Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum, the Democratic candidate for governor, has positioned himself as a force for change while enjoying close ties to lobbyists, The New York Times wrote on Thursday.
Gillum, 39, has defended his relationships with lobbyists by saying. “If you’re not at the table, you’re on the menu.”
His ties to one, Adam Corey, resulted in the mayor being mentioned in an FBI investigation, though Gillum maintains that he has never been the subject of an investigation.
Former city commissioner Allan Katz, who was ambassador to Portugal under former President Barack Obama, said that Gillum “always was looking for a political future for himself and was therefore, I think, extremely careful. But all of us who’ve been involved in politics sometimes wind up in the wrong room with the wrong guy.”
One of the mayor’s top campaign advisers, Sean Pittman, is still retained as a subcontracted lobbyist by the city, and recently agreed to a contract extension.
Pittman said in an interview that he and Gillum are “no different from any other family friends who have been close for decades.”
“When you’re a public figure, there are people who look for reasons to negatively impact your success,” he said, adding that he and the mayor have “a beautiful relationship and not one that I think either one of us would allow someone to try to cheapen.”
Gillum said in a recent interview that “You only put people in characters: ‘lobbyist and mayor.’ I have a very easy time saying no to friends.”
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