Remember Andrew Gillum? Former golden boy of the Florida Democrats, who got caught in 2020 puking his guts out in a Miami hotel room alongside a half-dead male escort and bags of crystal meth?
Yeah, that guy. The one Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan predicted would become president one day.
According to police, he never actually laid down the pipe.
Police say Gillum is facing drug charges in Alabama after officers found pot and meth inside his vehicle.
Gillum was pulled over for erratic driving on July 2. After an officer allegedly spotted a pipe, the car was searched. Gillum was arrested and released the next day.
Let’s not forget how we got here.
No one was ever charged in the hotel overdose incident back in 2020. Instead, Gillum hid from public life for a bit, claiming treatment for “alcohol abuse and depression” – noticeably nothing about meth.
A few months later Gillum was fit for television. He confessed to talk show host Tamron Hall, “So much of my recovery has been about trying to get over shame.”
Clearly – treatment worked.
Two years after that, Gillum was indicted on federal conspiracy as well as wire fraud charges. Investigators allege he was using campaign cash for personal use.
In 2023, the Associated Press reported his trial ended in a hung jury and he was acquitted of lying to the FBI.
It is wild to look back on how close Gillum came to becoming Florida’s first black governor – just 34,000 votes.
Deegan, before she was mayor, helped coach Gillum during his campaign.
Gillum donated to the mayor’s campaign, but his federal indictment compelled her to return the cash.
“I can’t believe that Florida is going to miss out on him as governor,” the mayor said. “I still can’t wrap my mind around it.”
Perhaps Gillum’s latest arrest report will now help clear things up for the mayor.
Oh, and before I forget – Andrew Gillum is the nephew of JTA board member Patricia Sams. Before she became mayor, Deegan was the host of JTA’s in-house television program, Making Moves, for five years.
It’s a small world after all.
