TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) – The Leon County Charter Review Committee voted against a proposal for a reparations-style amendment and approved a food insecurity office recommendation.
The committee also voted unanimously to propose that the county’s preamble be amended to affirm access to healthcare. If the county commission approves, voters will decide in November.
Reparations-Style Proposal
The reparations-style amendment, sponsored by the founder of Tallahassee ALERT, Dr. Strouble, was proposed to address historical inequities.
In defending its recommendation not to pass the amendment, staff says they’re already doing that type of work but in a legally defensible way.
Assistant County Administrator Shington Lamy said that if anti-DEI laws are passed, the elected official could be removed if they implement DEI policies.
Strouble said they could use new language that removes references to race or historical racism but Lamy said the problem is implementation.
Even if the historic wrong was directed at a protected class, like race, the county has to withstand “strict scrutiny.”
Leon County attorney Chasity H. O’Steen added there would be “severe limitations” on implementing a charter amendment to address “persistent disparities from historic public policy decisions.”
Committee Member Henry Lewis III said he supports the intent of the proposal, but it could open up the door to getting rid of single-member election districts.
O’Steen said it really boils down to whether or not the amendment is focused on a protected class or not.
The proposal failed due to a 9-9 tie. Committee Members Slaton Murray, William Ellis and Liz Ellis were absent.
More Tallahassee news:
Food Insecurity Office Proposal
The committee voted 12-7 to recommend, but not require, a food insecurity office.
The proposal sponsored by Strouble would create an office regarding food insecurity, create a plan and make an annual report.
County staff said during the meeting that the Office of Human Services and Community Partnerships (HSCP) already does that.
Lamy says the county spends $7.5 million annually on food pantries, mobile food and children’s meals. He said the main critique has been a lack of a centralized resource page.
“We don’t recommend the charter amendment but we did provide suggested language as directed by the committee,” Lamy said. Instead, Lamy said the committee should merely recommend that the county commission continue its efforts on this.
Barry Wilcox said he supports asking the county commission to create a food office. However, he thinks that’s best done in a policy recommendation, not a change to the county’s constitution.
“This is not something we solve with a simple recommendation,” Strouble said. “For some of us, it’s a political decision. But there are people who are hungry.”
If it had become a charter amendment proposal, then the county commission would decide whether or not voters could vote yes or no in November.
The policy recommendation approach is softer and doesn’t require what amounts to a constitutional amendment.
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