Daryl Parks held a press conference today to address what he described as \u201cdeeply troubling\u201d revelations regarding the campaign tactics used by his opponent, Mr. Matlow. Parks accused the Matlow campaign of employing online manipulation and misleading tactics designed to \u201cconfuse voters\u201d and \u201cdivide our city\u201d.<\/p>\n
At the center of the allegations is a Facebook page originally titled \u201cPause the TMH Deal Vote No on December 10th,\u201d which was later renamed \u201cTallahassee Conservatives\u201d. Consistent with media reports, Parks, noted the page was administered by Matlow\u2019s campaign manager and that the Matlow campaign ran political advertisements through that same account.<\/p>\n
TR first reported that mayoral candidate Jeremy Matlow and his campaign manager were tied<\/a> to a fake Facebook page designed to impact local elections. After the story was published, Matlow\u2019s campaign manager, Kristellys Estanga resigned.<\/a> Estanga\u2019s political consulting clients have included<\/a> U.S. Sens.\u00a0Bernie Sanders\u00a0and\u00a0Elizabeth Warren, and former Tallahassee Mayor\u00a0Andrew Gillum.<\/p>\n Matlow has denied any involvement with the Facebook renaming controversy.<\/p>\n Parks characterized these digital tactics as \u201cdeceptive\u201d and \u201cdivisive,\u201d alleging that the name change was a calculated effort to make it appear as though conservatives were attacking city commission seat 3 candidate Talietha Edwards, a Black woman. Parks argued this was a \u201cdeliberate attempt to inflame division\u201d and \u201cmanipulate public perception\u201d within the local race.<\/p>\n The Capital Conservative Club of Tallahassee, a local politically active group founded in 2009, issued a press release about the controversy.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Capital Conservative Club of Tallahassee is expressing concern about a fake Facebook page that used the name \u2018Tallahassee Conservatives\u2019 and appeared to suggest that local conservatives were encouraging the Tallahassee Police Benevolent Association to withdraw its endorsement of a candidate for the Tallahassee City Commission. We want to reassure Tallahassee residents that the Capital Conservative Club has no connection and has never had any connection to this Facebook page, which has since been taken down, or to any group using the name \u2018Tallahassee Conservatives\u2026.Introducing misleading information into our community is not helpful to voters or to the election process. We believe campaigns should be conducted with transparency and respect for the people of Tallahassee. This type of activity contributes to the frustration many residents feel toward politics. We encourage anyone involved in creating or promoting misleading content to take responsibility for their actions.\u201d<\/p>\n Parks Questions Matlow\u2019s Tactics<\/p>\n Parks took the opportunity to questions Matlow\u2019s political tactics.<\/p>\n \u201cTallahassee needs leadership that unites us, not leadership that hides behind misleading pages and divisive tactics,\u201d Parks said. He further asserted that this behavior is not an isolated incident, claiming that for the last eight years, Matlow has consistently used tactics that \u201cdivide, mislead and inflame\u201d.<\/p>\n