Editing Tallahassee, Florida (section)

==Law, government and politics==
[[File:FlaSupremeCrtBldgFeb08.JPG|thumb|The [[Florida Supreme Court]] building]]

===Politics===
Tallahassee has traditionally been a [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] city, but the party has been supported by different ethnic groups over time, with a major shift in the late 20th century. Leon County has voted Democratic in 24 of the past 29 presidential elections since 1904. But until the late 1960s, most African Americans were [[Disfranchisement after Reconstruction era|disenfranchised]] from the political system, dating from [[Jim Crow law]]s passed by Democrats in Florida (and in all other Southern states) at the turn of the century. At that time, most African Americans were affiliated with the [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party]], and their disenfranchisement resulted in that party being non-competitive in the region for decades. Subsequently, these demographic groups traded party alignments in the 1960s and 1970s.

Since passage of the [[Voting Rights Act of 1965]] and enforcement of constitutional rights for African Americans, voters in Tallahassee have elected black mayors and black state representatives.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://users.ipfw.edu/jehle/deisenbe/JHPcolumn/jhp102.pdf |title=In Tallahassee |magazine=Journal of Hispanic Philology |volume=10 |number=2 |first=Daniel |last=Eisenberg |year=1986 |pages=97–101 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006090302/http://users.ipfw.edu/jehle/deisenbe/JHPcolumn/jhp102.pdf |archive-date=October 6, 2014 |url-status=dead}}</ref>{{rp|97}} It has become a city in the [[Southern United States|Southern U.S.]] that is known for [[Progressivism|progressive]] activism.{{citation needed|date=December 2018}} This is likely due to the fact that Tallahassee and Leon County have [[Leon_County,_Florida#Education|the highest level of college graduates in the state]]. In addition, in the realignment of party politics since the late 20th century, most of the African-American population in the city now support Democratic Party candidates.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/tallahasseecityflorida,US/PST045218 |title=U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts: Tallahassee city, Florida; UNITED STATES |website=www.census.gov |access-date=May 11, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190511010343/https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/tallahasseecityflorida,US/PST045218 |archive-date=May 11, 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://harvardpolitics.com/harvard/just-liberal-college-students/ |title=Just How Liberal Are College Students? – Harvard Political Review |date=April 25, 2014 |access-date=May 11, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190511004915/https://harvardpolitics.com/harvard/just-liberal-college-students/ |archive-date=May 11, 2019 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

As of December 2, 2018, there were 112,572 Democrats, 58,083 Republicans, and 44,007 voters who were independent or had other affiliations among the 214,662 voters in [[Leon County, Florida|Leon County]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.leonvotes.org/ |title=Home – Leon County Supervisor of Elections |website=www.leonvotes.org |access-date=December 3, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181203060034/https://www.leonvotes.org/ |archive-date=December 3, 2018 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

Leon County's voter turnout percentage has consistently ranked among the highest of Florida's 67 counties, with a record-setting 86% turnout in the November 2008 general election. The county voted for [[Barack Obama]] in the presidential election.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.leoncountyfl.gov/elect/ |title=Leon Supervisor of Elections Office |website=Leoncountyfl.gov |access-date=August 2, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140810152722/http://www.leoncountyfl.gov/elect/ |archive-date=August 10, 2014}}</ref>

===Structure of city government===
Tallahassee has a form of government with an elected [[List of mayors of Tallahassee, Florida|mayor of Tallahassee]], elected commissioners, and an at-will employed city manager, city departments, and staff.

The current city commissioners are:<ref name="Tallahassee City Leadership">{{cite web |url=https://www.talgov.com/cityleadership/CityLeadership.aspx |title=Tallahassee City Leadership |website=www.talgov.com |access-date=November 9, 2020}}</ref>

{{div col|colwidth=18em}}
*Seat 1 – Jacqueline "Jack" Porter
*Seat 2 – Curtis Richardson
*Seat 3 – Jeremy Matlow
*Seat 4 (Mayor) – [[John E. Dailey|John Dailey]]
*Seat 5 – Dianne Williams-Cox
{{div col end}}

