Chamber of Commerce leaders voted to reprimand City Commissioner Jeremy Matlow after writing a glowing column criticizing the annual conference due to be held next month and linking it to an ongoing public corruption case.
The Chamber’s Executive Committee voted on Friday not only to disapprove of Matlow’s column, which appeared on Tallahassee.com on Friday, but also to express a pattern of “misdeeds” and a violation of his oath of office.
“This serious, critical, and unprecedented action is a direct response to Mr. Matlow’s outrageous pattern of egregious commentary and irresponsible behavior that is consistently damaging to the community and a betrayal of the sacred public trust expected of elected officials,” the committee wrote in sent a letter Friday. “(He) engages in such incorrigible conduct just to score undeserved political points by trying to damage the reputation and integrity of good citizens and the Chamber itself.”
Matlow’s column targeted the annual conference and its attendees on Amelia Island as an example of the environment where corruption is rampant and where the FBI first entered its extortion and bribery process against City Commissioner Scott Maddox and the local business owner and hotelier . John “JT” Burnette.
More:I’m not going to the Amelia Island Chamber of Commerce. Here’s why | Jeremy Matlow
He used the background of the sale of two city-owned properties in the city center and the ongoing lawsuit against Burnette, in which Burnette and Maddox testified last week about the inner workings of huge development projects and the influence of money and political capital.
Backstory:In a 3-2 vote, the Tallahassee Commission admits the sale of downtown properties for luxury hotels
“Tallahassee only needs to dispel its reputation as a business-friendly place for well-connected people,” he wrote. “If we miss this moment, I fear that the next generation of talent will look elsewhere for a fair chance when it comes to business and local government support.”
In response to the Chamber’s letter and the vote to reprimand him, Matlow told the Democrat, “Tallahassee deserves better. I was chosen by the Tallahassee people and I work for them. The chamber members should demand more from their leadership. “
Chamber calls censorship a first in its history
Chamber leaders in the letter called the censorship a first in the almost 100-year history of the organization. They said Matlow broke public confidence by attacking business and community leaders and the group’s president and CEO Sue Dick, named in the column.
“As justice continues to unfold in the Tallahassee Federal Supreme Court over the corruption scandal that is on trial, Mr. Matlow abused his position of authority in a disastrous and superficial attempt to defend upright locals who are out of court,” the executive committee wrote. “We urge Mr. Matlow to take an honest look at the low character he is presenting to the community under the pretext of leading and living up to the oath of office he has sworn to our community.”
More:Q&A with Sue Dick, CEO of the Tallahassee Chamber of Commerce, on the return of the signature conference
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Contact Karl Etters at ketters@tallahassee.com or @KarlEtters on Twitter.
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The post Tallahassee Chamber reprimands Matlow after column demolition conference first appeared on Daily Florida Press.
from Daily Florida Press https://dailyfloridapress.com/tallahassee-chamber-reprimands-matlow-after-column-demolition-conference/
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