Tempers flare at ALERT and NAACP City Commission Candidate Forum in Tallahassee

Tallahassee ALERT and the NAACP – The Tallahassee branch’s candidate forum for two contentious local elections Monday was the closest thing to a fistfight in Tallahassee local politics.

The six candidates for Tallahassee City Commission seats 1 and 2 traded personal barbs during the more than two-hour event at Watson Temple Church. Supporters did not hold back their cheers and boos. At one point, several political activists from opposing sides began yelling at each other in the pews. After an audience member told them “not in the house of God,” they went outside to have a louder argument.

The forum reflected the temperature of what has been a particularly contentious election cycle for the city, with both incumbents seeking re-election defending their seats against challenges supported by some of their fellow commissioners.

Commissioner Curtis Richardson faces a challenge from Dot Inman-Johnson, a former mayor of Tallahassee who is backed by the minority faction at City Hall consisting of Commissioners Jack Porter and Jeremy Matlow. Porter himself is running against Pastor Rudy Ferguson, who has received an endorsement from Mayor John Dailey.

But those aren’t the only candidates in these races who attended the candidate forum. Local political troublemaker and Richardson challenger Bernard Stevens was there. Porter challenger and FAMU administrator Louis Dilbert also attended.

The only registered candidate not present was Donna Nyack, making this the second consecutive candidate forum she has missed. That has not assuaged questions from some about whether she may be running as a dummy candidate, something she has previously denied.

At the forum, all candidates answered questions from a moderator. They were given extra time to respond if another candidate addressed them during their answer. Here is a breakdown of what the candidates who participated said on five of the most discussed topics during the forum:

Deadlock in fire service contracts

While the City of Tallahassee recently accepted a special judge’s recommendation to end the conflict between the city and the firefighters’ union, negotiations for a longer three-year contract are still ongoing. Those negotiations came up during the forum, with Inman-Johnson mentioning that the union has decided to support her over Richardson.

“I promise you that firefighters will be treated as public safety officers the same as police officers,” she said.

Richardson responded that he is a supporter of firefighters and has received their support at other times in his career. He has frequently referred to those past endorsements in recent months, often when criticized by members of the public and the union at commission meetings and other events for not being more vocal on firefighters’ behalf.

“Firefighters at the state and local level have supported me at every point in my electoral career, and I have supported them. I have advocated for the fire station on the south side and just signed the papers for a $27 million bond issue to fund the construction of that fire station. That’s what I’ve been focused on: making our community safer and putting an end to the violence we see in our communities,” he said.

Police and crime

Several questions asked during the event revolved around how to deal with the violent crime rate in Tallahassee.

Almost all candidates agreed that the root causes of crime, such as poverty and educational disparities, must be addressed. However, candidates disagreed on what role the police should play in combating these causes.

Porter argued that law enforcement is best placed to solve crimes and stop ongoing crime, not prevent it.

“Our police officers are not social workers. They are not counselors. And we should support people who can do that while at the same time supporting our police officers to do what they are trained to do and what they want to do,” she said.

Ferguson said law enforcement’s work to prevent crime is essential and accused Porter of trying to defund law enforcement. Local police unions are supporting Ferguson and Richardson.

“Cooperation with law enforcement is essential. You don’t get to choose between strengthening one of our essential services and weakening the other. Cutting funding to law enforcement may make sense in Ms. Porter’s neighborhood, but it certainly doesn’t make sense in ours,” he said.

Affordable housing

Another round of questions focused on a proposal by Porter to use Blueprint funds to build affordable housing, a proposal that was not pursued last month.

When asked about the proposal, Porter defended it. Ferguson said he believed the need for affordable housing was important, but did not indicate in his response whether he would have supported the idea.

Dilbert specifically said he would have supported it.

“We know that homelessness is increasing, and let’s be honest, some middle-class people are on the verge of standing in line at the Kearney Center, and we don’t want to talk about that,” he said.

Richardson, who was absent from the Blueprint meeting where the affordable housing issue was voted on, said using Blueprint funds for that purpose was outside the purpose of Blueprint and would have taken too long.

“If Blueprint had approved this, it would have taken 10 years for the money to be available for affordable housing. 10 years,” he said.

Inman-Johnson criticized Richardson for that stance, arguing that Richardson’s $27 million support for Blueprint’s 2022 renovation of FSU’s Doak Campbell Stadium also did not meet Blueprint’s original intent.

Tax increase

Inman-Johnson also criticized Richardson for his support of a recent 8.5% property tax increase in this year’s budget.

“The 8.5 percent tax increase on the citizens of this community was unnecessary and the incumbent had three opportunities in budget workshops to do the right thing and vote against it. He did not do it,” she said.

Richardson defended what he considered a moderate increase, saying the additional $10 million in revenue would benefit the Tallahassee Police Department to help combat crime in the community.

“I have done everything I can to address this issue and that is exactly what we have accomplished with this modest tax increase that will only affect 30% of property owners in this community,” he said.

Attacks and decency

Aside from the commotion and disruption caused by the audience, Ferguson and Porter traded incendiary remarks throughout the evening. As the other spoke, both candidates often rolled their eyes, looked away or muttered something to themselves.

Ferguson repeatedly accused Porter of shunning the black community in Tallahassee and breaking promises during his time in office. When Porter asked him to give specific examples, he did not.

“Our commissioner has only shown up in the black community now because she needs votes. That’s so important. For years, she’s been absent. MIA. In fact, no one has seen her. She was just there in the Griffin Heights neighborhood putting up her signs, and I believe she has people working to put up her signs in the black community,” he said.

Porter retaliated by repeatedly pointing out that a large portion of the donations to Ferguson’s campaign so far came from local businesses and special interest groups.

“Developer-backed interests, special interests, the kind of people who are here today and are getting the money that’s flowing off the backs of taxpayers, like you and me. That’s the difference between me and my opponent,” she said.

Ferguson defended himself by saying that he accepts money from anyone who supports him, but does not make political promises to donors.

Because of the controversial atmosphere, one of the last questions addressed the importance of civility and collegiality towards colleagues in the commission. Dilbert said he would demand civility and respect towards people with whom he disagreed, even from his supporters.

“When people who support me come and insult and attack my colleagues, I have to respectfully tell them to calm down and maintain respect, whether they are against me or for me,” he said.

Most candidates said they could ensure the necessary decency in office, although Richardson admitted it could be a challenge if Porter and Matlow supported an opposing candidate.

“I have a problem with that. It makes it difficult for me to work under these conditions. But we continue to get things done,” he said.

Elections for Tallahassee City Commission seats 1 and 2 will be held on August 20.^thIf no candidate receives more than 50% of the vote, a runoff election will take place in the general election on November 5 between the two candidates with the most votes in each race.