Tallahassee Honors Major David Lang In Special Way

(TALLAHASSEE, FL) Starting in 2026, Tallahassee city commissioners will only meet once a month, moving away from their twice-a-month check-ins.

To start the first city commissioners meeting of the year, the commissioners unanimously voted to rename E. Jefferson street to D. Lang street, after the former County Clerk.

After graduating from Florida State University, Lang joined the military. Serving the U.S. In the Army's Second Armored Division, he spent time in Germany.

Joining the service runs in the family, with his grandfather being Major General David Lang, who served as a commander during the Battle of Gettysburg. Dave Lang retired as Leon County Clerk of the Circuit, and County Courts.

Lang tackled many feats during his time as a clerk, which boosted his support.

Dave Lang performed under pressure. In the height of the civil rights movement, Lang kept the city operational. Amidst cases which saw hundreds of defendants at a time, Lang was responsible for keeping the county afloat.

Decades later, Leon County made national headlines for the Ted Bundy trial.

Lang made sure a floor was dedicated to media coverage during the nationally covered trial. He even oversaw the transition to digital databases before concluding his 42-year tenure as clerk, becoming the first clerk in America to make court records available online.

After commemorating Dave Lang’s career, the city commissioners also gathered to celebrate FSU sports. Just last month, FSU’s Women’s Soccer team won its fifth NCAA championship.

Moving away from Accolades, most of the Jan. 14 city commissioners' meeting was spent discussing the Tallahassee Memorial Hospital sale. 

The commissioners voted to set a final public hearing for Mar. 11 to decide the future of the merger.

Max Hurrle was present, boastfully voicing his discontent with the city manager and his role in the sale proceedings. Hurrle is running for Commissioner Seat Three, which Commissioner Jeremy Matlow will not run for next November. 

Jan. 14 was a busy day for the city commissioners, who also hosted their annual retreat. The retreat is broadcast to the public and held to discuss how well the city’s leaders are doing.

The Commissioners spent a generous amount of time discussing the Southside Action Plan and how efficient it has been thus far.

“The reason you hear so much about Southside is because poverty is concentrated in this city in District One, which includes the Southside,” Tallahassee Commissioner Dianna Williams-Cox states.

Over the past year, the city has assisted 6,933 Southside households with energy payments and sponsored repairs for 104 homes, 31 of which are in Southside.

The meeting also confirmed several important developments in Tallahassee going into 2026.

Tallahassee International Airport nears completion, with construction set to be complete in the coming months, and Southside Transit Center will be the first bus/transit station built for Tallahassee in almost 50 years. 

The city also approved a new Senior Center, a $25 million project which should be finished in the coming months.

The annual retreat also included the discussion of the city’s 2026 budget, which allocates 20 new police officers and 14 more firefighters.

Over the past five years, the city of Tallahassee has created over 5,000 new jobs, a number the city intends to grow. 

If you have any comments or concerns, be sure to comment and email me at jason.f@lead4earth.org.