In a head-spinning twist of political events that could have major ramifications on the 2026 races, the campaign manager for City Commissioner Jeremy Matlow resigned after a social media sneak attack showing body camera footage of City Commission candidate Talethia Edwards challenging Orlando police officers after parking illegally in a disabled spot.
The nearly nine-minute video was posted on Facebook by what was then an unknown group called Tallahassee Conservatives on July 23 only to be taken down by the following morning.
Besides the body-cam footage, the now-deleted Facebook video include emails she sent to Orlando police arguing her case. She pleaded to get her impounded car back, saying she lives with mental illness and needed her medicine for “paranoid schizophrenia and bipolar mix.”
The video, aimed at a longtime community advocate whose backers include powerful developers, the police union and Mayor John Dailey, marked the first major bomb drop of the primary election season. It also sparked a mix of reaction on social media, from outrage to empathy.
Tallahassee City Commission Seat 3 forum
1 of 29
Candidates for City Commission Seat 3 Darryl Alfred Jr., left, Tom Derzypolski, Talethia Edwards, Max Herrle, PJ Perez and Nick Roche participate in a forum on Thursday, June 18, 2026.
(Alicia Devine/Tallahassee Democrat)
The body-camera video shows Edwards telling officers that while they were correct to give her a ticket, they were wrong to have her car towed away.
“I was in right for a fine,” she said, “but the towing of my car was illegal based on the statute.”
“You can actually go to jail, by the way,” one officer told her.
“You should arrest me,” Edwards said as she pointed her finger in the officer’s face.
In one of her emails to Orlando police, she claimed to be an “Hon. Sheriff in Leon County.” In a third email, she expressed fears that police “placed a bomb” in her car “as a scheme to make sure I don’t visit Orlando again.”
Edwards later posted a video taking accountability, explaining her actions and saying she’s been transparent about her struggles with mental health.
In an earlier Facebook post, Edwards blamed PJ Perez, one of her five opponents in the Seat 3 race, and City Commissioner Jeremy Matlow, whose seat they are vying for after he moved to the mayor’s race last year.
Both candidates denied any involvement to the Tallahassee Democrat.
About 24 hours after the video first appeared, however, Kristellys Estanga, who served as Matlow’s campaign manager and a consultant for Perez, announced on Facebook that she was taking “full responsibility” for the video. Estanga also announced she was stepping down from Matlow’s campaign.
“I thought it was important information for the voters to know, but I should not have conveyed it publicly that way,” she said.
Edwards herself condemned the initial Facebook post, accusing her political opponents of using a “fake conservative Facebook page to inflame racial divisions and attack me from behind the scenes.” She labeled the video “race-baiting” and said it “crosses a line.”
“I call on every candidate, elected official, and resident who believes in civility and unity to reject these deceptive attacks,” Edwards said in the post. “Tallahassee deserves an honest debate about its future, not fake pages, racial division, and hidden political games.”
Check back with Tallahassee.com for more on this breaking news story.
Contact Jeff Burlew at jburlew@tallahassee.com or 850-599-2180.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Political attack bombshell rocks Tallahassee city commission races