Or: How I spent 15 minutes trying to pin down Mayor D.C. Reeves
Picture this: A Wednesday afternoon at Pensacola City Hall, Mayor D.C. Reeves stands at the podium while his presser streams live on Facebook, thinking he’s about to discuss infrastructure projects or Veo scooters. But I had to determine if he was ready to commit to running for reelection in 2026.
Round One: The Setup
My Opening Gambit: “So, former House Speaker Paul Renner is running for governor. Ann Hill’s running for mayor. Which race are you getting into?”
- A classic move—casual, direct, with just enough ambiguity to catch an unsuspecting politician off guard. But D.C. isn’t mayor for nothing. He immediately pivoted to talking about “keeping people safe at night” and “transformational projects.”
Translation: “I’m not falling for that, Rick.”
Round Two: The Clarification Attempt
Mayor Reeves droned on. “These are big transformational projects for our city. So I’m hyperfocused on that… I would never expect a job that’s as important, as vital to the city as the mayor of the City of Pensacola to be run unopposed again.”
- I tried a different angle: “So Ann will have opposition, is what you’re saying?”
D.C.’s response? A masterclass in political non-commitment: “Yeah, well, as of this moment, no.”
You can practically hear my internal sigh. It was like asking someone if they want to grab dinner and getting “Well, I do eat food” as a response.
Round Three: The Timeline Trap
Realizing Reeves was an accomplished sports journalist, I switched to a possible betting line. “So is announcing in January over or under?”
But D.C. has been in politics long enough to know when someone’s trying to back him into a corner. His response was pure political poetry: “I don’t know. I don’t know… It depends on when the next snowstorm is.”
- Damn, I thought: “DID HE JUST MAKE HIS REELECTION ANNOUNCEMENT CONTINGENT ON WEATHER PATTERNS?!”
The Family Card
Before I could go any further, Mayor Reeves pulled out the ultimate political deflection: the family consultation. Suddenly, running for mayor becomes a family decision involving his daughter’s class representative election (which, let’s be honest, probably had more definitive results than this exchange).
- “I don’t take for granted their support,” D.C. explains, turning what should be a simple yes-or-no question into a meditation on work-life balance and the sacrifices of public service.
The Philosophy of Evasion
By the end of the exchange, Reeves had managed to:
- Confirm he thinks it’s an “eight-year job” (wink, wink)
- Mention getting hit by a bus as the only definitive factor that would stop him
- Turn the conversation into a discourse on family life
- Make his political future dependent on everything from snowstorms to his daughter’s school activities
Meanwhile, I got approximately zero concrete commitments, but witnessed a master class in political non-answers.
The Scorecard – Similar to FSU-Bama Score
Outzen: Persistent, direct, unrelenting. Asked the questions Pensacola voters want answered.
Reeves: Evasive, diplomatic, family-focused. Managed to spend 15 minutes saying absolutely nothing definitive while somehow seeming completely reasonable.
The Winner: Every political science professor who can use this transcript as a perfect example of how politicians can speak for extended periods without actually saying anything of substance.
The Bottom Line
Will D.C. run for reelection in 2026? Maybe. Possibly. Probably. It depends on the weather, his family’s feelings, and whether he gets hit by a bus.
P.S. to Mayor Reeves: I’m not going to stop asking. You might as well start practicing your “I’m exploring all my options” speech now.
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