The night before the primary, the Republican Party of Florida texted Pensacola voters to help Mayor D.C. Reeves, who may be facing a tougher battle than he thought, and possibly Eric Shorter. The mayor’s race is non-partisan, as per the city charter.
- The text calls out Jasmine Brown as a member of the Party for Socialism and Liberation and Ann Hill, Alicia Trawick and Jermaine Williams as Democrats. The message: “Know Before You Vote.”
Reeves’ fifth challenger, Eric Shorter, must be a Republican or NPA because his photo wasn’t included.
The mayor’s supporters have shared that his internal polling has him at 48%. Will this put him over 50%?
- The City of Pensacola has 37,575 registered voters—42.4% are Republican.
I have asked Mayor Reeves whether he knew the RPOF would be texting this. I will post his reply when I receive it.
In 2021, just one day before D.C. Reeves filed to run for mayor, a Political Committee called “Citizens For Pensacola” was formed to support Republican candidates. It was based out of his father Jim Reeves law office used as the site of the Registered Agent, D.C. Reeves brother James J. Reeves II. The Political Committee updated its Statement of Organization in 2024. Both times, in 2021 and 2024, the Political Committee stated that it was supporting D.C. Reeves for mayor listing his address at the Studer Community Institute and listing Reeves as a Republican (“R”). Information about the Political Committee and who has donated (such as “Friends of Michele Salzman” ($5,000) and who it has supported such Byron Donalds ($1,000) and even reimbursement to D.C. Reeves for a so-called “PR Trip” to Los Angels ($3,950.82) can be found on the Supervisors of Elections website. The Political Committee has recently sent out mailers in support of D.C. Reeves. (In 2022, the Political Committee donated $1,000 to Reeves’ campaign but did “not” document it on its own documents submitted to the Supervisor. Why not?) Looking forward, the City Charter can be amended by voters in 2027 to: 1) make all city elections partisan (ending confusion for Republicans and Democrats alike); 2) prohibit candidates and elected officials to be members of a partisan political party; or 3) come up with other ways to take the partisanship and outside money out of city politics.
The electorate in this once beautiful, easy-going community are slumbering towards total metropilization of their beautiful city and county. Developers and economic development interests have taken over.
Oligarchs who profit greatly from your tax dollars, and the income generated from tourism and entertainment dollars – not to mention the development necessary to provide venues and sustenance for such programs – fund the campaigns and aspirations of a large percentage of our local elected leaders.
They literally spend the money they collect from government programs and the industry created off YOUR backs to fund packs and lobby YOU for more of YOUR money.
Self-licking lollipop. We are the suckers.
167 votes. That was D.C.’s winning margin In the 2022 mayoral primary, only 167 votes, He received 51.1 % of the vote, with only about 39% of the city’s registered voters turning out to vote. He received 7,682 votes, representing only about 20% of all registered voters in the city, and 14% of the total population of Pensacola. That is far from a mandate.
Regarding the upcoming mayor’s race, if any one candidate receives 50% + 1, they win the election outright in the primary. However, if no one breaks the 50% + 1, the two candidates receiving the most votes go to a runoff in the general election in November.
There were four candidates in the ’22 election, (including myself and yes, I know I lost). Currently, there are six candidates for mayor, so it should be harder for any candidate to reach the 50% + 1 threshold. It’s extremely important that city voters show up at the polls for the primary this time around. If you live in the city and are a registered voter, you need to get out and vote in the primary. Even more importantly, you need to get 10 other registered city residents to get out and vote in the primary. Encourage your friends and family members to vote.
In the ’22 election, D.C. raised almost $300,000 dollars for his primary campaign, largely funded by developers. This is the most money ever spent on the mayoral race, a position that only pays $134,000.
The citizens of Pensacola can’t allow the developers to buy the mayor’s office again. The mayor’s race should be decided in the general election in November when there is a larger voter turnout.
Get out and vote tomorrow, August 18th.