Tallahassee who's who gathers for ceremony to name building after former mayor John Marks

Goodbye, Gemini Building. Hello, John Marks City of Tallahassee Innovation Center.

A who's who of Tallahassee gathered Friday morning on North Adams Street to rename a city building for Marks, the longest-serving elected mayor of Tallahassee.

The invitation list included current Mayor John Dailey, state Rep. Allison Tant, former U.S. Rep. Al Lawson, retired City Manager Anita Favors, plenty of current city staffers and all the other city commissioners, except for Jeremy Matlow.

The audience sat on plastic lawn chairs under the shade of white tents or toughed it out in the humidity as several speakers took turns at the lectern. The tenor of their speeches was that of old friends reconnecting and reminiscing about times passed.

Dailey, for instance, wisecracked that when he first got elected he "was actually introduced as Mayor John Marks twice because we look so much alike." (Marks is Black; Dailey is white, for those new to the city.) He also took a chance to wish Marks a happy birthday, which he celebrated Thursday.

The former mayor "came to office with a strong vision for this community and, through his statesmanship, he was able to bring so much to life that impacted our quality of life right here at home," Dailey said. That included overseeing the redevelopment of FAMU Way, Cascades Park and Gaines Street.

Favors, city manager throughout Marks' 12-year tenure as mayor, said she had "some stories to tell and, as I've said previously, some we will never tell," which got Favors some laughs from the crowd. She added that Marks entered office with a "plethora of ideas (and) he wore us out."

He was a strong advocate for the Smart Meter concept, pushing the city to include them into utility operations. Because of his interest in utilities, the city chose to rename its Gemini Building, which houses the Customer Operations and Underground Utilities and Public Infrastructure departments.

"It was in this building that the current city manager, Reese Goad, would work very closely with John to design a smart meter development and implementation plan," Favors said. Before she wrapped up, she had a surprise for the former mayor: She managed to get Marks' first aide, Alan Williams, on speaker phone.

"John, you are the big reason why I could literally go from City Hall to the state Legislature and now to the White House and I do wear that badge of honor as your first aide," said Williams, who went on to become a Florida House member and is now a senior advisor to Vice President Kamala Harris.

Before the new sign was unveiled and the audience could get to enjoy a buffet spread of croissants and coffee, Marks took the stage with a roar of applause.

"It has been an incredible journey, filled with a lot of laughter, hard work and the occasional surprise, but you know what? It was truly, truly rewarding to be the mayor of your city," Marks said. "Let us all use this moment to charge and inspire one another to reach new heights and continue to build on a legacy of excellence for future generations."

Friday's renaming was sparked by Lawson, who approached the city commission with the request for the building renaming. Commissioners ultimately voted unanimously in favor of it.

Arianna Otero is the City Solutions Reporter for the Tallahassee Democrat. Contact her via email at AOtero@tallahassee.com or on Twitter/X: @ari_v_otero .

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Tallahassee who's who gathers for ceremony to name building after former mayor John Marks