John Marks

John Marks, Mayor of the City of Tallahassee, is also the Managing Partner of the Tallahassee Office of Adorno & Yoss, LLP. Prior to his association with Adorno & Yoss he was a shareholder and lead utility regulatory attorney from 1987 onward in the law firm of Katz, Kutter, et al., P.A. and thereafter from 1997 onward with Knowles, Marks & Randolph, P.A. Appointed by Governor Bob Graham in 1979, he served eight years on the Florida Public Service Commission (FPSC); the last two as its Chairman. Before serving on the FPSC, he was an Administrative Law Judge with the FPSC. He has been an adjunct professor at the Florida State University College of Law teaching utility regulatory law and a faculty member of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners' utility rate school. A member of the American, National, Florida and Tallahassee Bar and the Tallahassee Barristers Associations, Marks is also a member of the American Law Institute, the ABA's Public Utilities Law Section and the Florida Bar's Local Government and Administrative Law Sections. He is past chairman of the Florida Bar's Public Utilities Law and the Equal Opportunities in the Profession Committees. Florida Super Lawyer Magazine named him Super Lawyer in the area of Utility Regulatory Law. Apart from his professional affiliations, Mr. Marks was elected Mayor of Tallahassee in 2003 and re-elected in 2006. He serves on the Board of Advisors of the U.S. Conference of Mayors and was recently appointed to the position of Vice-Chair of the Transportation and Communications Committee. He also serves on the Community and Economic Development Committee for the National League of Cities. In addition, Mayor Marks served as the charter President of the Florida League of Mayors (2005-2007) and was recently elected 1st Vice President of the Florida League of Cities, therefore President-designate for the 2009-2010 term. His Board affiliations include Fringe Benefits Management Company, a privately held financial services company, the Tallahassee Economic Development Council, the Alliance for Digital Equality, the Tallahassee/Leon County Civic Center Authority, the Sunshine State Governmental Financing Commission, the Collins Center for Public Policy and the Economic Club of Florida. A graduate of Class XX of Leadership Florida, he is a life member of the NAACP, and was formerly a political analyst/co-host on the local television show "The Usual Suspects". Marks received his B.S. degree in 1969 from the Florida State University School of Business and his Juris Doctor degree in 1972 from the FSU College of Law, after which he served four years in the U.S. Air Force as a Judge Advocate. He is married to Jane Awkard Marks, a psychotherapist, and has one son, John, IV, a professor at FSU and a daughter in law Cristina, an attorney/clerk with the Second Judicial Circuit.