Craig Lowe

Stuart 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 Commissioner Ed Braddy after being arrested for a DUI during the campaign.

For the South African cricketer, see Craig Lowe (cricketer).
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 byPegeen Hanrahan
Succeeded byEd Braddy
City Commissioner from
Gainesville District 4
Assumed office
May 22, 2003[3]
Preceded byNew Office
Succeeded byRandy Wells[4]
Personal details
Born (1957-07-18) July 18, 1957[5]
Atlanta, Georgia
Political partyDemocratic (Although only elected to nonpartisan offices)
ResidenceGainesville, Florida
Alma materUniversity of Florida
University of Georgia
ProfessionScientist, Educator[6]
WebsiteCity of Gainesville Bio

Lowe was first elected to the Gainesville City Commission to fill the newly created District 4 seat for a one-year term in April 2003[7][8] and consecutively to two full (3-year) terms until being sworn in as mayor.[3][9]

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. 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. 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. 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. Adelson, Jeff (February 17, 2007), "Lowe seeks to continue making strides for area", Gainesville Sun, retrieved 2010-03-29
  6. "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. "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. Archived from the original on March 11, 2010. Retrieved March 29, 2010.
  12. "Alachua County Supervisor of Elections - Gainesville City Election 2007, March 6, 2007". 2010-03-28. Archived from the original on March 11, 2010. Retrieved March 29, 2010.
  13. "Alachua County Supervisor of Elections - Gainesville City Election 2010, March 16, 2010". 2010-03-28.
  14. "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. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 13, 2013. Retrieved April 17, 2013.
  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. Archived from the original on 25 March 2013. 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.
  • Mayor Lowe's City of Gainesville
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