Tallahassee City Commission, Seat 3
Type of race: Non-partisan
Who can vote: All registered voters in the city of Tallahassee
What’s next: If no one candidate gets more than half the vote in the Aug. 18 primary, the top two vote-getters go on to the Nov. 3 general election.
How much does this position pay: $99,167
Darryl “Dar Wavemaker” Alfred
Age: 33
Profession: Professional driver and gig worker; Realtor; community organizer; grower; environmental advocate; small business owner and advocate; broadcast/media production worker.
Qualifications: Tallahassee-raised working-class candidate with hands-on experience in housing, transportation, local business, technology, environmental work, civic engagement, and direct resident outreach.
Website: darfortallahassee.com
Q: How will you restore collegiality on the commission and bring down the temperature at City Hall?
A: I will be solutions-based and community-oriented, not performative. I want to hear every voice and perspective, and I value living in a city where many opinions and answers exist. That means we need more people at the table, not less. I support public workshops, community town halls, clearer timelines, easier-to-understand data, and more space for residents to be heard before decisions become outrage. I will disagree directly when needed, but not use public service for political theater. Collegiality means truth, respect, and staying in the room until the people’s work is done.
Q: What’s the single biggest issue in this race?
A: The biggest issue is whether Tallahassee will work for everyday people or keep being shaped by insiders, institutions, and those closest to power. We rely too heavily on good football, state government, medical money, and college-driven growth while many residents are pushed farther from opportunity and access. I am the only working-class candidate in this race. We need an “Evergreen Economy”: Year-round entertainment, small business, arts, food, culture, and opportunity that brings people here from the surrounding region, while making Tallahassee more affordable, accessible, and rooted. We should be a destination, not a pit stop.
Tom Derzypolski
Age: 51
Profession: Small business owner (BowStern Marketing Communications)
Qualifications: “As a business owner, veteran, and longtime nonprofit board member, I bring 25 years of leadership, fiscal responsibility, collaboration, and dedication to serving Tallahassee residents.”
Website: www.TomForTallahassee.com
Q: How will you restore collegiality on the commission and bring down the temperature at City Hall?
A: Restoring collegiality starts with leadership by example. I will treat every commissioner with respect, even when we disagree, and focus discussions on facts, not personalities. I’ll seek to understand my fellow commissioners’ goals and work to find ways to help them serve our community. I am a fierce advocate for open communication and will work to seek common ground, rather than focusing on our differences. I will listen first, assume good intentions, and keep the focus on serving Tallahassee’s residents rather than political differences. Working respectfully and collaboratively, the public will benefit from a renewed confidence in City Hall.
Q: What’s the single biggest issue in this race?
A: A fundamental challenge is too many people have lost confidence in their local government’s ability to get things done. The dysfunction and lack of transparency at City Hall is evident, and distract us from addressing the issues that matter most. Our neighbors deserve leaders who collaborate to strengthen our economy, expand affordable housing, improve public safety, and seize transformative opportunities. Until we improve here, we will continue to see the lack of results that have left our community so frustrated. Tallahassee’s future depends on leadership that puts progress ahead of politics. This is exactly how I will lead.
Talethia Edwards
Age: 43
Profession: Urban planner by training, executive director of Good News Outreach
Qualifications: “An accomplished urban planner, nonprofit executive, and small business owner, Talethia has spent her career turning ideas into action.”
Website: https://www.talethiaedwards.com/
Q: How will you restore collegiality on the commission and bring down the temperature at City Hall?
A: Collegiality begins by recognizing that no one person has all the answers. Throughout my career, I have facilitated community conversations, led listening sessions, created diverse task forces, and negotiated solutions among residents, businesses, nonprofits, and government. My approach is rooted in collaboration, collective listening, and finding common ground without requiring complete agreement. As a commissioner, I will prioritize relationship building, early stakeholder engagement, and respectful dialogue before issues become divisive. People support what they help create. When every voice is heard and every perspective is respected, better decisions are made and trust in government grows.
Q: What’s the single biggest issue in this race?
A: The biggest issue is trust. Residents want to know their city government is listening, making responsible decisions, and delivering results that improve everyday life. That means balancing growth with affordability, investing in infrastructure and neighborhoods, creating economic opportunity, and ensuring every community feels seen and heard. This race is about restoring confidence that City Hall works for everyone, not just those with the loudest voices. I bring a proven record of building partnerships, solving problems, and turning community input into measurable results. That’s the leadership Tallahassee needs now.
