Tallahassee Mayor John Dailey took to Twitter to defend a meeting at his private residence related to how taxpayer funds dedicated to Tallahassee’s gun violence issue would be allocated for the next budget year.
During recent budget workshops, city commissioners made the decision to allocate $1 million per year over the next fiver years to address the issue of gun violence.
At one point in the process, city staff had recommended hiring five police officers with a cost of $550,000 and allocating the remaining $450,000 to gun violence prevention programs.
However, subsequent city meetings seem to indicate that hiring police officers is not part of the plan.
WFSU recently reported that last month Mayor Dailey held two meetings at his home, inviting a select group of people to discuss how to distribute the $1 million the city has set aside to reduce gun violence.
Among those invited to Dailey’s home were his chief of staff, Courtney Thomas; Leon County Assistant Sheriff Argatha Gilmore; Royle King, executive director of the Council on the Status of Men and Boys; Cecka Rose Green, executive director of the Children’s Services Council; and a number of people representing other nonprofits. Also on hand were two candidates who recently lost their primary challenges: Dailey’s former opponent in the mayoral race, Whitfield Leland III; and Rudy Ferguson, who lost to Leon County Commissioner Nick Maddox.
WSFU reported that neighborhood activist Talethia Edwards, who attended the meeting, said the plan discussed allocating $500,000 to go to direct service “navigators” working with the Council on the Status of Men and Boys; $300,000 for street teams for the city’s TEMPO program, which serves youth who are neither in school nor holding a job; and $200,000 for restorative justice — the ‘restoration’ piece of their strategy.
County Commissioner Kristin Dozier, who will face Dailey in a runoff in November, says she was contacted after both meetings from people who had heard about them. She said the people were concerned, she says, “about whether we were going to have a public conversation.”
“I think the concerns I was hearing — and I share them — were about kind of hand-picking,” Dozier said. “Did the mayor hand-pick certain groups to be there, and then those groups, you know, made their way into the agenda recommendations?
Responding to questions about the meetings, Mayor Dailey said he was just meeting with constituents.
And on his personal Twitter account he wrote, “I will never apologize for being the Mayor that brings our community together to hear directly from citizens on how to solve our most pressing issues.”
The final decision on where the $1 million in funds will be allocated to address gun violence will be decided at the September 21st Tallahassee City Commission meeting.
Mayor Dailey Defends Meeting Over Gun violence Funds, Dozier Questions Transparency added by Steve Stewart on
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Ill just keep asking since no one ever answers. Why just gun violence which is only a small part of violence What about ALL violence?
My thoughts echo the writer,Hopes sentiment.Tallahassee is rife with back door deals.We want a transparent public servant to hold the office for the citizenry of Tallahassee.
@ Big Dog, they can’t, they gave all the Money to Doak VIP Seats.
Again… a Sunshine violation would only apply is if there was another City Commission member present – or – if it can be proven that one of the attendees acted as a intermediary and shared the information with another Commission member or members. Notwithstanding proof that either of the above circumstances existed, this would not classify as a violation of the Government in the Sunshine Act.
Unethical – perhaps… questionable – indeed… shady – yep… stupid – absolutely… damaging to his campaign – likely, if used properly by his opponent
Whipping out the (taxpayer) checkbook around election time… classic
The only “sweeping ethics” improvements the mayor claims to have made are under the rug. I believe he should file a complaint against himself.
While driving down Pedrick Road my gun bounced off the seat off my truck because of all the potholes. My point is this. Fix the roads before we spend a million dollars on an issue that money can’t solve. More fathers and mothers teaching their kids right and wrong.
How many of the attendees at the Mayors private meeting at his home are:
1. City employees
2. Lobbyists registered with the city
3. Contributors to the Mayors campaign
4. People who stand to gain from the city expenditures
5. Friends of or contributors to other city commissioners
The ethics complaint will be filed by an individual either at the request of Dozier or on the own accord of the individual filing the complaint.
The outcome of the complaint with the Ethics Commission is totally irrelevant because the cloud of the complaint filing will hang over Dailey like a never dissapating fart cloud.
Dailey really made an awfull political error by holding that secret meeting in his home at this time in the election process. Dailey really stepped in it and Dozier would be a fool not to ensure that complaint is filed.
This is the leg up Dozier needs to take the prize and overcome her own stinky cloud regarding her nefarious real estate dealings with convicted criminal and prison occupant J T Burnett.
Florida has had a Sunshine Law since the 60s. A law that makes nearly all state, county, city, municipal, and/or commission meeting open to the public. There are few exception, and state law is careful to insist that “An exemption may be created, revised, or maintained only if it serves an identifiable public purpose, and the exemption may be no broader than is necessary to meet the public purpose it serves”.
