Tallahassee City Commissioner Jeremy Matlow is one of four candidates running for mayor of Tallahassee.
Matlow was interviewed on WFSU’s Candidate Convos, a digital series featuring one-on-one interviews with local candidates ahead of the August 18 primaries.
You can watch his full conversation here:
During the conversation, Matlow pushed back on the idea that division on the Tallahassee City Commission is defined by a “three-two split,” saying disagreements are tied to specific policy positions and votes.
“The 3-2 split, it's not a blame, right, it's just positions on policies. When you look at the city commission, 93% of the things we vote on, we vote unanimously," he said. "On the other 7% where I disagree, they're giving our golf course the billionaires, they're raising your taxes and they're destroying our environment, so really when we say a 3-2, we have to look at the actual votes and the issues that are dividing."
Matlow said as mayor he would focus on improving quality of life and retaining young people by making Tallahassee a more attractive place for them to live.
“I think we have to make our community something that young people want to be a part of and live using more walkability, more outdoor spaces, more arts and culture, and live music, more events, more entertainment, all of these sorts of things that improve the quality of life of young adults in their mid 20s and early 30s," he said.
Matlow also discussed the role he believes the mayor should play in addressing disagreements among city commissioners. He said the mayor should focus on bringing the commission together and encouraging public discussion. He did so while criticizing current mayor John Dailey.
“What we don't have right now is a mayor that understands how to bring a collegial body together. We have a mayor that thinks a difference in opinion is a chance to score political points and make personal attacks against commissioners. We've seen that play out meeting after meeting. I think the job of the mayor is to bring everything to a public view, facilitate a public conversation, and let the votes fall where they may," he said.
The mayoral race also includes Loranne Ausley, Daryl Parks, and Michael Foust.
