Leon Republican and Democratic leaders debate state of local parties and 2024 election

The leaders of the Leon County Republican and Democratic parties kicked off the fall schedule of the Capital Tiger Bay Club luncheons Thursday with an hour-long discussion on the state of the local parties and the upcoming 2024 election.

Democratic Executive Committee Chair Ryan Ray is a veteran campaign staffer who worked for Congresswoman Gwen Graham and Florida House Democrats. The 34-year-old aide to Tallahassee City Commissioner Jeremy Matlow is among a group who seek to have the Democratic Party reclaim its role as the party of working people.

He said Democrats need to do a better job of listening to what people say they want from government.

Republican Evan Power is the Vice-Chair of the Republican Party of Florida and chair of the Leon County Republican Executive Committee. The 41-year-old lobbyist with the Ramba Consulting Group has led local Republicans since 2014 and has increased the GOP voter turnout each election cycle.

He tells people Florida is a model of conservatism for the nation.

Power and Ray met in debate at a time while the GOP celebrates its statewide dominance and growing influence in local elections.

Last November, Leon Republicans led the push to oust former state Sen. Loranne Ausley, backed a pro-business County Commissioner’s re-election bid, took the winning side in a mayoral election that featured two Democrats, and elected Laurie Lawson Cox to the Leon County School Board – ending a drought in local offices since former Commissioner Byron Desloge's ouster in 2020.

Ray, who has been part of a progressive insurgent Democratic faction frustrated by how the Blueprint Intergovernmental Agency (composed of Democratic County and City Commissioners) spends money on infrastructure projects, was elected to lead local Democrats in December after the party’s November losses.

Going forward, Ray said his main priority is to boost Democratic voter turnout.

Power, a staunch ally of Gov. Ron DeSantis, said he will continue to use intraparty disputes among Democrats to attract moderate Democrats and no party affiliates to the Republican cause

Here are four exchanges between the two, prompted by moderator Gary Fineout of Politico, a former Tallahassee Democrat reporter.

Define your Party’s identity.

Power:  I think my party is in tune to what a party of voters want right now in Florida. I think it's in center-right, like the nation. That's where we're at and what it is about. It’s about the freedom of giving a parent the opportunity to parent their child. To decide what they're exposed to and when. That's what's important.

Ray: This is a community that went 68% for Barack Obama. It heavily rejected Donald Trump. You ask someone in Leon County, do you think that the President should be Ron DeSantis or Donald Trump? And they say, ‘what the hell, no.’ And I agree with them strongly on that.

Should the Tallahassee City Commission adopt single member districts during a charter review? 

Ray:  (Carving) the City Commission into districts is just a solution in search of a problem. I've spoken to thousands of constituents. Nobody's ever said ‘hey, you know, we need City Commission districts elected. We need more, we need more politicians and even more elections.'

We need elected officials in Tallahassee that are responsive to all corners of our community. Getting to consensus-based decisions is going to come from people that are accountable to every part of town. We don't need to re-segregate our community.

Power: Let's start with the Florida House seat that has 20,000 people less than a City Commission district. That creates barriers to entry for someone who's trying to run for office. It should not cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to run for your City Commission to fix problems like parks in your neighborhoods. That's the problem.

People are more responsive when they can go door to door and meet their neighbors, cite the problems that are happening, and then go to their City Commission and advocate for them. That's what people need and that's what districts will give.

A congressional map that has all of Leon in one district was declared unconstitutional. How should it be redrawn if the ruling is upheld?

Power: If you look at Tallahassee, we are better represented in Congress when we're fully engulfed in one congressional district … because you have more weight for that population. I don't think that residents here in Tallahassee share a lot with inner city Jacksonville residents. …  it prevents us from having a cohesive congressional district.

Ray: I don't think that Tallahassee is well represented in Congress by a Republican who lives in Bay County. And I think that our values actually aligned with those Black people in Jacksonville. If you look at the holistic totality of North Florida's congressional delegation as a whole. I think that restoring the old Lawson seat (Congressional District 5) makes a lot of sense.

Will Florida fall into the Republican column in next year’s election?

Ray: I do think that in a presidential cycle in 2024, with an abortion initiative on the ballot, protecting something that 70% plus of Floridians believe in, I think that's going to be a serious game changer ... So I expect Florida in 2024 to absolutely be in play. I also got to say, Yeah, I'm here trying to clean up our side of the street. State Democrats have done an anemic job of electioneering.

Power: Obviously, he brings up the abortion issue. They tried that in 2022 and Republicans won by 19 points and super majorities based on that issue. So, I welcome your campaigning on that issue ... What 80% of Americans actually care about is the economy under Joe Biden and Bidenomics that is failing in the country. That's what people really want to talk about.

Florida won't be in play, barring an asteroid hitting everyone, because we have done a solid job of the Republican Party blocking and tackling in rural counties, flipping things from blue to red, and registering more Republicans.

James Call is a member of the USA TODAY NETWORK-Florida Capital Bureau. He can be reached at jcall@tallahassee.com. Follow on Twitter: @CallTallahassee

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This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Leon County Republican, Democrat leaders debate future at Tiger Bay