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 (1957-07-18) July 18, 1957[5]
Atlanta, Georgia
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

Gainesville City Commission, District 4, 2003[11]
Candidate Votes % ±
✓ Craig Lowe 817 50.49%
Brad Guy 801 49.51%

2004

Commissioner Lowe ran for re-election unopposed in 2004.[9]

2007

Gainesville City Commission, District 4, 2007[12]
Candidate Votes % ±
✓ Craig Lowe 1,050 79.31% 28.82%
Richard Selwach 138 10.42%
Pat Fitzpatrick 136 10.27%

2010

Mayor of Gainesville, 2010[13]
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%
Mayor of Gainesville, Runoff, 2010[14]
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

Mayor of Gainesville, 2013[17]
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%
Mayor of Gainesville, Runoff, 2013[18]
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. 1 2 Smith, Chad (April 16, 2010), "Lowe and behold! The next mayor of Gainesville", Gainesville Sun, retrieved 2010-04-16
  2. ↑ Curry, Christopher (24 May 2013). "Braddy sworn in, says it's the "end of machine politics"". Gainesville Sun. Retrieved 24 May 2013.
  3. 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: |access-date= (help)
  4. 1 2 Smith, Chad (April 14, 2010), Gainesville Sun http://www.gainesville.com/article/20100414/ARTICLES/4141019, retrieved 2010-04-17 Missing or empty |title= (help)
  5. 1 2 Adelson, Jeff (February 17, 2007), "Lowe seeks to continue making strides for area", Gainesville Sun, retrieved 2010-03-29
  6. 1 2 "National League of Cities Bio - Craig Lowe (PDF)" (PDF). 2010-03-28.
  7. ↑ Rowland, Ashley (April 9, 2003), "Lowe heads to city commission; 4 others to face off in runoffs", Gainesville Sun, retrieved 2010-03-28
  8. ↑ Rowland, Ashley (April 9, 2003), "Lowe wins; runoffs set for other city seats", Gainesville Sun, retrieved 2010-03-28
  9. 1 2 3 "City of Gainesville - Commission - District IV". 2010-03-28.
  10. ↑ "Mayors Against Illegal Guns: Coalition Members". Archived from the original on March 6, 2007. Retrieved May 18, 2007.
  11. ↑ "Alachua County Supervisor of Elections - Gainesville City Election 2003, April 8, 2003". 2010-03-28.
  12. ↑ "Alachua County Supervisor of Elections - Gainesville City Election 2007, March 6, 2007". 2010-03-28.
  13. ↑ "Alachua County Supervisor of Elections - Gainesville City Election 2010, March 16, 2010". 2010-03-28.
  14. 1 2 "Alachua County Supervisor of Elections - Gainesville Run-off Election 2010, April 13, 2010". 2010-04-16.
  15. ↑ Smith, Chad (March 17, 2010), "City election leads to runoffs", Gainesville Sun, retrieved 2010-03-29
  16. ↑ City of Gainesville Run-off Election April 13, 2010 (Unofficial Results), retrieved 2010-04-16
  17. ↑ "Alachua County Supervisor of Elections - Gainesville City Election 2013, March 19, 2013". 2013-03-19.
  18. ↑ "Alachua County Supervisor of Elections - Preliminary Results - Gainesville Run-off Election 2013, April 16, 2013" (PDF). 2013-04-16.
  19. ↑ 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.
  20. ↑ Varn, Kathryn (21 March 2013). "Gainesville Mayor Craig Lowe arrested for DUI". The Independent Florida Alligator. Retrieved 21 March 2013.
  21. ↑ Pryor, Alicia (21 March 2013). "Mayor Craig Lowe Arrested". WCJB-TV. Retrieved 21 March 2013.
  22. ↑ Swriko, Cindy. "Mayor Jailed for DUI after accident". Retrieved 2013-03-21.
  23. ↑ "Mayor enters deferred prosecution deal on DUI charges". Gainesville Sun. Retrieved 2 April 2013.
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