Former Washington Mystics player Tamara James should now be addressed as Mayor James. On Tuesday November 8th, the former University of Miami basketball star was elected mayor of Dania Beach, Broward County’s oldest city.
James played as a guard/forward for the Miami Hurricanes from 2002 to 2006. She is the school’s all-time leading scorer across both men’s and women’s basketball with 2,406 career points after averaging 21 points per game.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
The 32-year-old holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from UM and was inducted into their Sports Hall of Fame earlier this year. She was the eighth overall pick by the Washington Mystics in the first round of the 2006 WNBA draft and also played professionally overseas, for 9 years.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
In 2006, she established the Tamara James foundation with the goal “to empower, educate and strengthen today’s society by providing opportunities for everyone to build strong kids, strong families, strong communities, and even stronger future generations through sports.”
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
James thanked her supporters and parents via Facebook, promising that “This is only the beginning,” and asked for the community’s help in molding “our future.”
She also gave a statement the SunSentinel, thanking supporters for furthering her dreams of enacting change in her community. “I plan on being a voice for our residents, promoting smart economic growth and unifying us as a city… I’m looking forward to winning championships for the oldest city in Broward County.”
