Tallahassee City Attorney Cassandra Jackson is resigning from her position after five years on the job.
Her sudden resignation is effective Nov. 24, according to a proposed contract amendment that will go before city commissioners next week. The amendment says Jackson will stay on as a city employee/consultant through June 1, 2024. She will maintain the same salary and benefits.
It’s not clear if Jackson submitted a letter of resignation.
However, the agenda item added Thursday comes after City Commissioner Jeremy Matlow blasted Assistant City Manager Wayne Tedder in videos posted Oct. 30 on X, formerly Twitter, for excluding Jackson from text messages with an attorney representing Jacksonville-based GreenPointe Developers, the company behind a 900-acre development within “The Heel” of the Welaunee Plantation property.
“City manager tells developer’s lawyer that our City Attorney lacks the credentials and knowledge to contribute to this “level of work,” Matlow tweeted in reference to Tedder’s text to attorney Gary Hunter.
Matlow said he believes the resignation was prompted by “the nature of the work environment.” He called Jackson’s resignation “heartbreaking.”
“We have a city management office that has been trying to work around her for months, conspiring with developers, attorneys to get conflicting legal advice,” Matlow said. “She just sees that when you look at where city government is now and where the majority of the commission is taking us, I think she just doesn’t feel like she has the support to continue.”
Before the agenda modification was released, Commissioner Dianne Williams-Cox told the Democrat that she “could not confirm or deny” whether Jackson resigned as the city attorney.
“Regarding Cassandra and what she is doing and not doing, that it’s up to her to decide what she wants to say about that,” Williams-Cox said. “If you want a confirmation or denial, you need to talk to the city attorney.”
Jackson was not immediately available for comment. City management has not released a statement on her resignation and subsequent work assignment.
Jackson, an appointed official who answers to the City Commission, was hired in April 2018 and had served as the deputy city attorney for two years before taking the position.
She received her Bachelor and Juris Doctorate degree with high honors from Stetson University. According to the city, Jackson is a member in good standing with The Florida Bar, United States Circuit Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida, and the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida.
Contact Reporter TaMaryn Waters at tlwaters@tallahassee.com. Follow @TaMarynWaters on X.