On April 5th, the Village Square hosted the 11th annual Tallahassee Town Hall with City of Tallahassee and Leon County Commissioners participating. Tom Flanigan from FSU News moderated the event and engaged the commissioners in a discussion about issues important to the residents of our community.
City Commissioners Dianne Williams Cox, Curtis Richardson and Jack Porter were the first panel to address questions by Mr. Flanigan. They were asked to address the recent arrests that took place at City Hall during an evening protest for abortion rights.
Jack Porter claimed peaceful protesters shouldn’t be arrested, and that they weren’t disrupting any government function or being a danger to others. However, Dianne Williams Cox and Curtis Richardson noted that the protesters had been warned numerous times about the rules for protesting, which included no tents or camping in the city park and to leave by sundown. Some individuals did not follow the ordinance, and went as far as telling police officers they planned on being arrested.
Jack Porter claimed renter protection and diversion programs is the best way to keep people in their homes when asked about short-and-long-term solutions for homelessness and affordable housing. Dianne Williams Cox noted how ordinances have changed to allow for old vacant hotels and office buildings to be refurbished to create affordable/workforce housing.
Leon County Commissioners Brian Welch, David O’Keefe, Nick Maddox and Rick Minor participated in the Town Hall. When asked if public safety and crime was being addressed successfully, Rick Minor stated, “You can now conceal a weapon without having a background check, without having a permit … Frankly, that’s going to make things a lot harder for us and every other community in this state to crack down on shooting and murders.”
David O’Keefe commented on the Sheriff’s new target of getting 100% of minors who would be arrested sent to pre-arrest diversion. Previously, the goal was 70%. O’Keefe noted this way kids can have a chance without being, “shuffled into the criminal justice system”.
County Commissioners discussed the impacts that state preemption is having on local governments. Chairman Nick Maddox stated, “It’s an all-out attack on local government.” He went on to ask everyone in the room to raise their hand if they would rather go to the state legislature to argue a bill than going to the County Commission. Nobody raised their hand. He continued, “It takes the power away from us to do what you ask us to do and puts it in the state legislature’s hands.”
Village Square Hosts 11th Annual Town Hall added by Tristyn Leigh on
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Smart people seek peace, safety, and security, so they naturally move as far away as possible from sketchy areas. Mostly, the fools are left behind. Fools in sketchy areas vote for other fools, and abracadabra, we have articles like this. Yes, local governments should do the right thing, but they won’t. That’s why the state has to step in. Thankfully, our state government isn’t by idiots as in other states.
Let’s break it all down in simple takeaways shall we…
1. Porter believes that you should be allowed to ignore laws and LEOs… so long as you’re a Marxicrat and/or love to kill innocent babies. She also believes that the way to address homelessness is a zero accountability mentality and free (aka: taxpayer-funded) housing.
2. Williams Cox and Richardson believe that Porter is incompetent and insane, but found a nice way to say it.
3. Minor believes that law abiding citizens should not be allowed to defend or protect themselves from criminals who seek to do them harm… oh, and he apparently thinks that criminals follow the laws.
4. O’Keefe believes that minors and young adults – who many say are responsible enough to cut off their private parts and pretend to be a different gender – that “would” (should) be arrested and taught a lesson… instead should be shuffled into a time-out room… likely with full and free access to video games and the internet mind you.
5. Minor doesn’t know the difference between a true Home Rule Charter and a Limited Home Rule Charter… and thinks that those who do, are bullies and everyone should hate them… oh… and that Democracy sucks, and everyone should just do what he says.
… that about sums it up
Commr. Porter is much more in line with our interests and values than current TPD/PBA
Uh, someone tell Minor murderers could already conceal a weapon without a background check. Now the rest of us nonviolent residents can too.
@Cannonfodder — Mass shooting are driving the discussion because the media continues to sensationalize them to see newspapers, air time, and advertising. Like most sane folks, I wish that they didn’t happen. But the simple truth is that far more people die every year from other weapons in other settings. By for the “worst” is the black-on-black crime where the weapon of choice is a simple handgun. Sometimes it’s a semi-auto, other times it’s a revolver. But more blacks are killed with handguns than children are killed with AR15s.
The message, to me, is loud and clear. As long as blacks are primarily killing other blacks, it’s not a problem. The survivors can always make more Democrat voters. But let someone kill whites with a scary looking rifle and SOMETHING MUST BE DONE!!!
Do you know that the AR-15 is a glorified .22 rifle? Its .223 round is such an inefficient killer that most states with large game (deer, elk, moose, etc.) outlaw its use in hunting for anything other than varmints (rabbits, squirrels, etc.)
It’s time we take the conversation from the sensational to the sane. We didn’t have these issues when I was a kid. What’s changed? It certainly isn’t the weaponry, so let’s figure out what the real cause is and address it.
Do you know the difference between a Fairy Tale and a Sea Story?
I watched the townhall without puking. Curtis Richardson said, the City bought between 8 and 10 Electric Buses. He spent like a Billion dollars and knows he gets at least 8 buses, maybe more.
Florida Legislators weren’t forced by leadership to arm local citizens. They were HEAVILY lobbied, i.e., bribed by the NRA to continue to allow owning certain weapons that mass shooters love love love to use to kill lots of people as fast as possible.
Watch for an increase in innocent bystanders getting hit by stray bullets from nonpermitted weapons carriers.
(And I’m a voting republican with a concealed carry permit, and with cops on my family.)
Just enjoy the crime….because Democrats don’t put Constituents in jail.
Your right to protest does allow you to tresspass, destroy and steal.
And by all means let’s give 100 percent of criminals another chance as a matter of principle.
Rick Minor, his local minions, and leadership in liberal cities in Florida have shown less than a zero interest in “to crack down on shooting and murders” in fact leadership such as the type Rick Minor and his minions have provided in liberal cities accross Florida has produced an Increase in shootings and murders.
The Florida Legislators were forced by leadership such as provided by Rick Minor to arm the local citizens.
Thank you Florida Legislature for giving citizens a fighting chance against Rick Minor’s Leon/Tallahassee crime wave of shootings and murders.
Watch the shooting/murder rate drop in Leon/Tallahassee and state wide due to the wise actions of our state legislature.