Craig Lowe
Craig Lowe | |
---|---|
Craig Lowe views a screen showing live poll results in the 2010 mayoral race at the Supervisor of Elections Office in Gainesville, FL. | |
Mayor of Gainesville | |
In office May 20, 2010[1] – May 23, 2013[2] | |
Preceded by | Pegeen Hanrahan |
Succeeded by | Ed Braddy |
City Commissioner from Gainesville District IV | |
Assumed office May 22, 2003[3] | |
Preceded by | New Office |
Succeeded by | Randy Wells[4] |
Personal details | |
Born |
[5] Atlanta, Georgia | July 18, 1957
Political party | Democratic (non-partisan election) |
Residence | Gainesville, Florida |
Alma mater |
University of Florida University of Georgia |
Profession | Scientist, Educator[6] |
Website | City of Gainesville Bio |
Stuart Craig Lowe, better known as Craig Lowe, (born July 18, 1957)[5] is an American politician and former Mayor of Gainesville, Florida. After winning a runoff election on April 13, 2010, by a margin of 42 votes (which held through an automatic recount[4]) Lowe became Mayor-elect of Gainesville.[1] He was sworn in on May 20, 2010, becoming the first openly gay Mayor of the city. He lost his bid for re-election on April 16, 2013 to former city councilman Ed Braddy after being arrested for a DUI during the campaign.
He was first elected to the Gainesville City Commission to fill the newly created District IV seat for a one-year term in April 2003[7][8] and served through his third consecutive term and second full (3-year) term until being sworn in as Mayor.[3][9]
Mayor Lowe also served as Chair of the Gainesville City Commission’s Equal Opportunity Committee, a member of the Regional Utilities, Community Development, and Countywide Visioning & Planning committees as well as the local Community Redevelopment Agency, the Gainesville/Alachua County Metropolitan Transportation Planning Organization and the Alachua County Library Governing Board.[9]
Lowe was a member of the Mayors Against Illegal Guns Coalition,[10] an organization formed in 2006 and co-chaired by New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg and Boston mayor Thomas Menino.
Personal life and education
Lowe was born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia. He received a B.S.A. degree in Soil Science from the University of Georgia. After moving to Gainesville in 1982 he received a master's degree in zoology from the University of Florida.[6]
Electoral history
2003
Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|
✓ | Craig Lowe | 817 | 50.49% | |
Brad Guy | 801 | 49.51% | ||
2004
Commissioner Lowe ran for re-election unopposed in 2004.[9]
2007
Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|
✓ | Craig Lowe | 1,050 | 79.31% | 28.82% |
Richard Selwach | 138 | 10.42% | ||
Pat Fitzpatrick | 136 | 10.27% | ||
2010
Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|
✓ | Craig Lowe | 4,078 | 40.13% | |
✓ | Don Marsh | 2,960 | 29.13% | |
Monica Leadon Cooper | 2,529 | 24.89% | ||
Richard Selwach | 442 | 4.35% | ||
Ozzy Angulo | 153 | 1.51% | ||
Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|
✓ | Craig Lowe | 6,110 | 50.17% | +10.04% |
Don Marsh | 6,068 | 49.83% | +20.70% | |
Runoff Recount
A runoff election was held on April 13, 2010 with Lowe and Marsh as the candidates.[15] The unofficial results indicated that Lowe had 6,098 votes (50.14%) and Marsh 6,063 votes (49.86%), excluding provisional ballots. Ultimately 17 provisional ballots were verified, yielding 12 more votes for Lowe and 5 more for Marsh. As the margin was less than 0.50% between the candidates, an automatic machine recount took place on April 16, 2010.[16] The recount verified the unofficial results, including verified provisional ballots, leaving the vote tallies unchanged. These are the official, certified results of the election.[14]
2013
Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|
✓ | Ed Braddy | 4,636 | 38.42% | |
✓ | Craig Lowe | 4,406 | 36.52% | |
Scherwin L. Henry | 2,058 | 17.05% | ||
Pete Johnson | 783 | 6.490% | ||
Mark Venzke | 128 | 1.061% | ||
Donald Shepherd, Sr. | 53 | 0.439% | ||
Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|
✓ | Ed Braddy | 7,258 | 54.72% | +16.30% |
Craig Lowe | 6,007 | 45.28% | +8.76% | |
2013 DUI Arrest
Prior to the runoff election on 16 April 2013, Lowe was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence (DUI).[19][20][21] The incident took place on 21 March 2013 when Lowe was involved in a single car crash.[22] On 1 April 2013 Lowe entered into a deferred prosecution agreement aimed at first time DUI offenders to resolve the charges against him.[23]
References
- 1 2 Smith, Chad (April 16, 2010), "Lowe and behold! The next mayor of Gainesville", Gainesville Sun, retrieved 2010-04-16
- ↑ Curry, Christopher (24 May 2013). "Braddy sworn in, says it's the "end of machine politics"". Gainesville Sun. Retrieved 24 May 2013.
