There is a sense of disunity in effort to unseat Williams-Cox, analyst says

By St. Clair Murraine
Outlook Staff Writer

A very public effort by current City Commissioners Jeremy Matlow and Jack Porter to unseat their peer Dianne Williams-Cox is – in part – intended to do what was common at least two decades ago.

Porter and Matlow are clearing a path to ascend a like-minded candidate, said Jon Ausman, a longtime political analyst with ties to the Democratic National Committee.  Ausman reeled off a lengthy list of candidates that his party advanced to office.

However, none was done publically as is the case of support for Adner Marcelin by Matlow and Porter. Matlow is an incumbent seeking re-election.

The way Ausman sees it “they are reaching down, and they are trying to create a new ladder of advancement into public service.” He noted that most of those elected got into office without being affiliated with prominent civic organizations, then a common requirement.

Brian Welch’s ouster of longtime commissioner Bryan Desloge from the county commission is an example of the latest push to bring new blood to governing boards, he noted.

“Matlow and Porter are making this into an ideological war,” said Ausman, who admittedly supports Williams-Cox. “I understand that because they are trying to get their third vote so they could change some things at city hall. I understand their frustration with the institution of city hall, the leadership being conservative in the sense they have a set pattern of doing things. I do not mean philosophy that we see at the Washington level.”

Observers see the attack on Williams-Cox as one that could turn the city commission into a progressive majority. Since Porter was elected to the commission two years ago, she and Matlow have mostly cast similar votes on agenda issues. 

Yet, the public push for Marcelin to beat Williams-Cox in the Seat 5 race is unprecedented in local politics. Matlow has assisted with funding, while Porter is doing most of her work on the ground and by social media.

“It’s disheartening,” Williams-Cox said. “I’m very disappointed. We may not always agree and we don’t have to always agree, but I respect them enough to not be out there campaigning against them. That is not how this has been done in the past. I respect protocol, decorum, statesmanship. I would expect the same courtesy.”

Seemingly the linchpin for the turn against Williams-Cox is the stance that she took by voting for the Blueprint Intergovernmental Agency to give $27 million to FSU for renovations at Doak Campbell Stadium.

“Any one that watched those meetings would see that the community was opposed in ways that we never see the community come out against something,” Porter said. “There are always two sides to an issue; people who want to see something happen and those who oppose it. But I’ve never seen the kind of unanimous, united opposition to a decision such as this.”

Marcelin said there were other issues that left him “disappointed” in Williams-Cox record, but the Blueprint vote was the tipping point for his decision to run. On the day he announced his candidacy, his supporters included former city commissioner Debbie Lightsey, former Mayor Dot Inman-Johnson and former county Commissioner Bob Rackleff.

“Doak was a catalyst of many issues that we’ve had with Dianne and her performance as a city commissioner that led me to run,” Marcelin said.

As in most election years, campaigns generally criticize each other’s platform. In this case, it has gotten to where claims are being hurled about what’s true and what’s not.

“The race is contentious because of the issues that our commissioners chose to support,” Marcelin said. “They don’t support our community.”

Marcelin, Porter and Matlow also pointed to financial support that Williams-Cox is getting from Grow Tallahassee.

Williams-Cox in response pointed to money that Matlow has given to PACs known to be supporting Marcelin’s campaign.

“I decided to support Adner Marcelin because he is really a fighter for our neighborhoods,” Matlow said. “He is a fighter for helping people get out of poverty, affordable housing; all the issues that I believe our community cares about. I think having Adner is the best position to help deliver them.”

That claim, however, concerns Connie Evans, who is supporting Williams-Cox’s campaign. She questioned the record of Marcelin who is best known as a former administrator with attorney Ben Crump and for serving as president of the local NAACP.

Williams-Cox, on the other hand, is known for her grassroots community work, her involvement with Leon County Schools and the Planning Commission.

“We are supposed to be able to pick someone based on qualifications; what they can do (and) what they can contribute,” said Evans, a retired administrator with the Department of Education. “This negative campaigning, I’m just not with it.

“Dianne has been out there in the community and these Johnny-come-lately people that are coming with these innuendos, I don’t go along with it. I look at each of the commissioners for their worth and what they have done. What I say to anybody is to look at Dianne’s record and see what she has done.”

A loss for Marcelin and Matlow, who is running against David Bellamy, would leave Porter on the commission to work with Williams-Cox. Such a scenario would have obvious fallout.

Williams-Cox wondered if there would be trust “or do I have to constantly be looking at you as someone who I can’t trust that would do the right thing for our residents.”

Matlow, however, didn’t see an issue if he and Williams-Cox retained their seats. But there are concerns because of Matlow’s public support for Marcelin.

“That doesn’t mean that we can’t leave city commission chambers and be OK,” Matlow said. “Not every decision was easy. I ran for office to make a difference and change the ways we are spending money and direct our dollars to communities that need it the most. We are still not there yet so we’re going to keep pushing until we are.”

Ausman, who predicted that Williams-Cox will win in the primary or face a tough challenge in a runoff, said the odds are high for Matlow and Porter.

“I think they have got to go for the gold on this one,” he said. “Matlow and Porter have to push for the third vote.”