Craig Lowe
Lowe in 2010
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, U.S.
DiedJanuary 14, 2023(2023-01-14) (aged 65)
Gainesville, Florida, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Alma mater
ProfessionScientist, educator[6]
WebsiteCity of Gainesville Bio

Stuart Craig Lowe (July 18, 1957 – January 14, 2023) was an American politician who served as Mayor of Gainesville, Florida, from 2010 to 2013; he previously served as Gainesville City Commissioner from 2003 through his becoming mayor. Lowe was the first openly gay mayor of the city.

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]

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. 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.

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]

Lowe died in Gainesville on January 14, 2023, at the age of 65.[11]

Electoral history

2003

Gainesville City Commission, District 4, 2003[12]
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[13]
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[14]
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[15]
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.[16] 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.[15] The recount verified the unofficial results, including verified provisional ballots, leaving the vote tallies unchanged. These are the official, certified results of the election.[15]

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 April 16, 2013, Lowe was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence (DUI).[19][20][21] The incident took place on March 21, 2013 when Lowe was involved in a single car crash.[22] On April 1, 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 April 16, 2010
  2. ↑ Curry, Christopher (May 24, 2013). "Braddy sworn in, says it's the "end of machine politics"". Gainesville Sun. Retrieved May 24, 2013.
  3. 1 2 Rowland, Ashley (May 23, 2003), "City makes history: 4 commissioners map out plans as board expands", Gainesville Sun, retrieved March 19, 2021
  4. 1 2 Smith, Chad (April 14, 2010), "A Narrow Victory for Lowe Triggers Recount", Gainesville Sun, archived from the original on April 18, 2010, retrieved March 19, 2021
  5. ↑ Adelson, Jeff (February 17, 2007), "Lowe seeks to continue making strides for area", Gainesville Sun, retrieved March 29, 2010
  6. 1 2 "National League of Cities Bio - Craig Lowe (PDF)" (PDF). March 28, 2010.
  7. ↑ Rowland, Ashley (April 9, 2003), "Lowe heads to city commission; 4 others to face off in runoffs", Gainesville Sun, retrieved March 28, 2010
  8. ↑ Rowland, Ashley (April 9, 2003), "Lowe wins; runoffs set for other city seats", Gainesville Sun, retrieved March 19, 2021
  9. 1 2 3 "City of Gainesville – Commission – District IV". March 28, 2010. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved March 29, 2010.
  10. ↑ "Mayors Against Illegal Guns: Coalition Members". Archived from the original on March 6, 2007. Retrieved May 18, 2007.
  11. ↑ Caplan, Andrew (January 15, 2023). "GainesvillebAndre first openly gay mayor Craig Lowe dead at 65". Gainesville Sun. Retrieved January 16, 2023.
  12. ↑ "Alachua County Supervisor of Elections - Gainesville City Election 2003, April 8, 2003". March 28, 2010. Archived from the original on March 11, 2010. Retrieved March 29, 2010.
  13. ↑ "Alachua County Supervisor of Elections - Gainesville City Election 2007, March 6, 2007". March 28, 2010. Archived from the original on March 11, 2010. Retrieved March 29, 2010.
  14. ↑ "Official Results Gainesville Regular Election, March 16, 2010" (PDF). Vote Alachua. March 16, 2010. Retrieved March 19, 2021.
  15. 1 2 3 "Official Results Gainesville Run-Off Elections, April 13, 2010" (PDF). Vote Alachua. April 13, 2010. Retrieved March 19, 2021.
  16. ↑ Smith, Chad (March 17, 2010), "City election leads to runoffs", Gainesville Sun, retrieved March 29, 2010
  17. ↑ "Alachua County Supervisor of Elections - Gainesville City Election 2013, March 19, 2013". March 19, 2013.
  18. ↑ "Alachua County Supervisor of Elections - Preliminary Results - Gainesville Run-off Election 2013, April 16, 2013" (PDF). April 16, 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 13, 2013. Retrieved April 17, 2013.
  19. ↑ Pagan, Jesse, Forrest Smith, and Wade Millward (March 21, 2013). "Developing: Gainesville Mayor Craig Lowe arrested on suspicion of DUI". WUFT-FM. Retrieved March 21, 2013.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  20. ↑ Varn, Kathryn (March 21, 2013). "Gainesville Mayor Craig Lowe arrested for DUI". The Independent Florida Alligator. Retrieved March 21, 2013.
  21. ↑ Pryor, Alicia (March 21, 2013). "Mayor Craig Lowe Arrested". WCJB-TV. Archived from the original on March 25, 2013. Retrieved March 21, 2013.
  22. ↑ Swriko, Cindy. "Mayor Jailed for DUI after accident". Retrieved March 21, 2013.
  23. ↑ "Mayor enters deferred prosecution deal on DUI charges". Gainesville Sun. Retrieved April 2, 2013.
  • Mayor Lowe's City of Gainesville
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