After almost two weeks of not responding to interview requests, Tallahassee City Commission candidate Donna Nyack spoke Tuesday with WFSU News.
She denied claims that she isn’t a serious candidate. Nyack not speaking with the press and not putting out campaign material after filing caused some experts to express concern that she could be a so called “ ghost candidate.” That’s a candidate who runs to siphon votes from other candidates instead of trying to win after being put up to it by a political consultant.
Nyack said that doesn’t describe her.
“First of all, what would be my motivation to do that? No, my real motivation is to serve the people of Tallahassee and make this city a better place,” she said.
Nyack said no political consultants have spoken to her about running and she has not hired any.
“I don't feel that every candidate has to do, you know, mirror each other. Just because other candidates, you know, campaign in a way that they do doesn't mean that I have to do it the exact same way. So no, am not a ghost candidate. I am very real. I'm very serious about representing the City of Tallahassee,” she said.
A California native and retired nurse, Nyack said she and her husband moved to the city in November looking for a fresh start in semi-retirement. She said she got the idea to run for office after watching city commission meetings online.
“I just started following and digging in, doing more research, and realized that I would be perfect at that role. Actually, due to my critical thinking skills, nurses were holistic thinkers. We think of the whole picture,” she said.
A registered Republican, she said she would want to target affordable housing and homelessness in office. She believes homelessness has gotten overwhelming in states like California, and doesn’t want that in her new community.
“It's really a sad, sad thing to see when I go back to visit there, to see how, how it's changed, and how it's really, you know, affected the citizens that live there. And I would hate to see Tallahassee go down that road,” she said.
Nyack will be on the ballot against City Commissioner Curtis Richardson, former Mayor Dot Inman-Johnson, and Bernard Stevens Jr. during the August 20th primary.