Wayne Messam

Wayne Martin Messam (born June 7, 1974)[1] is a former American football wide receiver, businessman, and politician serving as the mayor of Miramar, Florida, a position he has held since 2015. A member of the Democratic Party, he was first elected to the Miramar City Commission in 2011 before defeating incumbent mayor Lori Cohen Moseley in the 2015 election. Messam is also a general contractor and owner of a construction firm.

Wayne Messam
10th Mayor of Miramar
Assumed office
April 1, 2015
Preceded byLori Cohen Moseley
Member of the Miramar City Commission
from the 4th district
In office
April 1, 2011 – April 1, 2015
Preceded byYvonne Garth
Succeeded byDarlene Riggs
Personal details
Born
Wayne Martin Messam

(1974-06-07) June 7, 1974
South Bay, Florida, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseAngela Messam
Children3
EducationFlorida State University (BS)
Football career
No. 89
Position:Wide receiver
Personal information
Height:6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Weight:208 lb (94 kg)
Career information
High school:Glades Central High School
College:Florida State
Undrafted:1997
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Career highlights and awards

Messam ran for the Democratic nomination for President of the United States in the 2020 United States presidential election. He officially launched his campaign on March 28, 2019.[2] He suspended his presidential campaign on November 20, 2019, having failed to qualify for any of the Democratic debates.[3]

Early life, education, and football

Messam was born in South Bay, FL [4] to Delsey and Hubert, who had both emigrated from Jamaica.[4] When the family came to the United States, Hubert worked as a migrant farmer in the sugarcane fields of Florida's Glades region.[5]

After graduating from Glades Central High School in Belle Glade, FL,[6] Messam attended Florida State University, where he played as a wide receiver for the Florida State Seminoles from 1993 through 1996. He was a member of the 1993 national championship team[4] and caught 62 passes for 793 yards and four touchdowns during his college football career as a Seminole.[7] He graduated from Florida State in 1997 with a bachelor's degree in Management Information Systems.[8]

After not being selected in the 1997 NFL Draft, Messam signed with the Cincinnati Bengals as an undrafted free agent [9] and was released on August 4 of that year.[10]

Career

Messam started a construction company in 2007.[11] He was first elected to the City Commission of Miramar, Florida in 2011, and was elected as the city's mayor in 2015, defeating incumbent Lori Cohen Moseley and former vice mayor Alexandra Davis with 38.5% of the vote after vacating his commission seat.[12][13] He won re-election on March 12, 2019.[14]

Messam serves as president of the National Black Caucus of Local Elected Officials.[8]

2020 presidential campaign

In early 2019, some sources indicated that he was considering a bid for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020, which he neither confirmed nor denied, stating that "all options will remain on the table."[15][16] On March 13, 2019, he announced the formation of an exploratory committee for a potential run and formally announced his candidacy nine days later.[17][2]

His campaign received $43,531 in campaign donations in the first quarter of 2019. In April, he was accused of failing to pay his staff.[18] On June 28, he told Fortune Magazine that lack of money had kept his campaign from receiving national attention.[19]

Messam's third quarter fundraising report initially declared that he had received only $5 in income, and had spent $0. Messam claimed that the low amounts were attributable to a "computer glitch."[20][21][22] Messam later corrected these amounts to state that he had received $15,312 in income and spent $10,678 during the third quarter.[23] His year-end quarterly reports showed that between the beginning of the fourth quarter and the end of his campaign, Messam received no money in contributions.[24]

Messam suspended his presidential campaign on November 20, 2019.[3] He did not qualify for any Democratic debate and was not classified as a "major candidate" by outlets such as FiveThirtyEight.[25]

Electoral history

All of the elections below were non-partisan.

