John Robert Marks III (born July 25, 1947) is an American

lawyer A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters. The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as w ...

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

, and former

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 ...

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 February 2003 until November 2014. Marks is the longest-serving mayor in Tallahassee's history. He was elected to three consecutive terms as the city's Mayor, spanning nearly ten years. He won a third term in 2010, but declined to seek re-election for a fourth term in 2014. He was succeeded by

Andrew Gillum Andrew Demetric Gillum (born July 26, 1979) is an American former politician who served as the 126th Mayors of Tallahassee, Florida, mayor of Tallahassee, Florida, from 2014 to 2018. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic P ...

on November 21, 2014. Marks was Tallahassee's fifth African-American mayor but the first to be elected.

Biography

Marks' great-grandfather, Oliver Lewis Coleman, founded Coleman College, a now defunct

historically black college Historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) are institutions of higher education in the United States that were established before the Civil Rights Act of 1964 with the intention of serving African Americans. Most are in the Southern U ...

Gibsland, Louisiana Gibsland is a town in Bienville Parish in northern Louisiana, United States. As of the 2020 census, its population was 773. The town is best known for its connecting railroads, as the birthplace of the defunct historically black Coleman Colleg ...

, in 1887. Coleman College closed in 1952. He received his B.S. in 1969 from the

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 ...

School of Business and his

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

in 1972 from the

Florida State University College of Law The Florida State University College of Law is the law school of Florida State University located in Tallahassee, Florida. It is currently the highest ranked law school in Florida and is ranked in the top 40 best law schools in the United States. ...

. He and his wife, Jane, have a son, John Marks IV (born c. 1976).

Career

Marks served eight years on the

Florida Public Service Commission The Florida Public Service Commission (FPSC) regulates investor-owned electric, natural gas, and water and wastewater utilities. The FPSC facilitates competitive markets in the telecommunications industry, has authority over intercarrier disput ...

(FPSC) and spent the last two as its chairman, after being appointed in 1979 by Governor

Bob Graham Daniel Robert Graham (November 9, 1936 – April 16, 2024) was an American lawyer, author, and politician who served as the 38th List of governors of Florida, governor of Florida from 1979 to 1987 and a United States Senate, United States senat ...

. He served on the FPSC during the divestiture of

AT&T AT&T Inc., an abbreviation for its predecessor's former name, the American Telephone and Telegraph Company, is an American multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered at Whitacre Tower in Downtown Dallas, Texas. It is the w ...

and was instrumental in the implementation of the Federal Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act (PURPA). Before being appointed, he served as an

Administrative Law Judge An administrative law judge (ALJ) in the United States is a judge and trier of fact who both presides over trials and adjudicates claims or disputes involving administrative law, thus involving administrative units of the executive branch of go ...

on the Commission. He is a partner in the Tallahassee -based Marks & Marks law firm. He has been an adjunct professor at FSU's College of Law, teaching utility regulatory law and a faculty member of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners' National Association of Regulatory Commissioners
/ref> utility rate school.

Mayor of Tallahassee

On January 4, 2003, Marks' predecessor, then-Tallahassee Mayor

Scott Maddox Scott Charles Maddox (born March 13, 1968) is an American politician. He was the mayor of Tallahassee, Florida, from 1995 to 1996 and from 1997 to 2005. Maddox is the former chair of the Florida Democratic Party and a former Tallahassee City Comm ...

, was elected Chairman 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 ...

. Marks announced that he would remain Mayor of Tallahassee until late February 2003, when a special mayor election would be held to choose his successor. Marks, a former state public service commissioner, entered the 2003 race for Mayor to succeed Maddox. On February 4, 2003, Marks placed first in the mayoral election with 43% against three other candidates. His closest opponent, John Paul Bailey, a Republican Tallahassee

City Commissioner City commission government is a form of local government in the United States. In a city commission government, voters elect a small commission, typically of five to seven members, typically on a plurality-at-large voting basis. These commissio ...

and former

police officer A police officer (also called policeman or policewoman, cop, officer or constable) is a Warrant (law), warranted law employee of a police, police force. In most countries, ''police officer'' is a generic term not specifying a particular rank. ...

, placed second with 27% of the vote. City Commissioner Steve Meisburg placed third with 26%, while two other candidates, Tony Davis and Richard Junnier, each received 2% of the vote. Since no candidate garnered more than 50% in the initial election, a

runoff election The two-round system (TRS or 2RS), sometimes called ballotage, top-two runoff, or two-round plurality, is a single-winner electoral system which aims to elect a member who has support of the majority of voters. The two-round system involves one ...

between Marks and Republican John Paul Bailey was held on February 25, 2003. Marks defeated Bailey by a 2-to-1 margin in the runoff. Marks received 19,118 votes (67.10%), while John Paul Bailey garnered 9,374 votes (32.90%).

References

External links

John Marks, Mayor of Tallahassee
{{DEFAULTSORT:Marks, John 1947 births Living people Mayors of Tallahassee, Florida African-American mayors in Florida Florida State University alumni Florida State University College of Law alumni Florida State University faculty Florida lawyers Florida Democrats 20th-century African-American politicians 21st-century African-American politicians 21st-century mayors of places in Florida