then used the money to pay Gillum. In response, Gillum released a statement declaring his innocence and calling the indictment "political" in nature. U.S. District Judge Allen Winsor refused to dismiss the federal charges levied against Gillum, disagreeing with Gillum's attorney's claim that he was singled out because he was a black gubernatorial candidate. The jury found Gillum not guilty on the charge of making false statements and was hung on the remaining counts. In May 2023, federal prosecutors moved to dismiss the remaining charges against Gillum.


Honors and accolades

Gillum has received various honors and accolades. While attending FAMU, Gillum was recognized by the National Center for Policy Alternatives in Washington, D.C., as the country's top student leader in 2001. In 2004, he was named to ''
Ebony Ebony is a dense black/brown hardwood, coming from several species in the genus '' Diospyros'', which also includes the persimmon tree. A few ''Diospyros'' species, such as macassar and mun ebony, are dense enough to sink in water. Ebony is fin ...
'' magazine's "Fast Track 30 Leaders Who Are 30 and Under." Gillum was named as a "2010 Emerging Leader" by ''
Essence Essence () has various meanings and uses for different thinkers and in different contexts. It is used in philosophy and theology as a designation for the property (philosophy), property or set of properties or attributes that make an entity the ...
'' Magazine. As part of Florida A&M University's 2012 125th Anniversary Quasiquicentennial Celebration, Gillum was honored as an Outstanding Alumnus, along with 124 other FAMU alumni. Also in 2012, Gillum was named as one of "50 Young Progressive Activists Who Are Changing America," by ''
The Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (''The Huffington Post'' until 2017, itself often abbreviated as ''HPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and covers p ...
''. In 2014, Gillum was named as one of the 40 Under 40 by ''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...
'' political blog "The Fix."


Personal life

On May 24, 2009, Gillum married Rashada Jai Howard, a fellow FAMU graduate. The couple has three children. In 2020, an inebriated Gillum was found by police in a hotel room with a gay
male escort Male prostitution is a form of sex work consisting of the act or practice of men providing sexual services in return for payment. Although clients can be of any gender, the vast majority are older males looking to fulfill their sexual needs. Ma ...
. Suspected
methamphetamine Methamphetamine (contracted from ) is a potent central nervous system (CNS) stimulant that is mainly used as a recreational drug use, recreational or Performance-enhancing substance, performance-enhancing drug and less commonly as a secon ...
packets were also found in the room. In March 2020, the ''
Tallahassee Democrat The ''Tallahassee Democrat'' is a daily broadsheet newspaper. It covers the area centered on Tallahassee in Leon County, Florida, as well as adjacent Gadsden County, Jefferson County, and Wakulla County. The newspaper is owned by Gannett ...
'' reported that Gillum was one of three men, one of whom was experiencing a drug overdose, who were found by police with "plastic baggies of suspected crystal meth" in a hotel room in
Miami Beach Miami Beach is a coastal resort city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. It is part of the Miami metropolitan area of South Florida. The municipality is located on natural and human-made barrier islands between the Atlantic Ocean an ...
. No arrests were made. Initially, Gillum was too inebriated to speak with police. On March 16, Gillum stated that he would enter rehabilitation, citing struggles with alcohol and depression after narrowly losing the 2018 Florida gubernatorial race. Gillum checked himself into
drug rehabilitation Drug rehabilitation is the process of medical or psychotherapeutic treatment for dependency on psychoactive substances such as alcohol, prescription drugs, and street drugs such as cannabis, cocaine, heroin, and amphetamines. The general int ...
afterwards and announced a withdrawal from public life "for the foreseeable future." On September 14, 2020, Gillum came out as
bisexual Bisexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior toward both males and females. It may also be defined as the attraction to more than one gender, to people of both the same and different gender, or the attraction t ...
in an interview with Tamron Hall on her nationally syndicated talk show.


Electoral history


Tallahassee City Commission, 2003–2012


Mayor of Tallahassee, 2014


Florida gubernatorial election, 2018


References


External links


2018 Gubernatorial Election Site

City of Tallahassee

2015 Mayor's Summit on Children

Office of the Mayor Mid-Year Report
* * , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Gillum, Andrew 1979 births 20th-century African-American politicians 21st-century African-American politicians 21st-century mayors of places in Florida African-American mayors in Florida African-American people in Florida politics Bisexual male politicians Candidates in the 2018 United States elections Florida A&M University alumni Florida Democrats African-American LGBTQ people LGBTQ mayors of places in the United States LGBTQ people from Florida Living people Mayors of Tallahassee, Florida People for the American Way people American bisexual men American bisexual politicians 21st-century American LGBTQ people