- 1 2 Rowland, Ashley (May 23, 2003), "City makes history: 4 commissioners map out plans as board expands", Gainesville Sun, retrieved 2010-030-28 Check date values in:
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(help) - 1 2 Smith, Chad (April 14, 2010), Gainesville Sun http://www.gainesville.com/article/20100414/ARTICLES/4141019, retrieved 2010-04-17 Missing or empty
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(help) - 1 2 Adelson, Jeff (February 17, 2007), "Lowe seeks to continue making strides for area", Gainesville Sun, retrieved 2010-03-29
- 1 2 "National League of Cities Bio - Craig Lowe (PDF)" (PDF). 2010-03-28.
- ↑ Rowland, Ashley (April 9, 2003), "Lowe heads to city commission; 4 others to face off in runoffs", Gainesville Sun, retrieved 2010-03-28
- ↑ Rowland, Ashley (April 9, 2003), "Lowe wins; runoffs set for other city seats", Gainesville Sun, retrieved 2010-03-28
- 1 2 3 "City of Gainesville - Commission - District IV". 2010-03-28.
- ↑ "Mayors Against Illegal Guns: Coalition Members". Archived from the original on March 6, 2007. Retrieved May 18, 2007.
- ↑ "Alachua County Supervisor of Elections - Gainesville City Election 2003, April 8, 2003". 2010-03-28.
- ↑ "Alachua County Supervisor of Elections - Gainesville City Election 2007, March 6, 2007". 2010-03-28.
- ↑ "Alachua County Supervisor of Elections - Gainesville City Election 2010, March 16, 2010". 2010-03-28.
- 1 2 "Alachua County Supervisor of Elections - Gainesville Run-off Election 2010, April 13, 2010". 2010-04-16.
- ↑ Smith, Chad (March 17, 2010), "City election leads to runoffs", Gainesville Sun, retrieved 2010-03-29
- ↑ City of Gainesville Run-off Election April 13, 2010 (Unofficial Results), retrieved 2010-04-16
- ↑ "Alachua County Supervisor of Elections - Gainesville City Election 2013, March 19, 2013". 2013-03-19.
- ↑ "Alachua County Supervisor of Elections - Preliminary Results - Gainesville Run-off Election 2013, April 16, 2013" (PDF). 2013-04-16.
- ↑ Pagan, Jesse, Forrest Smith, and Wade Millward (21 March 2013). "Developing: Gainesville Mayor Craig Lowe arrested on suspicion of DUI". WUFT-FM. Retrieved 21 March 2013.
- ↑ Varn, Kathryn (21 March 2013). "Gainesville Mayor Craig Lowe arrested for DUI". The Independent Florida Alligator. Retrieved 21 March 2013.
- ↑ Pryor, Alicia (21 March 2013). "Mayor Craig Lowe Arrested". WCJB-TV. Retrieved 21 March 2013.
- ↑ Swriko, Cindy. "Mayor Jailed for DUI after accident". Retrieved 2013-03-21.
- ↑ "Mayor enters deferred prosecution deal on DUI charges". Gainesville Sun. Retrieved 2 April 2013.
External links
- Mayor Lowe's City of Gainesville Biography page