Messam in 2019
Miramar City Commission District 4, 2011[26]
Candidate Votes  %
Wayne M. Messam 1,120 37.69
Yvette Holt 1,087 36.57
Joe Romero 548 18.44
John J. Murphy Jr. 217 7.30
Miramar Mayor, 2015[26]
Candidate Votes  %
Wayne M. Messam 2,756 38.48
Lori Cohen Moseley (incumbent) 2,443 34.11
Alexandra P. Davis 1,964 27.42
Miramar Mayor, 2019[26]
Candidate Votes  %
Wayne M. Messam (incumbent) 5,847 86.05
Josue Larose 948 13.95

References
  1. "Florida voters, Messam, Wayne Martin thru Messana, Ruth M." flvoters.com. Archived from the original on March 28, 2019. Retrieved March 15, 2019.
  2. Dan Merica (March 28, 2019). "Florida Mayor Wayne Messam announces 2020 presidential bid". CNN. Archived from the original on March 28, 2019. Retrieved March 28, 2019.
  3. Sean Collins (November 20, 2019). "Wayne Messam, who called on Americans to #BeGreat, suspends his presidential bid". Vox. Retrieved November 20, 2019.
  4. "Miramar Mayor Wayne Messam mulls 2020 presidential campaign". Miami Herald. January 31, 2019. Archived from the original on February 10, 2019. Retrieved February 19, 2019.
  5. "Mayor Wayne M. Messam | Miramar, FL". www.miramarfl.gov. Retrieved March 26, 2023.
  6. "Through the years: South Florida to FSU pipeline". 247sports.com. Retrieved February 19, 2019.
  7. "Former 'Nole Wayne Messam elected mayor in Miramar". 247sports.com. Retrieved February 19, 2019.
  8. "Mayor Wayne M. Messam". City of Miramar. Archived from the original on February 10, 2019. Retrieved February 9, 2019.
  9. Haft, Chris (April 22, 1997). "Bengals nab native son Kresser". The Cincinnati Enquirer. Retrieved August 28, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. "Bengals announce two cuts". Lancaster Eagle-Gazette. AP. August 4, 1997. Retrieved August 28, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. "Miramar's Messam one of the many in that city with home in foreclosure". Sun Sentinel. March 22, 2011. Archived from the original on February 19, 2019. Retrieved February 19, 2019.
  12. Ferrante, Bob. "Former 'Nole Wayne Messam elected mayor in Miramar". Noles 24/7. Retrieved February 9, 2019.
  13. Ballou, Brian. "Miramar ex-commissioner defeats incumbent mayor who was seeking historic fifth term". South Florida SunSentinel. Archived from the original on February 10, 2019. Retrieved February 9, 2019.
  14. Anthony Man (March 18, 2019). "Miramar Mayor Wayne Messam, readying presidential campaign, sets date for 'historic announcement'". Sun-Sentinel. Archived from the original on March 20, 2019. Retrieved March 18, 2019.
  15. Smiley, David. "Can anyone be president in 2020? This South Florida mayor may run and find out". Miami Herald. Archived from the original on February 10, 2019. Retrieved February 9, 2019.
  16. @waynemessam (February 4, 2019). "My wife Angela and I count it a blessing that the great record of the city of Miramar would even place us in this conversation. When it comes to being an ambassador for the city, I have always said that all options will remain on the table" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  17. "Little-known Florida mayor to announce 2020 exploratory committee". CNN. March 13, 2019. Archived from the original on April 8, 2019. Retrieved March 13, 2019.
  18. Lipscomb, Jessica (April 19, 2019). "Presidential Candidate Wayne Messam Missed Payroll for Campaign Team, Ex-Staffer Says". Miami New Times. Retrieved October 22, 2019.
  19. "Wayne Messam: Money Kept Me Out of the First Democratic Debate. Will It Keep Me Out of the Second?". Fortune. Retrieved October 22, 2019.
  20. Astor, Maggie (October 15, 2019). "A Presidential Candidate Reported Raising $5 Last Quarter. Yes, $5". The New York Times. Retrieved October 16, 2019.
  21. Wu, Nicholas (October 15, 2019). "Democratic presidential candidate Wayne Messam appears to raise $5 over the last quarter". USA Today. Retrieved October 16, 2019.
  22. Lipscomb, Jessica (October 16, 2019). "Say Goodbye to Wayne Messam, the Presidential Hopeful Who Raised Just $5 Last Quarter". Miami New Times.
  23. Wayne Messam for America, Inc. (November 19, 2019). "Form 3P". Federal Election Commission.
  24. "Form 3P for WAYNE MESSAM FOR AMERICA, INC". docquery.fec.gov. Retrieved February 1, 2020.
  25. Silver, Nate (March 26, 2019). "Here's How We're Defining A 'Major' Presidential Candidate".
  26. "Election Results". www.browardsoe.org. Archived from the original on February 10, 2019. Retrieved February 10, 2019.
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