Factional lines are already getting drawn in Tallahassee elections.
Mayor John Dailey and Tallahassee Commissioner Dianne Williams-Cox have officially endorsed community organizer Talethia Edwards in her bid to be the city’s next commissioner.
Dailey introduced Edwards to the crowd gathered at Earley’s Kitchen for her election launch party Monday evening.
“When we have hurricanes, when we have tornadoes, when as a community, we're dealing with the tough issues that we deal with each and every day, Talethia Edwards has never left this community alone,” Dailey said.
“She has always been in the streets. She has always been a fighter. She has always been a leader. Now, she’s gonna take it to the next level.”
Williams-Cox says Edwards’ community work and long record in Tallahassee means she’s suited for the job.
“Not someone who just come in to for their own whatever. Rah, rah. But because she is invested in a part of our City of Tallahassee, that needed investment, she intends she's raising her children in that community, in this community,” she said.
The seat is open after Commissioner Jeremy Matlow threw his hat in the mayor’s race, where he is so far running unopposed. Several other candidates for the seat, like political consultant Max Herrle and teacher PJ Perez, have ties to those in Matlow’s orbit, but Matlow himself has not weighed in on the field.