The recent back and forth between Tallahassee City Commissioner Jeremy Matlow and the Greater Tallahassee Chamber of Commerce has resulted in a solicitation for campaign funds by Mr. Matlow.
Matlow, in a sweeping attack of the Chamber last week, questioned the Chamber’s response to the public corruption schemes that are the focus of the on-going federal trial.
Matlow called out specific officials in an opinion piece published by the Tallahassee Democrat.
The Chamber quickly responded by censuring Mr. Matlow for “egregious comments and irresponsible behavior.”
The Chamber press release stated that Matlow “abused his position of authority in an ill-fated and shallow effort to broad-brush and taint upstanding local people who are not on trial.”
Matlow, who is up for election in 20220, recently sent out a solicitation seeking campaign funds calling the Chamber’s censure an “irrational response.”
In the solicitation, Matlow said “I believe that better days are ahead, when we admit our faults and work together toward a fair and equitable city we can all be proud of.”
The solicitation is provided below.
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City Commissioner Matlow Seeks Campaign Donations Over Feud with Chamber added by Staff on
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Fire ALL of ’em! Tallahassee’s city commissioners are all as corrupt as hell.
The Shameber of Communists are all about exporting our jobs to China and thwarting the people’s choice in how we want to be governed.
The local branch may appear to be community oriented, but the national organization is cancer. They are anti-American and pro-avarice. They only care about Wall Street not Munroe Street.
The thing I don’t understand about Matlow is that he’s a small business owner, yet he wants bigger more intrusive government with all the job and liberty killing taxes and control that comes with it.
Lefties are confused about everything.
The Tallahassee Democrat and the City of Tallahassee should cancel their memberships with the Greater Tallahassee Chamber of Commerce.
Unless Sue Dick and the entire Tallahassee Chamber board resign not only should entities cancel their memberships they should also cancel their reservations at Amelia Island. It is the right thing to do to show support for Humanity and basic civil liberties and not be an enabler of corruption.
My take is that someone has to call out the City selling property outside its own rules (In this case claiming that since the offered price was 20K more than a previous value they could skip the current evaluation, when the area they are talking about is way different from the one it was during the earlier evaluations, and when the public NEEDS to have confidence in a government with known recent bad apples.) The Chamber supported that deviation, which makes them part of the problem as businesses should support open and fair government actions because that is what a good business environment is.
And, yes, I think that this year’s Chamber bash should have been cancelled at the point that it knew that Yordon, a long time big part of that out of town bash was going to be a witness at the corruption trial (even if doing so would have meant a financial hit. If it had, then the public would have seen a tangible rejection of the pay-to-play, and it- is- who- you- know- rather -than- whether -something- is- good concerns that citizens have.
I sat on the Chamber Board. Of course there are many chamber members who are upstanding citizens and exemplary business leaders. But we can’t easily ignore the evidence that that has NOT been universal in our community. Nor should we. We need government processes to be carefully and objectively developed, and then to be fully implemented. We need internal processes to protect those who seek to work for the citizens of the community that hires them rather than those who are powerful. We need an atmosphere that welcomes those who will not go along to get along when that is inconsistent with providing effective services at reasonable cost that government exists to provide.
I don’t blame Mr. Matlow for the donation requests either. Anyone who has listened to the evidence in the trial of threats to bury or stand up opposition when someone doesn’t go along with what some powerful person wants makes it realistic, rather than wrong, to plan to succeed.
Bringing a complaint to a chamber member many years ago the way it was handled is that the person who I was complaining about called me personally on the phone and threatened me. It was unnerving and disturbing and many things went on to intimidate and affect my family that were horrendous vile, and wrong.
Thank you Commissioner Matlow for standing up to these thugs that have brought shame and disgrace and much worse to Tallahassee.
At least you have one person who knows the importance of what you did to stand up to this behavior and again you are to be commended.
The Chamber will spend big money to try and unseat Matlow and keep the Good Ole Boys in control.
He is smart to realize that and will need money to push back.
What has he done to push back against mask mandates, vaccine mandates, CRT, the list goes on and on?
If he wants support, he needs to earn it.
I like a politician not liked by anyone.
Will Leon County Administrator Vince Long wear a mask at this event that he and several County Commissioners are signed up to attend on the taxpayers dime?
Are they planning a break-out workshop at this event conveying the horrors at the border mismanaged by the Biden Administration? Maybe County Administrator Vince Long will lead this workshop.
If you want to know how United Way spends your donations ask Bernice Cox, Gary Yordon’s wife, as she is attending on their dime.
