Being the Mayor of the 7th largest city in the State of Florida with 180,000 plus residents, six institutions of higher learning, 65,000 college students and more than 41,000 state employees keeps Tallahassee Mayor John Marks busy most days, nights and weekends. Prior to being elected Mayor of Florida’s capitol city, Marks traces his beginnings back to his native Miami, Florida. A product of the public school system and a graduate of Miami Northwestern Senior High School, Marks was encouraged to attend Florida State University (FSU) upon graduation in 1965. Marks’ great grandparents, grandparents, mother and father were all college graduates. Coming from such a lineage, he understood the value of a college degree and accepted the challenge of being one of the first African Americans to attend a predominately White educational institution in the South.
 During his tenure at FSU, Marks was confronted with a number of obstacles, yet overcame institutional and cultural prejudices and racism to earn his Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration. He later went on to become one of the first African Americans to graduate from FSU’s College of Law with his Juris Doctorate degree in 1972.
While excelling in academics, Marks was also a campus activist and leader. He served in the Student Senate and was one of the charter members of the first Black fraternity (Omega Psi Phi) to be established on a White southern university campus.
Upon graduation in August of 1969, Marks married his college sweetheart, Jane Awkard. After being commissioned a Captain in the U.S. Air Force and admitted to the Florida Bar, they moved to California to begin his military assignment. Marks served four years as an attorney in the Judge Advocate General (JAG) Corp at Travis Air Force Base, California. While in the military, the Vietnam War was raging and this tumultuous period would have a profound effect on his social and political ideology.
In 1976, the couple moved back to Tallahassee to be near family and friends and to start a family. What was intended to be a temporary stop before moving on to Miami, became permanent. For three years, Marks held the position of administrative law judge and in 1979 was appointed to the Florida Public Service Commission (FPSC) by Governor Bob Graham. At the time, he was the first African American and the youngest to serve as a FPSC Commissioner. He remained on the commission that regulates the state’s investor owned public utilities for eight years, the last two as Chairman. In 1987, Marks became a partner in the law firm of Katz, Kutter, Haigler, Alderman and Marks. He remained there for ten years before joining the boutique law firm of Knowles, Marks and Randolph, P.A., practicing in the area of utility regulatory law.
Having a desire to serve his community, Marks often considered elected office, but never actively pursued the idea until there was a change in the local political structure that prompted him to consider running for public office. In 2002, the untimely death of a Commissioner left the City of Tallahassee without African American representation for the first time since 1972. Recognizing this void, citizens from all segments of the community encouraged Marks to seek public office. After consulting with family, friends and political allies, Marks decided to run for Mayor against two incumbent city commissioners. After winning 44% of the vote in the primary, Marks eventually sailed to victory by winning with 67% of the vote in a runoff. Mayor Marks sought re-election in September 2006 and won handily in the primary with a 78% margin over two opponents.
Since taking office, Mayor Marks has addressed a number of important issues such as economic development, an active 18-hour downtown, redevelopment of disadvantaged areas, affordable housing, child literacy, and the enhancement of cultural opportunities. The Mayor is currently focused on several community-based initiatives such as securing a trauma center, developing a convention hotel and conference center and building a local coalition to end chronic homelessness.
As a leader, Mayor Marks has given his time and guidance to many community enrichment organizations, including the Collins Center for Public Policy, the Mary Brogan Museum of Arts and Science, the United Way of the Big Bend, the Tallahassee Urban League, the American Heart Association, and Kids Incorporated, Inc. He is a graduate of Class XX of Leadership Florida, and a life member in the NAACP.
Among others, his current affiliations include the Tallahassee/Leon County Civic Center Authority, the Tallahassee Economic Development Council, the Florida League of Cities, the National League of Cities, the U.S. Conference of Mayors, the National Conference of Black Mayors, and the Sunshine State Government and Financing Commission. Most recently, Mayor Marks was elected the first President of the Florida League of Mayors. As one of Mayor Marks’ colleagues stated, “He’s the guy they choose when a group of leaders need a leader.”
In the future, Mayor Marks intends to use his position as the President of the Florida League of Mayors to address an issue that is vital to all Floridians and the fiscal health of every municipality – tax reform. Although he has already had a distinguished career, his time in public service is not close to an end. Be on the lookout for the name John Marks – this is not the last you will hear of this rising political star. |
