AP Photo Democratic student petition: Tallahassee mayor should run for Florida governor

A grassroots group of Democratic college students has begun circulating a petition urging Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum to run for governor in two years, saying the party needs to ignore the "power brokers" and instead nominate a young fresh-faced progressive.

"Every Florida election cycle, the corporate special interests and political insiders limit our choices to those with personal wealth or famous last names," reads the change.org petition statement from 19 students at eight universities. "Then these same power brokers wonder why people across the state feel disengaged or unmotivated to vote."


Though the statement didn't name names, it appeared to subtly swipe at three possible Democratic contenders for governor: trial attorney John Morgan and Miami Beach Mayor Phil Levine (both of whom are independently wealthy) and outgoing U.S. Rep. Gwen Graham (who is the daughter of former governor and U.S. Sen. Bob Graham. Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn is also considering a bid).

Gillum, who became Tallahassee's mayor in 2014, declined to comment about the change.org petition. It was launched without his knowledge nor the knowledge of his top political adviser, Kevin Cate, who nevertheless seized on the independent group's outreach effort.

"It's early, but it's also undeniable that Mayor Gillum has the right profile, energy and courage needed to win Florida and fundamentally shift the direction of our state," Cate said. "He's exciting, and I don't blame anyone for trying to get him to run. We need entirely new leadership in this state."

If Gillum ran against Morgan, Levine, Graham or Buckhorn, he would be the only African-American candidate — a potential asset in a party where 29 percent of the registered voters are black. At 37, Gillum would also be the youngest candidate of the bunch. He was first elected to the Tallahassee City Commission in 2003, when he was 23.

Rather than dwell on his race or age, however, the student group played up Gillum's progressive bona fides. Gillum was the first North Florida political leader to welcome gays and lesbians to marry in his city when officials in other Florida counties said they would not issue same-sex marriage licenses. And Gillum sharply criticized Gov. Rick Scott, a Republican, for saying the state should refuse to accept Syrian immigrants.

Scott, in turn, criticized Gillum for Tallahassee's response to Hurricane Hermine when it hit in September.

Considered a longshot for governor by many Florida political insiders, Gillum drew the attention of Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign, which considered him as a possible running mate to help her win Florida, which she narrowly lost. Gillum also spoke at the Democratic National Convention in July.

Whomever the Democrats nominate to run for governor can expect a tough challenge from the GOP, whose voters tend to show in greater proportions during gubernatorial election years. Republican candidates are also usually better funded than their Democratic rivals. As a result, each of the four statewide seats based in Tallahassee is held be a Republican and the GOP controls the state Legislature.

Democrats haven't occupied Florida governor's mansion since 1999.

Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam, who has about $4.3 million in his political committee, is an early front runner for the GOP nomination for governor. But other Republicans may run as well.

Licking their wounds after Clinton's loss, many Florida Democrats fear the state might be slipping too far out of reach. But others say state Democrats might not have fielded the right candidate at the right time. The past four failed Democratic contenders for governor, for instance, were all white, partly ran as business-friendly centrists and all hailed from Tampa Bay.

That's why Amir Ahmadiavin, the immediate past president for statewide college Democrats, said he and a group of friends recently met in Gainesville to talk about the party's future and quickly thought of Gillum.

"2018 is time for a fresh start," Ahmadiavin said. 'We don't have to package Andrew Gillum. If Andrew Gillum runs, he would run as Andrew Gillum."