TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) – The NAACP Tallahassee branch hosted a press conference Thursday to announce a report that’s critical of the City of Tallahassee’s proposed transfer of the community hospital to Florida State University.
Former Mayor Jack McClean said the agreement between the city and FSU does not reflect the people’s interests.
“This agreement does not protect poor people,” McClean said. “We don’t have financial [protections].”
McClean also said that FSU President Richard McCullough told him that he “doesn’t trust the city.”
McClean has also spoken to an influential player from Grow Tallahassee, Bugra Demirel, who supports the deal. However, McClean said that even supporters fear state control.
The Tallahassee NAACP has expressed concerns about the TMH transfer over the past several months with joint town halls, campaigns and statements calling out the transfer.
“Are we going to sue? I don’t know. I hope good people will come up and find a way,” McClean said. The president of the NAACP Tallahassee chapter and statewide chapter reportedly hasn’t told him to sue.
McClean added that the FSU president told him they’re “unlikely” to have a lease between TMH and FSU by April 1 but the sale can go through without one, according to a newly revealed “unusual provision.”
The Tallahassee NAACP said the goal between now and Wednesday is to have more people express their concerns.
“That people rise up. ‘It’s a simple fix, when that issue comes on the agenda, vote it down,’”
More Tallahassee news:
The NAACP chapter president said he’s not against an academic health center, but he’s against the process to get there.
“You should know all the details if you’re going to support it. I’m not sure that [the commissioners] do,” he said.
The NAACP Tallahassee branch said it would like to change three things about the TMH transfer.
They would like better indigent care language, a 4/5ths super majority over board appointments and financial transparency requirements.
Mayor John Dailey said in a Wednesday interview that the conversation about the transfer has been going on for a year and he hadn’t heard of much dissent in recent months.
McClean said it wasn’t up to the public to come up to him, that it’s the other way around. McClean added that the mayor declined to meet with the NAACP as a group but only wanted to meet with two members.
The NAACP put out an abstract of their report during the press conference but did not say when the full report is to be released.
The final vote is on March 11.
To keep up with the latest news as it develops, follow WCTV on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Nextdoor and X (Twitter).
Have a news tip or see an error? Write to us here. Please include the article’s headline in your message.
Be the first to see all the biggest headlines by downloading the WCTV News app. Click here to get started.
Copyright 2026 WCTV. All rights reserved.