Mounds of issues prompt Inman-Johnson to challenge Richardson

By St. Clair Murraine
Outlook Staff Writer

During the two decades that Dot Inman-Johnson has been out of city government, she’s seen and heard a lot about what doesn’t work for the marginalized communities.

It’s gotten to a boiling point, pushing her to file to run for Seat 2 on the City Commission in the 2024 election. Her target is incumbent Commissioner Curtis Richardson, who is in his third term. 

“I got to this point because I was very unhappy with decisions over the last few years of the city commission that I didn’t think were in the interests of all the public,” said Inman-Johnson, “especially people who live at the lower end of the income scale.”

Inman-Johnson said she’s considered Richardson a friend for the 30 years that she’s known him. Deciding to run isn’t about their friendship as much as it is about people that she believes the commission isn’t serving, she said.

“This is about issues,” Inman-Johnson said. “This is about our community. This is about priorities. This is about making sure that the people who are always left out and their needs are not met somehow gets attention.”

Richardson didn’t respond directly to any of the issues raised by Inman-Johnson, saying only that he intends to run for a chance to retain his seat.

“I’m planning to run for re-election and I will run on my record,” said Richardson, a veteran politician who served on the Leon County School Board and was a state representative for eight years.

A school teacher for 28 years before she was first elected to the city commission in 1986, Inman-Johnson spent two terms as mayor of Tallahassee. She was the first Black woman to hold a seat on the commission as well as being mayor, her last term starting in 1993.

Inman-Johnson spent 14 years with the Capital Area Community Action Agency. She also was the city manager of Midway.

A throng of supporters were on hand last Tuesday when Inman-Johnson filed at the Leon County Supervisor of Elections office. 

Inman-Johnson said she decided to return to politics after her pleas for change in direction from the current board fell on deaf ears. She mentioned poverty and affordable housing as two issues that should be priorities.

She made as much known to commission members at their retreat, even having telephone conversations about them with Richardson, she said.

“You can gloss over it all you want by using percentages of what people say about how they feel about Tallahassee with their annual survey,” Inman-Johnson said of poverty. “But many of those 26.1 percent people living in poverty in Tallahassee are doubtful they were included in those surveys or whatever poll was being conducted.”

Focusing more on affordable apartment rental rather than affordable home ownership is what Inman-Johnson believes a better option for the city.

“That’s where our biggest problem is in this community,” she said.

Inman-Johnson obviously has concerns about other policies set by the commission that includes the city’s zero tolerance for drug use by employees. Namely she mentioned a report that surfaced earlier this year about drug use by a TPD officer who tested positive and didn’t get fired. She also took issue with the way a HR director was terminated and a TPD contract negotiated.

She also mentioned that she found giving $20 million from Blueprint Intergovernmental Agency to FSU for stadium renovation to be disturbing.

As much as Inman-Johnson wants to bring change to the commission, she seemingly realize that will be only possible if she could break a 3-2 voting bloc on the board. The majority is made up of commissioners Richardson and Dianne Williams-Cox along with Mayor John Dailey.  Commissioners Jack Porter and Jeremy Matlow make up the dissenting votes.

However, the makeup of the commission could also be determined by the race for Seat 1. Community advocate Rudy Ferguson recently announced a bid for Porter’s seat.

Inman-Johnson’s becomes the latest candidate who intends to upend the current majority in city hall. Last election circle, Adner Marcelin, who is known to be aligned with Porter and Matlow, unsuccessfully challenged Williams-Cox. 

There were two other reasons that Inman-Johnson said she is committed to her campaign.

“No. 1, to deliver that third deciding vote on the commission back to the people, the residents of this community,” she said. “No. 2, to make sure to ensure that every one of those almost 4,000 employees in city government feel respected, valued and treated fairly for their dedicated service to the citizens and the city because they are the true faces of Tallahassee, not the people occupying the executive offices who seem to get all of the attention.”