By james art 
Tallahassee Mayor John Daley assesses the city’s response to the winter storm
Tallahassee Mayor John Daley assesses the city’s response to the winter storm
There is no shortage of politicians whose names are being bandied about as potential 2026 Tallahassee mayoral candidates.
Chief among them is the mayor himself, John Daley, who, after serving three terms as a county commissioner and winning two hard-fought mayoral races, is said to be hesitant to seek a third term.
Daley, who leads a 3-2 majority on the City Commission, has not made any official announcements about his political future. However, he signaled to an aide last summer that he did plan to file again.
“He’s running,” Dionte Gavin, Daley’s chief of staff, told the Democrat in August. “And the mayor is clearly focused on moving the city forward. He leads the charge. “
Daley gave absolutely no indication that he might not run again Thursday when he spoke to reporters outside City Hall.
“We’re doing a great job,” he said, “and in a year or so I’m going to sit down with the family, have a great conversation, figure out what our next move is going to be, whether it’s re-election or not, and we’ll make announcements from there. “
Last summer, the rumor mill was in overdrive not only about whether Daley would run again, but who might have ambitions to succeed him, from sitting city and county commissioners to former lawmakers and members of Congress.
“The bigger rumor is that he’s not going to run,” said Gary Yorden, a veteran political consultant and former Leon County commissioner. “I don’t believe it. He seems to be enjoying the job. And you know, that kind of look in someone’s eyes when they’ve had enough. I haven’t seen this look. “
Others, even some of his closest supporters, are not so sure. Just before the new year, Gregory James, a pastor and nonprofit executive, posted a photo on Facebook of him and former US reporter Al Lawson at a local Waffle House. He told Lawson that the mayoral position would “look good on you” and asked him to consider a run.
James, a Daley supporter, said in an interview that he had not spoken to the mayor about his plans. But he said: “It’s floating around that he no longer does.”
“If our city is going to move forward, there has to be a viable candidate running,” said James, who is running for a state House seat in 2022. “I see (Lawson) as that.”
The list of potential mayoral candidates is long if Daley leaves the seat open and up for grabs. It’s much shorter if he decides he wants to stay put, perhaps limited to only outside-chance candidates.
No one has filed to run for any city or county office in 2026, let alone the mayor’s race.
More than half a dozen have been mentioned as possible candidates, including Bill Montford, a former school superintendent and state senator, and Laurent Ousley, a former state representative who succeeded Montford in the Senate but lost to Sen. Cory Simon, R-Tallahassee, in 2022.
Mondford, who gave $500 to Daley’s 2022 campaign, did not return a phone call. Ausley was seriously injured last year in a bicycle accident and returned home earlier this month from a spinal cord and brain injury rehabilitation center in Atlanta.
Here are other names that have surfaced as potential mayoral candidates:
Leon County Commissioner Christian Caban
Caban, first elected to District Commission 2 in 2022. and re-elected last year without opposition, has not ruled out running for mayor in a Democrat text. He said he was “humbled” by the support of community leaders who believe “we can serve our community at a higher level.”
“It means our brand of community-focused leadership is being noticed and appreciated, which is really nice to hear,” Caban wrote. “Having just been re-elected to serve District 2, my current focus is to continue delivering wins for our neighbors so we can make Leon and Tallahassee counties the best place in the state to live, work and raise a family.”
Since taking office, Caban has played an outspoken role on the Blueprint Commission and Board and has been highly visible during disasters, standing by Gov. Ron DeSantis during a press conference on Hurricane Idalia in 2023.
Caban, managing partner of Wolf Hospitality Group, which owns the Den, Clyde’s and Costello’s and The Governor’s Inn, also has more than $125,000 in his political committee should the mayoral opportunity arise.
Former Congresswoman Gwen Graham
Graham, an attorney, served in Congress from 2014 to 2016, earning a reputation as one of its more bipartisan members. She decided not to seek re-election after redistricting her district into two, one in the GOP-friendly 2nd District and the other in the minority 5th District.
The daughter of the late Florida Gov. Bob Graham, she ran for Florida governor herself in 2018, but was edged out by then-Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum, who went on to lose the general election to Desantis. She later served on the city’s independent board of ethics.
In 2021 she was nominated by President Joe Biden and confirmed by the Senate as Assistant Secretary for Legislation and Congressional Affairs in the US Department of Education.
Graham, who recently stepped down from the department ahead of President-elect Donald Trump’s arrival, is back in town but declined to comment for this story.
Former US Congressman Al Lawson Jr.
Lawson, a former Florida A&M basketball star and Florida State University basketball coach, spent a combined 28 years as a Democrat in the Florida House and Senate.
In 2016 he was elected to Congress after the Fifth District was redistricted to include Tallahassee. Six years later, after the minority access district was erased by redistricting, he lost to Rep. Neil Dunn, R-Panama City, in a redrawn GOP-friendly 2nd District.
