The race for Seat 2 of the Tallahassee City Commission next year will pit two long-term local politicians against each other: incumbent Curtis Richardson and former mayor Dot Inman-Johnson.
Richardson served on the Leon County School Board and as a state representative before being elected to the commission in 2014. Inman-Johnson was elected to the commission in 1986 and served as mayor in 1989 and 1993, when the position rotated among the commissioners.
“We’re not running against each other,” said Richardson. “I’m running for re-election to the city commission. I have served this community for a number of years. And it has been my honor and pride to serve on the city commission and to make this city be the All-America city it has twice been named for all of her citizens, regardless of where they live.”
“Well, at first I was feeling a little concerned about it, but not anymore because it’s not about our friendship,” said Inman-Johnson. “I hope we will continue to be friends, because this isn’t personal. It’s about the issues. And Curtis has become lazy and hasn’t done what he should do for the whole community.”
Richardson said he’s emphasizing public safety and development of the south side through his leadership of the Blueprint Intergovernmental Agency.
“We’ve got now, of the 32 projects that are slated for the next 5 years, 18 of those are being slated for the south side of town, at a cost of over $270 million,” he said.
Inman-Johnson, who led the Capital Area Community Action Agency for 14 years, said fighting poverty will reduce other city problems.
“You address crime and the pipeline to crime, you address affordable housing, you address transformation -- positive transformation of neighborhoods that have been neglected,” she said.
