Arrested protesters, permitless carry, crime reduction among hot topics discussed at town hall

Leon County and Tallahassee City commissioners weighed in on pressing issues and current events, from the arrests of abortion-ban protesters at City Hall to controversial bills moving through the Legislature, during The Village Square’s annual Tallahassee Town Hall.

The forum, held Wednesday at the WFSU studios and moderated by Tom Flanigan, featured City Commissioners Jack Porter, Curtis Richardson and Dianne Williams-Cox in one session followed by another with County Commissioners Nick Maddox, Rick Minor, David O’Keefe and Brian Welch. It was sponsored by WFSU, the Tallahassee Democrat and Leadership Tallahassee.

Commissioners gave their views on the recent arrests of state Sen. Lauren Book, Florida Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried and other protesters who refused police commands to leave the plaza outside City Hall at sundown.

Cuffed: 'Political stunt' or 'dystopian' crackdown? Protester arrests further divide city commission

Back story: Mayor Dailey: Bill limiting utility transfer to general fund a '$10M hit' to city budget

They also expressed concerns about legislation signed this week by Gov. Ron DeSantis allowing residents to carry concealed weapons without a permit and bills that could prevent the city from using utility proceeds for general government, which if passed could blow a $10 million hole in the city budget.

Here are excerpts from the town hall, edited for brevity:

On the arrests of abortion ban protesters at Tallahassee's City Hall

Porter: “For me, it’s pretty simple. We don’t arrest peaceful protesters. I don’t think it was protecting public safety. They were not disrupting any government functions. They weren’t a danger to others or to themselves. I wish it had been handled differently. I’ve spoken to people who I know in other parts of the country who are in law enforcement who told me that that’s not how they would have handled it.”

Williams-Cox: “I have no problem with civil disobedience. I’ve participated in protests myself. But that fight is not at City Hall, it was across the street at the Capitol. If we allow folks to come from out of town ... and set up camps, then once they’re gone, the next group of someone — could be homeless, could be whomever — decides to set up camp. What are we doing? We’ve relinquished the hall. And we cannot do that.”

Richardson: “As African Americans, we covet that right to peacefully protest, because without that, Commissioner Williams-Cox nor I would be sitting on this dais. And so I’m going to champion that right for others who choose to do that in a peaceful and lawful legal manner. But unfortunately, there were those who chose to disobey the law. And when you disobey the law, there are consequences to that.”

On the preemption of local issues by the Legislature, bills that could give the state more control over municipal utilities

Richardson: “We see that happening more and more every year, more and more authority of local governments are being preempted by the state. With the electric utility, they're trying ... to limit the amount of money that we can transfer from the utility general fund to our city's operating general fund. That could be upwards of a $10 million hit for our general fund ... which could mean if that happened, an increase in your property tax or some other assessment. We are fighting like hell to make sure that doesn’t happen.”

Williams-Cox: “Shh. Don’t talk about it. Because last time I checked, it might not happen. But we don’t want to remind them that it’s still on the table. The Florida League of Cities, it’s a group of all the cities in Florida ... and we just had our legislative days this week at the Capitol. Our theme is local voices, local choices. What we're trying to do is make sure that we have those relationship building opportunities with a local delegation and others to help them understand how we feel.”

More: Mayor Dailey: Bill limiting utility transfer to general fund a '$10M hit' to city budget

Porter: “We sue. We have before and sometimes that's an option that we have to take. Obviously, we take our position seriously as responsible for the financial viability of our city. We don't just sue for no reason. But home rule is enshrined in the Constitution. It's important. And that's not something that we should easily give up. I know that all of my colleagues agree on this. And this is going to have major consequences for our city. We need to do everything we can to fight back against it.”

On what is being done to improve public safety and reduce crime

Welch: “Obviously, public safety is a tip of the spear kind of issue for local elected officials. I think that our Police Department and our sheriff are doing great jobs. I think that the sheriff's Anatomy of a Homicide report really put a magnifying glass on where the issues lie. We as a community and as local elected officials have taken very important steps to try and remedy those issues, whether it's through the Children's Services Council or the Commission on the Status of Men and Boys, which we've funded.”

Minor: “One of the things that’s going to make it harder for us is to be frank — and I don't mean to get political — but the permitless carry legislation that just became law. And frankly, that's going to make it harder for us and every other community in this state to crack down on shootings and murders. And what we will need to do as a state is try to figure out how to correct that because that is not going to help us when it comes to crime in Leon County or elsewhere.”

More: Gov. Ron DeSantis quietly signs permitless carry bill within hours of it landing on his desk

Maddox: “This is a community problem that we all have to get involved in, and if the community doesn’t get involved, it doesn’t matter how much the sheriff or the Police Department does, we won’t go anywhere. Law enforcement can only do so much. Until we change that thought process to get back to where we were as Americans where we cared about the whole neighborhood, not just our neighborhood, the whole community, not just our community, we're going to continue to see what we're seeing.”

O’Keefe: “As a local government, have we invested enough in the community need? So many community needs that are lacking lead to crime — economic insecurity, lack of quality infrastructure, like lit sidewalks, safe pathways and community centers for kids to go to. And so that's where we need to invest in the community. And that will help address the problem that gets us there.”

Contact Jeff Burlew at jburlew@tallahassee.com and follow @JeffBurlew on Twitter.

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Tallahassee Town Hall addresses arrested protesters, permitless carry