Will the FBI snare any new Usual Suspects?
How much is the Tallahassee Democrat getting paid to report (advertise) on this event?
Who will win the prize for being the most intoxicated at the Buffalo Pool Party?
Will Kim Rivers of Trulieve speak about drug testing and its importance?
The most dysfunctional junket in the history of junkets!
Nothing more than a typical leftist political stunt of slander designed to build his campaign coffers. The left-wing nuts need and enemy in order to maintain division. Damn the innocent and endeavor to divide and concur with reckless abandon is and always has been their game plan… and they will create the enemy if they have to. They murder innocent babies at-will… do you really think they care about you?
“The Chamber quickly responded by censuring Mr. Matlow for “egregious comments and irresponsible behavior.””
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The fact that the Chamber came out with this statement so fast tells me that Matlow’s comment may have hit too close to home with the Chamber and that the Chamber made that statement to fast to try to get ahead of it to get Matlow to stop digging and back off. I will even bet that if Matlow doesn’t back off, the Chamber will launch a false smear campaign against him, similar to what the City Commissioners did to Dr. Jackson when HE wouldn’t back off. Just something to think about.
There is a serious problem at the Tallahassee Chamber of Commerce and I am thankful and grateful for Commissioner Matlow realizing that. He is to be commended.
Matlow is an uber leftist just because he fails to lock step with other leftists proves he does not get along well with others including other leftists.
There is no positive take away here for rational conservatives or moderates who try to ride the fence.
The only thing proved by Matlow’s shenanigans is that he is an @55 and any fool falling for his donation scam is an idiot.
Matlow: disliked by liberals, conservatives, everybody. Yeah a few will donate as Matlow wishes but I already covered their “idiot” status above.
Nothing to see here.
Hilarious that the pompous gas bags in “the chamber” think they have some authority to ‘censure’ a critic. Without these people there would have been no oxygen for the Maddox family.
I believe when you have one of the strongest largest most professional businesses pull out of the Tallahassee Chamber of Commerce years ago and all the corruption that has gone through the Tallahassee Chamber of Commerce there is a problem… There is a serious problem and it is affecting the Commerce of the smaller businesses which affects everyone. There is a serious problem. And I am grateful that Commissioner Matlow realizes that. Perhaps since he is a business owner of a successful business makes him more astute to this issue.
I’m with you Rick. I’m no fan of either in particular. But picking a fight for the sake of a fight and some ink is foolish. The Chamber will likely be around longer than a given member of the local elected body, and like it or not, always the twain shall meet. If he has a specific issue(s) with a specific CoC member(s)… then call it out, name the guilty party, and seek a formal investigation… BUT… broad brushing a premise can stain both the guilty AND the innocent. So if one is going to play that game, one had better be prepared to stand on ones’ conviction (with facts) and take the heat if it comes. Politicizing the matter exposes a disingenuous foundation.
I’m no fan of Matlow but the Chamber is the one who looks worse.
Looks more to me like a calculated and set-up campaign donation strategy to me, with the Tallahassee DemoKKKrat complicit with an illegal in-kind campaign donation as part of the strategy itself… and toss in a dose of Alinsky Projection for good measure.
Matlow drew first blood with help from a local Media PAC, whines when he gets slapped back, then seeks to profit from it… sound familiar? First he goes after the City Manger and gets smacked back into place, then he’s afraid of the big metal LEO vehicles, now vocal tit for tats he started gets his panties in a twist.
Grow a set and put your big boy pants in son… or get back in the pizza kitchen… unless it’s too hot for ya there too.
“Don’t start nut’n, won’t be nut’n”
The many years was Goverance in business should be re-looked at for how many other clients were “helped” by Maddox! Someone needs to get that information and compare to City/County vendor lists, permit and land use hearings, emails to-from Maddox, then see what other commissioners were contacted. Another place to start is campaign donations to Maddox and cross-reference to other commissioners. What we are seeing is probably just the tip. But, then again, this is Tallahassee. There are just so many interconnections. Who’s brazen enough and has the financial resources to investigate further?
Don’t send this xxxxxxxxx your money. He will likely just forward it to Bernie’s PAC.
The response by the Tallahassee Chamber of Commerce to Commissioner Matlow’s My View was a disgrace, unprofessional, and every board member should resign.
The Chamber’s unprofessional and unfortunate response condones the corruption and attempts to terrorize anyone who stands up against it.
This humanitarian act by Commissioner Matlow – to call them out – should be lauded, respected, and supported.