2003 Tallahassee mayoral special election

← 1997

February 4 and February 25, 2003^[1]

2006 →

Turnout

32.43% (first round)
33.93% (runoff)


Nominee	John Marks	John Paul Bailey	Steve Meisburg
Party	Nonpartisan	Nonpartisan	Nonpartisan
First-round vote	11,702	7,382	7,039
First-round percentage	43.10%	29.02%	25.93%
Second-round vote	19,119	9,374
Second-round percentage	67.10%	32.90%

Mayor before election

Scott Maddox
Democratic Party

Elected Mayor

John Marks
Democratic Party

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The 2003 Tallahassee mayoral special election was held February 4 and February 25, 2003 to elect the mayor of Tallahassee, Florida.

Since no candidate obtained a majority of the vote in the first-round, a runoff was held between the top-two finishers.

The election coincided with elections to City Commissioner Seats 1, 2, 3 and 5.^[1]

Marks became the second popularly elected mayor of Tallahassee. Marks became Tallahassee's first elected African American mayor, and its fifth-overall African American mayor.^{[citation needed]}

Background

On January 4, 2003, Tallahassee Mayor Scott Maddox was elected Chairman of the Florida Democratic Party.^[2] Maddox announced that he would remain Mayor of Tallahassee until late February 2003, when a special mayor election would be held to elect a successor.^[2]

Election results

First round

First-round results^[3]^[4]
Candidate	Votes	%
John Marks	11,702	43.10
John Paul Bailey	7,382	27.19
Steve Meisburg	7,039	25.93
Anthony "Tony" Davis	603	2.22
Richard Junnier	423	1.56
Total votes	27,149
Voter turnout	32.43%

Runoff

Runoff results^[5]^[6]
Candidate	Votes	%
John Marks	19,119	67.10
John Paul Bailey	9,374	32.90
Total votes	28,493
Voter turnout	33.93%

References

^ ^a ^b "Summaries - January through April 2003" (PDF). Tallahassee Government. 2003. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 October 2020. Retrieved 14 November 2019.
^ ^a ^b Caldwell, Alicia A. (2003-01-06). "Tallahassee Mayor Leads Democrats". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved 2015-08-19.
^ "Election Summary Report 2003 City of Tallahassee Regular Municipal Election Summary For Jurisdiction Wide, All Counters, All Races OFFICIAL RESULTS" (PDF). Leon Votes. 26 February 2003. Retrieved 14 November 2019.
^ "Statement of Votes Cast 2003 City of Tallahassee Regular Municipal Election SOVC For Jurisdiction Wide, All Counters, All Races OFFICIAL RESULTS" (PDF). Leon Votes. 26 February 2003. Retrieved 14 November 2019.
^ "Election Summary Report 2003 City of Tallahassee Municipal Primary Election Summary For Jurisdiction Wide, All Counters, All Races OFFICIAL RESULTS" (PDF). Leon Votes. 5 February 2003. Retrieved 14 November 2019.
^ "Statement of Votes Cast 2003 City of Tallahassee Municipal Primary Election SOVC For Jurisdiction Wide, All Counters, All Races OFFICIAL RESULTS" (PDF). Leon Votes. 5 February 2003. Retrieved 14 November 2019.

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