After disparaging text messages from a top city staffer came to light, a city of Tallahassee attorney’s abrupt resignation continues to reverberate through the Florida capital city’s political landscape.
This week’s Blueprint Board meeting was the latest flashpoint when some elected commissioners said they wanted to bring civility back to City Hall, Blueprint public meetings and backdoor communications that are public records based on Florida’s Sunshine laws.
Some members of the Intergovernmental Agency Blueprint Board, made up of both city and county commissioners, wanted an official statement of decorum to be drafted while others swatted down the idea.
In what some are calling “Text-gate,” the instant messages’ targets have been varied. Some came from a text thread of top city executives and were aimed at elected IA board members, a public speaker and a journalist. Subsequent messages included digs at Blueprint Attorney Susan Dawson and City Attorney Cassandra Jackson, who announced her resignation effective Nov. 24.
In a statement to the Democrat, Jackson cited “personal reasons” for her decision to leave and stay on as a legal consultant until June 2024. The announcement, however, came days after text messages surfaced between Assistant City Manager Wayne Tedder and a developer’s lawyer saying that Jackson “lacks the credentials, knowledge and experience with the issues to make a positive contribution to this level of work.”
Jackson’s decision to depart the city, and the circumstances surrounding it, stunned some in the legal community who consider her to be highly capable.
“My sense of her is that she’s always been a consummate professional who has conducted herself personally and professionally with grace always,” said Michael Spellman, whose firm does outside legal work for the city.
“I have worked with many lawyers in my 50 years as a judge and lawyer and I can say with confidence that Ms. Jackson is one of the best,” Philip Padavano, a retired appellate judge, wrote in a letter published in the Tallahassee Democrat. “She could have been a senior partner in an elite law firm by now, but she chose public service instead.”
As of Tuesday’s Blueprint meeting, City Commissioner Jeremy Matlow noted the city has not officially commented on the texts or Jackson’s resignation. He apologized to colleagues for city executive’s texts poking fun at County Commissioner Christian Caban that were related to his pronunciation of “transparency.” At another point, Tedder called a motion by Bill Proctor about multi-million dollar projects “embarrassing.”
“This issue has not found closure. There has been no recognition publicly,” Matlow told his fellow commissioners. “I do think, as a board, as the Blueprint Agency, we can’t continue to allow those types of messages to go out.
“I’ve heard some pushback, saying, ‘Well, what about what the board members say on social media or what about what I’ve said to board members?'” And I apologize for that as well,” said Matlow, who’s been very critical of fellow commissioners on his social media. “I don’t know how we move forward without putting it all on the table and directing this agency to take us in a new direction.”
Matlow made a motion to bring back an agenda item on an official statement of decorum. It was deemed improper by attorney Dawson because it’s not in the board’s purview to control the behavior of staffers.
County commissioner unloads on City Hall: ‘Get your staff under control’
Commissioners on the receiving end of the text messages made it clear they didn’t appreciate the back-door commentary.
Proctor, who promised he would be sending out a formal letter on the topic, said disciplinary action and training is needed for city staffers after text messages reveal what he calls a “cozy” relationship with developers and disrespect toward elected officials.
During the meeting, he directed his gaze to County Administrator Vince Long and City Attorney Reese Goad sitting on the dais. They make up the Intergovernmental Management Committee and Proctor said, “I’m asking y’all to get your staff under control.”
He told the Tallahassee Democrat that Tedder should be suspended for his role in a text exchange aimed at Jackson and her stance in the negotiation process involving “The Heel” at Welanunee, a major 900-acre master community development.
Tedder, who was not in attendance at the meeting though he usually attends, has not responded to requests for comment.
A series of texts became public last week between Tedder and Gary Hunter, an attorney representing The Heel in a development agreement contract with the city.
The company’s development includes plans to build a new road that will cut across a portion of Miccosukee Greenway — an issue that has alarmed cyclists and other greenway users, who feel caught off guard.
Proctor described Tedder as a “seasoned and professional administrator” who should know better than to discuss terms with a legal nature without the city attorney or her representative present. Proctor said it’s “unethical for a lawyer to speak to another side who’s represented by lawyers.”
Matlow said Jackson raised concerns with Tedder in an email with Attorney General opinions that said it’s “inappropriate and off base for opposing counsel to negotiate without our attorneys present.”
The texts show the developer’s attorney exclaiming at one point that Jackson “has lost her damn mind,” and at another thanking Tedder for his “friendship.”
“The relationship obviously is cozy. It speaks to a friendliness that is over and beyond professional bounds,” Proctor said. “Wayne has changed jerseys based on what I’m able to see through the writings that I’ve seen, and I understand I haven’t seen everything because this is the tip of the iceberg. But, he ain’t wearing the same color uniform of the city and the county with this particular man.”
At Tuesday’s meeting, Proctor had his own friction with Blueprint’s attorney when he was frustrated by Dawson’s explanation of the IA’s authority.
Dawson said, in her legal opinion, the Intergovernmental Management Committee, made up of the city manager and county administrator, reports to their respective commissions and those boards are solely authorized to give them direction. The IA Board, she said, can give direction on Blueprint projects only.
“I don’t care what this attorney has to say about that,” Proctor said, interrupting the attorney at multiple points through the night. At one point he said he didn’t “respect” her legal advice and at another he interjected that commissioners shouldn’t be governed by Robert’s Rules of Order because “Robert is dead.”
“This thing is jacked up,” he said. “This body has no power to make comments of how our staff should conduct themselves to citizens.”
County Commissioner David O’Keefe agreed with text calling Blueprint attorney ‘absolutely awful’
A Leon County commissioner also had his own private message issues as recently released text exchanges revealed how elected officials and constituents, particularly campaign supporters, interact with one another before, during and after meetings.
In a text exchange obtained by the Tallahassee Democrat between Leon County Commissioner David O’Keefe and campaign supporter Bill Peebles, they directed their ire at Blueprint’s attorney, Susan Dawson, and Blueprint Agency director Autumn Caldwell.
When Peebles made a comment about Dawson being “absolutely awful,” O’Keefe replied by saying, “Agreed.”
“I agree with a lot of the comments that were stated here and also I believe that we all make mistakes myself very much included,” O’Keefe said, during the Blueprint meeting. “The key to doing so in moving on is to acknowledge it and make a commitment toward improvement.”
City Commissioner Curtis Richardson said he’s been in public office for two dozen years and never had to be directed on how to conduct himself. He raised his city-issued cell phone from the inside of his blazer and held it up.
“I will give you my city issued telephone,” he said, putting it on the table. “Look at it. If you find a text or email anywhere in there where I’m being derogatory to one of my colleagues, here it is. I’m offering it to you right now.
“Don’t come to me now telling me that you want some kind of statement of how we should behave when we should have been behaving that way all along.”
Contact Reporter TaMaryn Waters at tlwaters@tallahassee.com. Follow @TaMarynWaters on X.
