Wayne Messam, the mayor of the South Florida town of Miramar, looks to defy the odds and become the Democratic nominee to take on President Trump in 2020.
A first generation American and son of Jamaican immigrants, Messam, 44, told CNN in an interview Wednesday that he will be launching a 2020 presidential exploratory committee for the Democratic nomination.
“I see it to be a unique opportunity for Americans to look at another option of leadership,” he said. “When you look at what is going on in Washington, the status quo is who is stepping up to be our next president,” Messam said in the interview. “When you look at a mayor, Americans see mayors favorably. We are at the frontline of what Americans are dealing with every day.”
Messam was just re-elected for a second term as Miramar’s mayor on Tuesday.
The Democratic lawmaker first rose to prominence after winning the college football national championship with Florida State University in 1993 under head ball coach Bobby Bowden. He played wide receiver.
After college, Messam returned to his native South Florida and became involved in the community. He was elected to various commissioner positions throughout the Miramar city government and Broward County government. He became the lead of an environmentally friendly infrastructure project organization, Asset Builders, and was elected president of the National Black Caucus of Local Elected Officials.
Messam’s campaign platform is centered around a series of progressive values, ranging from immigration to tight gun control. He has been a staunch critic of the Trump administration’s immigration policies, saying that instead the nation ought to be focused on ensuring “that our parents at least, regardless of their immigration status, that is one less fear that they have.”
Massam says he opted for an exploratory committee rather than a full-scale campaign at this point so that he ensures he’s taking “the proper steps to be able to move our campaign forward so we can launch in a way where we can get our message out to the American people.”
Economic growth has been a critical part of Messam’s term as mayor, having been recognized by Tallahassee on two occasions during his tenure as one of the fastest growing economies in the nation.
Messam’s 2015 campaign was marred by controversy after he was under investigation by The Florida Elections Commission for an inaccurate campaign report.
Miramar is a small, inland town in Broward County, Fla. Just north of Hialeah, the 144,000-population town is considered a suburb of the Miami-Fort Lauderdale metropolis, meaning much of the area’s politics is dominated by The Magic City.
The small town, however, is more populous than South Bend, Ind., the hometown of Mayor Pete Buttigieg, who is also vying for the Democratic nomination for president.
