In a reorganization vote Wednesday, city commissioners in Tallahassee elected Curtis Richardson to serve as mayor pro tem.
He will take the role previously held by Dianne Williams-Cox.
The mayor pro tem takes charge when the mayor is absent, disabled, or removed from office. Commissioners elect a mayor pro tem every year.
Before the vote, Commissioner Jeremy Matlow made a motion to make Commissioner Jack Porter the next mayor pro tem, citing she was the only one of the current commission who had never served in the role.
The mayor and the other two commissioners voted no. Mayor John Dailey explained his vote.
“Commissioner Porter, you consistently give the city manager a zero on his evaluation year after year after year. It’s important that, in my absence, the mayor pro tem has a working relationship with the manager and with senior staff, especially in a declared state of emergency. I’m not comfortable with the relationship that’s there,” Dailey said.
He also referenced how Porter has called for City Manager Reese Goad to be fired.
Porter responded saying, “Who works for who?”
She also argued a longtime absence from the mayor in the next year was unlikely, adding, “It’s just not genuine that the mayor pro tem has anything to do with decision-making on their own in the case of an emergency.”
The vote for Curtis Richardson passed, also on a 3-2 vote.
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