Meeting at someone’s house to be able to chat while watching a ball game over a couple of beers is not a public purpose.
It is a basic requirement of our state “Government in the Sunshine Law” that the Peoples business must be conducted only during public meetings. Private meetings by elected officials, during which the public’s meeting is discussed, that exclude the citizens and the media, are criminal acts under Florida law. It is incomprehensible that the Mayor would deny Tallahassee’s citizens the right to hear what is being said by or to him regarding their business, their concerns, their tax dollars.
The Mayor’s action is, again, regrettable and illegal. He lost my vote.
@ Snidely… an Ethics Complaint might fly, but the only way a Sunshine violation would apply is if there was another Commission member present – or – if it can be proven that one of the attendees acted as a “go between” and shared the information with another Commission member. But regardless, this does not bode well for Mayor Ethics and his claims of having improved the ethical behavior of our City government. You can claim to have passed all the ethics reforms you wish, but if you don’t apply them to yourself and assure accountability for all… it’s just feckless political banality.
What’s also interesting to me is that several of the attendees were also on the list to receive other allocated taxpayer funds for their various ineffective boondoggles.
I believe replacing the” Marxist” verbiage with “No Doak Vote” would be more accurate.
It may look bad for Dozier to actually file the complaint with The Florida Ethics Commission against Dailey for his in your face undisputable obvious and intentional violation of Florida’s Sunshine Law. What with Dozier running against Dailey for Mayor and everything associated with that.
However I expect Dozier already has a “friend” who is in the process right now and will drop the complaint on Monday morning 9/19/22. It will drop Monday to avoid getting dilutted by “the weekend news cycle effect”. That way Dozier, her supporters, and the media will have the full news cycle week beginning Monday 9/19/22 to joyfully pound on Mayor Flintstone Dailey’s fool head.
This will be good for Tallahassee because the only regular citizen brave enough to file such a complaint amoungst us serfs is Dr. Erwin Jackson who may be in one of his non political involvement phases of his life.
First of all – because it simply must be repeated as often as possible in order to push back against the semantics game of the Leftists’ agenda – there is no such thing as “gun violence”. Much like “knife violence” or “car violence” or “hands violence” or “rock violence” or “baseball bat violence”…a gun is just one of the many tools of choice used by the “violent person”.
Secondly, if as reported, the Mayor first implied that he was just meeting with regular “constituents”… he was intentionally misrepresenting the reality, and thus knew what he was doing was questionable at best.
Thirdly, by not including the addition of LEOs as part of this plan, proves that this has nothing whatsoever to do with fighting or lowering violent crime or crime rates.
Lastly, the term “navigators” is Marxist code for implementing a “friends and family” hiring plan that includes hiring numerous unqualified buddies to sit in cubicles to tweet and tic-toc all day for $45k a year per.
This situation alone could cost Daily the election. We are now faced with the choice between long-imbedded corruption or the third vote for the Marxist agenda.
“You will never solve a problem you refuse to recognize”
They are planning and dreaming how to take guns away from law abiding citizens. They needed to use Mayor Fred Flintstone’s private residence in order to be sure no video got out. Most likely the leftist weasels in attendance had to leave their cell phones in the coat closet by the front door.
Maybe somebody will get the bright idea what happened in Mayor Flintstone’s home was a violation of Florida’s Sunshine Laws and file a complaint with the Ethics Commission.
NO Meeting about City or County Business should EVER be held at ANYONE’S Home (or a Bar), EVER. It needs to be in front of the Public and or Cameras for everyone to see. This smells of Corruption.
On the surface meeting with community members on an important issue does not seem bad. Doing it just prior to an election, though, reeks of backroom pandering for political favor.
Dozier wants transparency? Her personal involvement with JT. Burnette, regarding the house that Burnette sold to her at 2/3 market value, which she sold 2 years later at market value still hasn’t been vetted. Laurie Dozier, her Father, and owner of Mad Dog Construction, held the mortgage on the house. Mad Dog is tied to COT’s wallet. Burnette selling a house to Dozier, while she was on the County Commission and reselling it so quickly, is just a little too close knit to be a ‘coincidence’.
I also saw the “gin” typo. Thank you for reminding me to put this on my grocery list.
The second sentence contains a typo referring to “gun” violence as “gin” violence which is a far more accurate way to name the root cause of violence. Until our leaders call out the cause of the violence …and it is not GUNS…they will never stop the violence.
This is quite troubling… to say the least.
Also… Attn: TR… type-o in the second sentence “gin violence”
Interesting.
This mayor has never been able to separate his campaign from his official duties. Here is yet another example.
This should be considered a campaign strategy meeting to influence strategic individuals for campaign support. This is so inappropriate and a misuse of office.
I applaud Tallahassee Reports for publishing this information.