Polls are closed, early results are in, and P.J. Perez has taken a huge, early lead in the race for Tallahassee City Commission Seat 3.
Early results from mail-in ballots and early in-person voters show Perez has an initial lead with 65.89% of votes while his opponent Tom Derzypolski has 34.11%, according to early voting results on the Leon County Supervisor of Elections’ website.
After seven people threw their name in the hat for this race, Derzypolski, a marketing firm owner, and Perez, a high school teacher, are the last two standing, and the results could decide whether progressive or moderate Democrats control City Hall.
The power in City Hall hinges on the general election because three seats on the commission are up for re-election and Commissioner Dianne Williams-Cox is the only commissioner seeking re-election.
If all three progressive candidates on the ballot — Perez, Dot Inman-Johnson and Commissioner Jeremy Matlow — win their bids, a new progressive majority could be established.
Perez is watching results roll in from Proof Brewing Company at a joint watch party with Inman-Johnson, who’s running for City Commission Seat 5, and Matlow, who’s running for mayor. Derzypolski is awaiting results at home with his family.
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Political subterfuge shadows race
Mayor John Dailey decided to step down from public office at the end of his term, and Matlow, who currently holds Seat 3, opted to leave his post and make a bid for mayor. With a vacant seat, candidates jumped at the chance to run for office without an incumbent against them.
By the end of last August, four people had already filed for Seat 3, and then three more joined the race earlier this year.
City Commission Seat 3 candidate Tom Derzypolski participates in a forum with his opponents Thursday, June 18, 2026.
While campaigns were relatively civil, the months leading up to the primary election started to ramp up with political attacks.
In July, Matlow’s campaign manager resigned from her role after admitting she was behind a social media sneak attack that showed footage of one of the candidates, community organizer Talethia Edwards, challenging Orlando police officers after she parked illegally in a disabled spot.
Edwards’ supporters portrayed it as an orchestrated attempt to mislead voters by the Matlow campaign and take down a Black candidate, and the political bombshell likely cost her a spot in the general election.
A day after the video dropped, Kristellys Estanga, Matlow’s former campaign manager, announced she was responsible for the attack and resigned from Matlow’s campaign.
But even after her resignation, she was back on Matlow’s campaign payroll as of Sept. 14. Matlow’s latest expenditure reports shows he’s paid nearly $50,000 in October to her newly-formed political consulting firm, The Win Number. She also is a paid advisor for Perez’s campaign.
Edwards would go on to endorse Derzypolski, who has continued to blame the progressive slate for the political subterfuge that upended the race.
City Commission candidate PJ Perez speaks to a small crowd outside of the Florida State University Student Union prior to casting his ballot Thursday, Oct. 29, 2026.
Both Derzypolski and Perez have secured large amounts of campaign donations with Derzypolski fundraising almost $245,000 and Perez fundraising just a little over $125,000.
Candidates weigh in on how politics are at play
All seats on the city commission are non-partisan positions, yet partisan politics can still loom large. Especially when the local Democratic Party is a leading voice for Perez.
At a Sept. 25 forum, Derzypolski said he believes politics should stay out of these non-partisan roles and that Tallahassee is tired of people being put in a box.
The Democratic Party backed Perez early on, and it has repeatedly jabbed at Derzypolski’s former affiliation with the Republican Party. But Derzypolski said the “ironic thing” about their argument is that they’ve openly supported other former Republicans, such as David Jolly, who is running for Florida governor as a Democrat.
Tallahassee City Commission Seat 3 Candidate Forum Sept. 26, 2026
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A forum for Tallahassee City Commission Seat 3 candidates in Florida’s 2026 General Election, presented by the Capital Region News Collaborative and League of Women Voters of Tallahassee, Friday, Sept. 25, 2026. (Sarah Cheatham/Tallahassee Democrat)
“My opponent and many in that party are happy to take selfies with a former Republican for governor, but they want to throw me under the bus,” Derzypolski said. “I don’t think that’s something people buy into.”
Perez disagreed, saying voters unfortunately interact with politics “at the most familiar level,” which is the national party level.
“Like it or not, non-party affiliated races are still going to have an informational component to it,” Perez said. “It informs people where people have been.”
It probably matters to people that Derzypolski was a registered Republican for 20 years, even with Donald Trump as president, he said. This is “out of step” from most voters in Tallahassee.
Derzypolski, who has said he never voted for Trump, says he’s always sought out the best leader for the job, and it’s this independent thinking that led him to switch his voter’s registration to non-party affiliated (NPA) last year.
“Unlike my opponent, who the day before he filed to run, it was expedient and politically comfortable to become a Democrat,” Derzypolski said.
“I’ve always voted Democrat in every election,” Perez said. “The NPA distinction for me was once I decided to get involved in education, I think it was important for families that entrusted me with their students to know that I wasn’t just some idealogue.”
This article contains previously reported material. Elena Barrera can be reached at ebarrera@tallahassee.com. Follow her on X: @elenabarreraaa.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: P.J. Perez takes huge, early lead in race for Tallahassee City Seat 3