Wayne Messam, mayor of Miramar, Florida, has announced that he will be running for president in 2020.
"America belongs to all of us. The promise of America belongs to all of us,” Messam said, “That's why I'm going to be running for president. To be your champion."
Though he is yet to release a detailed plan for his proposal to wipe out all student debt, Messam's name has gained traction in the crowded field of democratic contenders.
“You should not have to mortgage your entire professional life paying off your education.” Messam said in an interview with CityLab.
Messam also fought for gun control efforts after the shooting at a high school in Parkland, Florida. Messam, along with then Tallahassee mayor Andrew Gillum and other mayors across the state, sued Florida Governor Rick Scott to allow their new gun control ordinances to be passed throughout the state.
A campaign spokesman told CNN that Messam's decision to announce his campaign on March 28th is significant as it is the anniversary of what is known as Martin Luther King Jr.'s final march, when King walked alongside sanitation workers who were on strike in Memphis.
Messam is not the only small town mayor in the race. In an interview with BuzzFeed about fellow candidate Pete Buttigieg, Messam said, “If a mayor from South Bend can do it, then why not a mayor from Miramar?”
In order to qualify for the debate stage, the Democratic National Committee dictates that at minimum a candidate must receive donations from 65,000 donors in 20 states while also receiving 1 percent or more in at least three polls. As a candidate in an already crowded field full of other politicians with far more name recognition, Messam has his work cut out for him.
But Messam remains optimistic, “We have clear goals in terms of what it’s going to take to be on the debate stage,” Messam said in an interview.
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