Maxwell “Max” Herrle
Age: 36
Profession: Organizer, political consultant
Qualifications: Tallahassee native. Labor & neighborhood organizer and city historian. “Built working people’s power. Killed bad deals, built winning coalitions.”
Website: maxfortallahassee.com
Q: How will you restore collegiality on the commission and bring down the temperature at City Hall?
A: Collegiality doesn’t mean everyone agrees. It means a commission that shows up to work, occasionally disagrees on important issues and then actually delivers for working people. Right now, we’re divided because we disagree on fundamental questions: Should growth be sprawl or inside the city? Should City Hall work for developers or for residents? We’re going to bring the public in with a new era of public engagement and participatory budgeting around important kitchen table issues like affordable housing, lowering your utility bills and making it more affordable to live in Tallahassee. We can cut your electric bill $65/month.
Q: What’s the single biggest issue in this race?
A: Public power. Affordable housing, walkable streets, jobs that pay a real living wage, who gets to surveil us, it all flows from one central question: does City Hall actually work for working people or for corporate interests? We keep our utilities, land, and infrastructure or they’ll hand them to private companies like Flock and FPL that don’t answer to us. They want sky high property taxes here like Miami. We cannot give away our power grid to out-of-state control. We’ll build a walkable, affordable Tallahassee, connecting our coolest parts of town with housing, arts, groceries, music and more.
PJ Perez
Age: 46
Profession: High school world history teacher and after-school music program director
Qualifications: Career educator: 16 years teaching (13 at SAIL, 3 at TCA). AmeriCorps VISTA background in youth and neighborhood-association work. “I bring trust built through service.”
Website: https://www.pjfortallahassee.com/
Q: How will you restore collegiality on the commission and bring down the temperature at City Hall?
A: I’d model direct, respectful dialogue myself: you can oppose a colleague’s vote without questioning their character. Lower temperature starts with commissioners treating residents and each other the way we’d want our own kids treated at school. My years in the classroom have shaped my ability as a listener, communicator, and leader. As a U.S. government and world history teacher, I’ve come to appreciate the special role local government plays in people’s daily lives. A direct line from citizens to a government they can trust is essential to our success.
Q: What’s the single biggest issue in this race?
A: My 16 years in public education, plus two years working on the Southside, have shown me the complexity and universality of our affordability crisis. It touches nearly every family here, and I see the consequences directly in my classroom. We need a city that listens, builds trust, and helps people thrive. Struggle is part of life and part of growth, but so is dignity. Access to resources and education are the building blocks of that growth. Investment there isn’t a handout; it’s seed money for a brighter and more prosperous future this whole city shares in.
Norm Roche
Age: 64
Profession: Currently works in retail
Qualifications: A diverse and successful career in both the private and public sector fields to include the honor and experience of serving as a Pinellas County commissioner.
Website: www.norm4tccs3.com
Q: How will you restore collegiality on the commission and bring down the temperature at City Hall?
A: By bringing to the dais a diverse career in both the private and public sector fields and my successes in good governance, building consensus, communication, cooperation, and compromise. Additionally, keeping a focus on Our City and the challenges we face by applying common sense, realistic, and achievable solutions to those challenges. The reason we have a 5-member Commission is to bring a diversity of ideas, positions, and solutions to the table. Undoubtedly, there will be instances of disagreement. However, keeping an open mind, maintaining professionalism, engaging in civil discourse and adult decorum are essential to success.
Q: What’s the single biggest issue in this race?
A: In a word; experience. I have tremendous respect for everyone in this race. However, this is a seed change election and a chance to reset our City Commission and elect leaders with experience and focus. With me, there is no learning curve or on-the-job training needed. Additionally, keeping partisan politics and ideology out of our City Hall is key. Our City Commission seats are designated “nonpartisan.” When you step through the doors of City Hall to take a seat on the dais, any party affiliations, agendas, and ideologies must be left at the door. It’s about Our City, not politics.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Tallahassee City Commission Seat 3: Voter guide to the 2026 election
Reporting by Arianna Otero, Tallahassee Democrat / Tallahassee Democrat
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Arianna Otero, Tallahassee Democrat | USA TODAY Network
