(TALLAHASSEE, FL) Florida's State Capital had a busy year.
Between Black History Month, a high-scale merger, and controversy regarding historical burial sites, there are just a few reasons residents will remember 2025. The year started with numerous shifts, including a vote from Sep 17, which would end twice a month, city commissioner meetings.
Commissioner Jacqueline Porter was the only dissenting vote when the 2026 schedule was created. The commissioners also banned new gas stations from coming to Tallahassee from March through the rest of the year.
For Black History Month, the commissioners gave former FAMU President Larry Robinson the keys to the city.
A lovely and exciting start to 2025, but let's get into topics OpGov.ai has explicitly covered.
Opgov.ai is dedicated to making news transparent and accessible. Since October, OpGov.ai has sent over a dozen emails to city officials. I have sent over a dozen emails, which have simply been ignored.
I have emailed every city commissioner three times and called the Tallahassee Police Department’s informational number. Collectively, I have received one message back from Commissioner Dianne Williams-Cox and a promise of follow-up communication.
I would like to point out that Opgov.ai notes this issue, stating, “Public comments consistently raised concerns about accessibility to elected officials” during a Nov 19 city council meeting.
I appreciate Florida State University (FSU) and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) for getting in touch with me.
As a small site without a corporate spine, Opgov.ai is truly transparent and would benefit from getting interviews. Outside of a lack of official statements and interviews, Tallahassee has been a truly incredible city to cover and learn from.
Starting with Oct. 1, the meeting outlet's transcripts, summaries, takeaways, as well as articles about city commissioners' meetings, are pretty much on point.
The Oct 1 meeting, available on the site, details the meetings and public comments in a truly beautiful user interface.
The meeting marks the first concrete details about the merger, which will likely be approved during January’s city commissioners meeting. The city commissioner began his role as chief negotiator, and the first mention of a 17-person FSU Health board was made.
We covered every city commissioner's meeting and public comments to make your search easier.
The next Oct 22 meeting had voted to allow the TMH-Florida State University merger to continue on pace. Unlike TMH, Capital City Country Club was not permitted to move forward.
Breaking with tradition, the city commissioners were all on the same page on a major issue, with everyone voting to pause the sale. The commissioners had discussed and appeared to reach the same conclusion: the finances did not line up.
As you know, Capital City’s Golf course was eventually sold, with a 3-2 vote settling on $1.2 million in compensation for the city.
The sale of 179 acres of land was contentious, as the land also included slave graves.
The controversy comes from the fact that the grave sites have been publicly acknowledged for nearly five years. Despite plans to honor or commemorate the deceased, the former slaves, no progress was made –until recently, when a sale was further discussed.
The plans were minimized, with only a historic marker in place; no memorials or new paths were created to respect the deceased. Despite reneging on (or significantly delaying) a city commission directive, the commissioners approved the sale.
OpGov.ai also covered the city commissioners' division, and will continue to report on the much-needed discussion. I read the comments on Nextdoor, where it was abundantly clear that Mayor John Dailey, Mayor Pro-tem Curtis Richardson, and Commissioner Dianne Williams-Cox are well-liked by the community.
The minority group, with Commissioners Jeremy Matlow and Jacqueline Porter, does not share that view.
The two groups often butt heads and oppose each other in virtually every vote, which does not have a unanimous outcome.
The voting has been documented. I even have an article on the strict voting habits, and have transcripts with the commissioners arguing with each other about their voting habits.
Let’s be clear: you do not have to take sides, but you have to acknowledge them.
OpGov.ai has been unable to find an instance of Commissioners Williams-Cox and Richardson voting against each other in over five years. Among our current city commissioners, 3-2 votes appear even more common than unanimous votes, with the same two commissioners casting dissenting opinions.
I would like to clarify that there is nothing inappropriate or scandalous about the commissioners' voting. I am not going to allege that the commissioners may be discussing matters in private, which is surprisingly forbidden under Florida Statute Section 286.011.
I am also not going to join Commissioner Matlow’s accusations of Mayor Dailey and Commissioner Richardson of breaking the statute. However, I will question the commissioners' functionality.
Noting the group has remained unchanged for five years, and there seems to be minimal productive conversation between the two groups, how productive are our commissioners? Is there a change needed?
What is clear is that the commissioners do not get along, and the discussions we see in city hall are less productive because of it.
If you have any questions about the devicisiveness of the commissioners, I urge you to research the previous mayor pro tems. Not only has Commissioner Porter remained the only commissioner not to receive the honor, the title has been passed between Commissioners Williams-Cox and Richardson since 2022.
Commissioner Matlow preceded the trend that came after his year-long term. Commissioner Richardson even had consecutive terms. The terms are relevant to prove an apparent exclusion.
With a five-person board operating on the will of the same three people, the board is not fully operational. The question becomes, how do you feel about the dynamic? Are you content with the voting outcomes, or would you prefer a more collaborative group?
Regardless of what the future has in store, our city commissioners will be voting to approve the TMH-FSU merger during the next city commission meeting on Jan 14. Details of the merger have come out, and it has $1.7 billion in compensation to the city.
If you have any comments or nuances, please comment and reach out to me at jason@lead4earth.org, and I will respond promptly.
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