“I’ve been asked by many business leaders in the community if I might consider running for mayor,” he said. “They thought I could really bridge the gap on the committee, which is so divided, and I could get something done because I have a history of being able to work with Republicans and Democrats over the years.”
But he said a legal challenge to redistricting is still pending before the Florida Supreme Court. He also said he supported Daley and had not “considered it seriously”. He said he told James at The Waffle House that it “wasn’t on my radar.”
Leon County Commissioner Nick Maddox
Maddox, a former FSU and professional football player, won re-election to his fourth term as one of two county commissioners in the 2022 district, fending off several challengers in the process.
He serves as the executive director of Family Promise of the Big Bend, which provides shelter and services to people experiencing homelessness. An ally and friend of Daley’s, he has also long been said to have his eyes on the mayor’s office.
However, Maddox said in an email that he has no current plans to run for mayor.
“I’ve informally reached out to people who suggest I should consider running for mayor of Tallahassee,” he said. “I may reconsider one day, but for now I’m happy in my current job and I’m looking forward to all the important work we do in the county.”
Tallahassee City Commissioner Jeremy Matlow
Matlow, who won by nearly 12 points for re-election in 2022, is seeking a third term in 2026. Part of the City Commission’s progressive minority and a vocal critic of City Hall management, he expressed interest in running for mayor in an unpublished 2023 interview. with a Democrat, but never made any follow-up announcements.
Last year, after an election that saw his lone commission ally, Commissioner Jack Porter, easily win but other progressives lose, who were backed by Matlow and his one policy committee Tallahassee, he announced he was dropping X, before Twitter and the Democrat. He recently declined to speak to a reporter, citing a column he wrote accusing a Democrat of right-wing bias.
Ryan Ray, an aide to Matlow and chairman of the Leon County Democratic Executive Committee, would not comment on whether his city boss might run for mayor. However, as DEC chairman, he offered remarks in a text, citing a city commission candidate who was accused last year of being a GOP plant.
“It’s unclear whether Republicans will back a Democrat for mayor again or perhaps run another spoiler candidate like Donna Nick,” Ray said. “In any case, I am confident that a strong Democrat will be elected in 2026.”
Leon County Commissioner Rick Minor
Minor, first elected to the District 3 Commission seat in 2018, has been mentioned for years as a potential mayoral candidate. In 2022 he easily defeats two competitors, winning the main straight and avoiding the drain.
He served as chief of staff to former Mayor John Marks, was an adviser to Charlie Crist and others, and served as Leon County chairman. He was critical of the current direction of the local Democratic Party, saying it needs to be more inclusive of Democrats of all stripes.
Minor told the Democrat in an email that “at this point” he plans to run for a third District Commission term in 2026.
“I love the work and I think the voters of District 3 are really happy with the work we’re doing,” he said. “However, some people have suggested that I run for mayor if it’s an open seat. Regardless of who runs, the community wants their next mayor to be focused on building bridges, not walls. “
Leon County Commissioner Bill Proctor
Proctor, first elected to the county commission in 1996, has long been an outspoken advocate for District 1. Although he’s never shown much interest in other political work, he didn’t dispel rumors of a possible mayoral bid when asked by Yordon last year on Talkshow, he hosted, “the usual suspects.”
“That’s a good rumor,” Proctor said. “I love rumours.” He went on to say that Tallahassee was “bigger than where we are now” and that the capital was “in labor.”
Proctor endorsed Daley in 2022, but said he’s now leaning more toward Matlow and Porter. In an interview with the Democrat, he put his chances for a mayoral run at “Low to medium, not high because I love my district.” However, he said he is so upset by the lack of city sewers and other services in his area that he is considering it.
“We shouldn’t have to put our sewage in the backyard, in a big old concrete block, and everyone else’s sewage is put into a pipe and will be disposed of in a state-of-the-art, 21st century way.” That eliminates me and is enough to run for mayor. “
Leon County Commissioner Brian Welch
Welch, a social studies teacher at Chiles, went from a political unknown to filling in for longtime District 4 county commissioner in a shocking upset in 2020.
Last year, Welch, a Democrat serving in the county’s most conservative district, crushed a well-funded GOP-backed candidate by more than 20 points. Welch raised even more, taking a quarter of a million dollars into his individual account, second only to City Commissioner Curtis Richardson among local candidates.
Welch told the Democrat that while he had considered running for mayor, he was “not interested.” He said he is “very happy” serving in his current role and that was to run for mayor, he would have to quit his job as a full-time teacher.
“Mayor of Tallahassee is a very important position — you have the ability to have a huge impact on the betterment of the community,” Welch said. “So in that respect, it’s obviously attractive to anyone who is already serving. But for me at present there will be significant downsides to this. “
Contact Jeff Burlew at [email protected] or 850-599-2180.