Jeremy Matlow, who is running for City Commission, released a campaign video late last week which immediately generated what political consultants call buzz.
FloridaPolitics.com, a popular statewide blog wrote a story about the ad after its release. As of Sunday afternoon, the video has been viewed over 10,000 times and shared on Facebook by 116 people.
The campaign advertisement, coming from a self-proclaimed progressive, implies the current City of Tallahassee leadership has ignored struggling families on the southside. The video provides imagery of Cascades Park and the million dollar bridge over South Monroe Street and informs viewers that poverty is not far from these publicly financed amenities.
The polished and emotional wrenching video, labeled “Trying Times”, documents life on the southside through the eyes of an economically challenged family.
In the video, Dominique Roberts describes the trials and tribulations of growing up on the southside and talks about going without food, power or water.
“My mom, she would starve herself just to make sure we had food in our stomachs so we weren’t going to bed hungry,” Roberts says.
Near the end of the video, Roberts reveals that Jeremy Matlow is her brother.
The video, while emotional, manages to provide independent support for Matlow’s focus on homelessness and poverty in Tallahassee by citing previously published facts.
For example, the video notes that Tallahassee is one of the most economically segregated cities in the United States and reports that southside neighborhoods experience poverty rates as high as 68%.
Comments on Facebook generally offered support, but some people ventured out with questions.
One person posted, “So poverty is real …. But what are the offered solutions?”
Matlow, while admitting his candidacy will not end poverty in Tallahassee, told Tallahassee Reports that he is putting together a plan that will offer solutions to address some of the problems he faced growing up.
Matlow is running for City Commission Seat 3. Others currently filed to run for this seat include Bill Shack and Rick Minor.
Jeremy Matlow City Commission Campaign Ad Generates Buzz, Raises Questions added by Staff on
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The article was written by Florida Politics. When has Florida Politics ever written a story about a Tallahassee City Commission race? Maybe because Matlow’s campaign manager used to work for them?
No one is going without food or water on the south side. What an outrageous statement. Most of the tax money in this city goes to support the south side.
Have you read the ALICE report on Leon County? There absolutely ARE residents in our community going without basic survival needs.
While I will never vote for a “progressive” (translation: “liberal”) for any government position, I’m glad at least one candidate recognizes (or seems to be) that trying to solve the embedded poverty on Tallahassee”s South Side can’t be overemphasized. It is the major source of social-crime problems that plague the city and drive it down in life quality and reputation.
Although there has been endless bloviation and empty talk for years from long-time city commissioners and our mayor, not only is nothing much actually done, these same city officials reside in affluent neighborhoods very far from Tallahassee’s south side. What the South Side desperately needs is for COT to make it a Number One Priority to attract manufacturing and service companies to (1) not only build their factories on South Side property, but (2) to train and hire a workforce mainly from the South Side. To accomplish that, I’d offer the site land as free as possible to build on, and every No-Taxes break and favor I could possibly find and for as many years as it takes to close the deal. I don’t care if the company is building washing machines, vehicle parts, electrical-digital components or is a truck terminal or huge mailing warehouse (such as dollar stores or some another regional warehouse facility) – all that matters is bringing several sources of good-paying jobs to the South Side.
IF the COT and-or Leon County government could attract and nurture (by tax breaks, free site land, access roads, and infrastructure-utilities built free or at vast discount, and so on) a few manufacturing and-or service companies to the South Side, think what that might do. Those South Side residents could finally have access to a real job, at least one that offers more potential than minimum wage and possibly a real future in upper management etc. Residents would have something besides poverty and crime to turn to. And people with real jobs who can afford a decent life generally don’t want to engage in crime and ruin their future. They also might hold their family units together much easier, with paychecks to support a family. Access to several companies offering decent jobs on the South Side might reduce a huge amount of the Tallahassee crime rates we’ve seen by trying to erase major root causes of crime: poverty and broken family units.
Of course there’s the possibility that even with the opportunity placed right in front of them, South Side residents may not choose to make use of it in enough numbers to change much in Tallahassee – that’s up to them to make the effort. But It is inarguably worth the effort to try – it will be far better than doing nothing, which is what we’ve had for a decade or more – and we all see what that result is. Give those South Side people a chance at least. Again, good to see one candidate pointing that out.
Wow… Look ? like we have someone who is willing to REALLY go there!!