Tallahassee City Commission Seat 2 Issue Guide

Tallahassee City Commissioner Curtis Richardson is being challenged by Dot Inman-Johnson, Donna Nyack and Bernard Stevens.

Curtis Richardson has served on the City Commission since 2014 and is seeking a third four-year term in office.

Dot Inman-Johnson is a former Tallahassee mayor seeking elected office after leaving the commission 30 years ago.

Bernard Stevens Jr. is an Uber driver and fast-food restaurant manager who is a frequent speaker at city commission meetings. Stevens is running for elected office for the first time.

Donna Nyack, recently moved to Tallahassee, has never held elected office and is a registered nurse in California.

Provided below are the positions of the candidates based on public records and comments made during public forums.  

Public Safety, Property Taxes

Last year the city commission voted 3-2 to increase property tax increase to fund public safety due to a spike in violent crime. It has become a political issue with progressives using the vote to appeal to conservative voters.

Richardson has said, “it was a difficult decision to raise even a modest increase in the property taxes,” but was needed to address violent crime.

Inman Johnson supported the decision by the city commission to hire more police officers last year to address the spike in violent crime, however she opposed the property tax increase used to fund the decision.

When asked how she would have funded the increased public safety budget without a tax increase, Inman Johnson said she would have phased-in spending for the public safety spending.

On Police Chief Revell, Richardson said he was supporter, while Inman-Johnson indicated she does not have a position of Chief Revell.

On the citizens police review board, Richardson supported keeping the board as an advisory board. Inman-Johnson supported expanding the powers of the board by allowing the citizens group to put police officers under oath when reviewing policing issues.

Stevens has criticized the City’s failure to meaningfully address gun violence in the community. “We have still had shootings, we have still had break-ins, we have still had gang violence — we continue to have those same problems that we’ve been having.”–

Nyack said it’s best to go back to the basics and put the money toward schools “to get to the root of the issue.”

“Get the young people before they get to the level of crime and provide maybe more mentorship programs,” she said.

Amazon

When asked if the $2.5 million economic incentive provided to Amazon by Blueprint was a wise investment, Inman Johnson said “I think it was a good investment based on the jobs.” She also said she wanted more funds allocated to southside infrastructure.

Richardson, who voted for the Amazon incentive, noted the creation of approximately 1,500 jobs and other benefits related to the project.

Northeast Gateway

When asked about the Northeast Gateway project approved by Blueprint, Inman Johnson said she would have voted no. She again advocated for more tax dollars to be invested in southside infrastructure and argued that the benefits from the Northeast Gateway were to far in the future.

Richardson said the Northeast Gateway – which passed – will help facilitate growth and argued the city and Blueprint are making significant investments in the southside.

Commissioner Jeremy Matlow’s PAC

The candidates were asked about Commissioner Matlow’s creation of a political action committee to support progressives candidates, including Porter and Inman Johnson.

Richardson said the action was “totally unacceptable.” Inman Johnson seemed less concerned and noted Richardson’s support from Mayor Dailey and Commissioner Dianne Williams Cox.

Firefighter Contract Negotiations

The negotiations between the firefighter’s union has become a political football. The recent decision by the special magistrate has been accepted by the city and the firefighter union is evaluating the recommendation.

Richardson defended the process and noted he has been supported by the firefighter’s union in all his previous elections.

Inman-Johnson who was endorsed by the union during this election cycle, said the city commission should play a more constructive role in negotiations and added that firefighters deserve the same pay and benefits as police officers.

Stevens said the standoff has taken way too long.

“The collective bargaining process is something that they decide to just drag along to put people out of work, have more firefighters quit. This is something that doesn’t take all day to fix,” he said.

Inman-Johnson blamed that standoff still happening on Richardson, saying he missed an executive session to give city management direction on how to handle negotiations and hasn’t supported forcing a resolution at city meetings.

Richardson responded by saying it was not his place to interfere with the collective bargaining process that is outlined in state statute. He also gave his reasoning for not being at the session.

To Richardson, the standoff has turned political.