Jeff Burlew, who the Tallahassee Democrat labels as their community watchdog reporter, recently wrote a story about political advertising in the upcoming elections and predicted that City Commissioner Scott Maddox will easily win his race.
Burlew, referring to Maddox, wrote “He’s facing three challengers with little name recognition or chance of winning.”
Ironically, in writing that Maddox’s opponents had “little name recognition”, Burlew failed to mention their names.
Bruce Strouble and Luther Lee are competing against Scott Maddox for seat 1 on the Tallahassee City Commission.
Mr. Strouble told TR that “the Democrat has not conducted any official polling of Tallahassee voters and are reporting their opinions of the seat 1 race as facts.”
Mr Lee said “I don’t think it’s any secret that some “journalists” report their stories from a very biased perspective. Scott Maddox spends a significant amount of money advertising with the Tallahassee Democrat so I expect him to get preferential treatment.”
In the article, Burlew wrote that Maddox was “relying on yard signs and ads in the Tallahassee Democrat.”
Both challengers believe the Tallahassee Democrat reporting could aid City Commissioner Maddox in the upcoming election.
Mr. Strouble said, “I do have concerns that the bias tone in some of the reports will unfairly influence voters to support the incumbent.”
Mr. Lee said, “If they continue to push the narrative that no one stands a chance against Scott Maddox, then people buy in to that opinion and vote for Maddox because popular journalist have them convinced that anything else would be foolish.”
Mr. Lee finished by telling TR, “I’m not upset by biased reporting anymore, just disappointed. I hoped that our large, local paper would be the exception, but that’s probably hoping for too much.”
The declaration by Mr. Burlew poses a serious question for Tallahassee Democrat management: does Mr. Burlew’s view of Maddox’s victory mean that Burlew will not pursue “watch dog” reports involving City Commissioner Maddox?
Democrat Watchdog Reporter Predicts Maddox Victory in City Race, Challengers Respond added by Staff on
View all posts by Staff →
Dave never called me, for the record
Hahaha like Luther “Multiple Felon” Lee was going to campaign hard enough with his $800 to compete. Dude ought to be glad Burlew isn’t writing about him – he might get asked why he didn’t vote during certain years.
RE: Hahaha
Dearest Unmoderated “But Definitely Masked Identity” Dave, I usually don’t fall for the bait, but I’ll bite. Although, I think you’re missing the point of the article. I’m pretty sure Burlew isn’t writing about me because A.) There really is no dramatic story and B.) The story would most likely only prove that I am who I say I am and have nothing to hide. It’s no secret that I got in to some serious trouble in high school (one time, over 15 years ago) and it’s no secret that I was charged as an adult, anyone who talks to me knows this. It’s also no secret that I was never convicted of anything. This is all public record which I never had expunged or sealed (again, that whole transparency thing). What you may not be aware of, good buddy, is that I worked extra hard to make sure I never made the same mistake again. You see “Dave”, unfortunately some of us have had to learn life lessons the hard way and not all of us are as fortunate as you to have made it to adulthood and never messed up. Please, just make sure when you tell my story, you include the part where I used my mistakes to learn and then worked harder than most of my peers to become the proud husband, father, and productive member of the community that I am today. As far as any gaps in voting history go, it’s also no secret that most of my generation feels like it is pointless to vote since the politicians are so disengaged from the community that voting seems ineffective (especially when the local papers tell you how little of a chance anyone stands against their favorite candidate) our city commission being no exception. If you followed any of my campaign, this is an underlying theme as to why I am running. You see “Dave”, I have always been active in the community, just not in the political arena and once I realized that it takes being involved in the community AND in the political arena, I have been an advocate for educating citizens/voters ever since. But I digress, you could not have known that because you have not bothered to ask. I would like to offer you a challenge, if you’re up to it. Make a list of the things that I have been accused of and never convicted and make a list of the things that Maddox has been accused of and never convicted and see what you come up with. You’re well on your way to bringing investigative journalism back to life! Keep it up my friend and thank you for the advice on how to best campaign without taking a bunch of money from folks…that part was really helpful. Unmoderated “But Definitely Masked Identity” Dave, you seem like a concerned citizen (or a troll, I’m not really sure yet), so hopefully you’ll spend some real time and energy exploring the candidates and the issues and continuing to share your strong view on things. Also, feel free to call with any questions that you might have, 850-583-0096 (I’m usually working between the hours of 8-6, but I’ll return your call). Shoot man, maybe I’ll buy you a beer (before 2:00am of course) and we’ll chat. Wait, you are old enough to drink, right?
P.S. I’m glad someone is investigating
Maddox does not live in his district. Is that a felony, Dave?
It’s like when the major news networks called Florida in favor of Gore in 2000, way ahead of the polls closing in west Florida, those polls being in the Central time zone and polls had not yet closed there. Analysts predicted that Bush lost between 8,000 and 9,000 votes. With those votes in hand the recount debacle would have never taken place.
No chance of that in Tallahassee…
Jeff, why don’t you let the public vote before you declare Scott the winner. You never know what can happen! Maybe the public will start voting for the most ethical candidate?
Agreed! I don’t see how Maddox’s running up a huge restaurant tab in a Manhattan restaurant is helping our economy, bringing crime down, or even bringing Jet Blue to Tallahassee. I would think citizens would vote smarter this time…for one of the two nice candidates opposing him, although lesser known. In this case less is more.
Watchdog? PR rep for Maddox would be more accurate. Maddox does not even live in his district and the crime rate is #1. I thought this sort of cesspool journalism would be cleaned up with the new management.
“…large, local paper…”
LOL!!!
It certainly hasn’t been the former for two decades. And the firm fist of the Evil Empire in McLean, Va. weighs heavily against the latter.
Burlew, referring to Maddox, wrote “He’s facing three challengers with little name recognition or chance of winning.”
What about Seat 1 candidate Gary Gayle? No mention of him in this report either. Guess he’s batting 0 for 2.