Tallahassee City Commissioner Jeremy Matlow will run for mayor in 2026. That announcement comes the same day Mayor John Dailey announced he would not seek reelection.
Matlow has previously said he would run if Dailey didn't. Now, with Dailey telling the online outlet Tallahassee Reports he will not seek a third term, Matlow says it's time for new city leadership and a new vision.
“People want to see us be more visionary," Matlow says. "They really want to know where we're going as a community. And frankly, they point to the divide on the City Commission—whether that's from the office of the mayor or three-two splits and all those sort of things, and then they think it's really led to the inability to really move the ball forward."
Matlow has been frequently on the losing side of a 3-2 voting bloc on several key issues at City Hall. His opponents have labeled his bloc the progressive faction. But Matlow says he’s unafraid of being seen as a Democrat who is fighting for working people.
“Anytime you talk about affordability for the little guy, you know, all of a sudden you're a progressive, socialist, left-wing, whatever. But really, the right has gotten so extreme that they can't see just what everybody wants,” he says. “We look at policies like the minimum wage or. Or medical marijuana that go to the ballot, these things are overwhelmingly popular. So, I think our politics, while progressive, that's a great label, but I think it's really centered on what the majority of the people and the needs are, and that's what we're pushing for.”
Matlow has significant support coming from Leon County democratic politics. His aide, Ryan Ray, is chair of the Leon Democratic Executive Committee.
But he’s been historically unsuccessful at gaining support from Tallahassee’s business community after frequent bouts with the Tallahassee Chamber of Commerce. He got little financial support from local businesses in his 2022 reelection race in 2022, while many of those businesses funded his opponent.