Wayne Messam | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 10th Mayor ofMiramar | |
| Assumed office April 1, 2015 | |
| Preceded by | Lori Cohen Moseley |
| Member of theMiramar City Commission from the 4th district | |
| In office April 1, 2011 – April 1, 2015 | |
| Preceded by | Yvonne Garth |
| Succeeded by | Darlene Riggs |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Wayne Martin Messam (1974-06-07)June 7, 1974 (age 51) |
| Party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Angela Messam |
| Children | 3 |
| Education | Florida State University (BS) |
| Football career | |
| No. 89 | |
| Position | Wide receiver |
| Personal information | |
| Listed height | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) |
| Listed weight | 208 lb (94 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Glades Central High School |
| College | Florida State |
| NFL draft | 1997: undrafted |
| Career history | |
* Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |
| Awards and highlights | |
| |
Wayne Martin Messam (born June 7, 1974)[1] is an American formerfootballwide receiver, businessman, and politician serving as themayor ofMiramar, Florida, a position he has held since 2015. A member of theDemocratic Party, he was first elected to the Miramar City Commission in 2011 before defeating incumbent mayorLori Cohen Moseley in the 2015 election. Messam is also a general contractor and owner of a construction firm.
Messam ran for the Democratic nomination forPresident of the United States in the2020 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 theDemocratic debates.[3]
Messam was born in South Bay, Florida[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 fromGlades Central High School inBelle Glade, Florida,[6] Messam attendedFlorida State University, where he played as awide receiver for theFlorida State Seminoles from 1993 through 1996. He was a member of the1993 national championship team[4] and caught 62 passes for 793 yards and fourtouchdowns during his college football career as a Seminole.[7] Messam was also a member of theFlorida State Seminoles track and field team and competed at the 1993Atlantic Coast Conference indoor championships in the55 meter hurdles.[8] He graduated from Florida State in 1997 with abachelor's degree in Management Information Systems.[9]
After not being selected in the1997 NFL draft, Messam signed with theCincinnati Bengals as an undrafted free agent[10] and was released on August 4 of that year.[11]
Messam started a construction company in 2007.[12] He was first elected to the City Commission ofMiramar, Florida in 2011, and was elected as the city's mayor in 2015, defeating incumbentLori Cohen Moseley and former vice mayor Alexandra Davis with 38.5% of the vote after vacating his commission seat.[13][14] He won re-election on March 12, 2019.[15]
Messam serves as president of the National Black Caucus of Local Elected Officials.[9]
In early 2019, some sources indicated that he was considering a bid for theDemocratic presidential nomination in 2020, which he neither confirmed nor denied, stating that "all options will remain on the table."[16][17] On March 13, 2019, he announced the formation of an exploratory committee for a potential run and formally announced his candidacy nine days later.[18][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.[19] On June 28, he toldFortune Magazine that lack of money had kept his campaign from receiving national attention.[20]
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."[21][22][23] Messam later corrected these amounts to state that he had received $15,312 in income and spent $10,678 during the third quarter.[24] 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.[25]
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 asFiveThirtyEight.[26]
All of the elections below were non-partisan.
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| 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 | |
| Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wayne M. Messam | 2,756 | 38.48 | |
| Lori Cohen Moseley (incumbent) | 2,443 | 34.11 | |
| Alexandra P. Davis | 1,964 | 27.42 | |
| Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wayne M. Messam (incumbent) | 5,847 | 86.05 | |
| Josue Larose | 948 | 13.95 | |
| Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wayne M. Messam (incumbent) | 3,217 | 90.62 | |
| Rudy Theophin | 333 | 9.38 | |