{{hidden begin
|title = List of intendants/mayors of Tallahassee, Florida
|titlestyle = background:#F8F8FF;width:60%
}}
*1826 Dr. Charles Haire
*1827 David Ochiltree
*1828–1829 John Y. Gary 
*1830 [[Leslie A. Thompson]]
*1831 Charles Austin 
*1832–1833 Leslie A. Thompson
*1834 Robert J. Hackley 
*1835 William Wilson
*1836 John Rea 
*1837 William P. Gorman 
*1838 William Hilliard 
*1839 R. F. Ker 
*1840 Leslie A. Thompson 
*1841–1844 [[Francis W. Eppes]] 
*1845 James A. Berthelot 
*1846 Simon Towle
*1847 James Kirksey
*1848 F. H. Flagg
*1849 Thomas J. Perkins
*1850–1851 D. P. Hogue
*1852 [[David S. Walker]]
*1853 Richard Hayward
*1854–1855 Thomas Hayward
*1856–1857 Francis W. Eppes
*1858–1860 D. P. Hogue
*1861–1865 P. T. Pearce
*1866 Francis W. Eppes 
*1867–1868 D. P. Hogue 
*1869–1870 T. P. Tatum
*1871 C. E. Dyke
*1872–1874 C. H. Edwards
*1875 David S. Walker, Jr.
*1876 [[Samuel Walker (Florida politician)|Samuel Walker]]
*1877 Jesse Bernard 
*1878–1879 David S. Walker, Jr.
*1880 Henry Bernreuter 
*1881 Edward Lewis
*1882 John W. Nash 
*1883 Edward Lewis 
*1884–1885 Charles C. Pearce 
*1886 George W. Walker 
*1887 A. J. Fish 
*1888–1889 R. B. Forman 
*1890–1894 R. B. Carpenter 
*1895–1896 Jesse T. Bernard
*1897 R. A. Shine
*1898–1902 R. B. Gorman
*1903–1904 William L. Moor
*1905 John W. Henderson
*1906 F. C. Gilmore
*1907 W. M. McIntosh, Jr.
*1908 F. C. Gilmore
*1909 Francis B. Winthrop
*1910–1917 D. M. Lowry
*1918 J. R. McDaniel
*1919–1921 Guyte P. McCord 
*1922–1923 A. P. McCaskill 
*1924–1925 B. A. Meginniss 
*1926 W. Theo Proctor 
*1927 B.A. Meginniss
*1928–1929 W. Theo Proctor 
*1930 G. E. Lewis 
*1931 Frank D. Moor 
*1932–1933 W. L. Marshall 
*1934 J. L. Fain 
*1935 Leonard A. Wesson 
*1936 H. J. Yaeger 
*1937 L. A. Wesson 
*1938 J. R. Jinks 
*1939 S. A. Wahnish
*1940 F. C. Moor
*1941 Charles S. Ausley
*1942 Jack W. Simmons
*1943 A. R. Richardson
*1944 Charles S. Ausley
*1945 Ralph E. Proctor
*1946 Fred S. Winterle
*1947 George I. Martin
*1948 Fred N. Lowry
*1949–1950 Robert C. Parker
*1951 W. H. Cates 
*1952 B. A. Ragsdale 
*1953 William T. Mayo 
*1954 H. G. Esterwood 
*1954 H. C. Summitt
*1955–1956 J. T. Williams
*1956 Fred S. Winterle
*1956–1957 John Y. Humphress
*1957 J. W. Cordell
*1958 Davis H. Atkinson
*1959 Hugh E. Williams, Jr. 
*1960 George S. Taft 
*1961 J. W. Cordell 
*1962 Davis H. Atkinson 
*1963 S. E. Teague, Jr. 
*1964 Hugh E. Williams, Jr. 
*1965 George S. Taft 
*1966 W. H. Cates 
*1967 John A. Rudd, Sr. 
*1968 Gene Berkowitz 
*1969 Spurgeon Camp 
*1970 Lee A. Everhart 
*1971 Gene Berkowitz 
*1972 [[James R. Ford]]
*1973 [[Joan Heggen]]
*1974–1975 John R. Jones
*1976 James R. Ford
*1977–1978 Neal D. Sapp
*1979 Sheldon A. Hilaman
*1980–1981 Hurley W. Rudd
*1982 James R. Ford
*1983 Carol Bellamy
*1984 Kent Spriggs
*1985 Hurley W. Rudd
*1986 [[Jack McLean (mayor)|Jack McClean]]
*1987–1988 Betty Harley
*1988–1990 Dorothy Inman
*1990 Steve Meisberg
*1991–1992 Debbie Lightsey
*1993–1994 Dorothy Inman-Crews
*1994–1995 Penny Herman
*1995–1996 [[Scott Maddox]]
*1996–1997 Ron Weaver
*1997–2003 [[Scott Maddox]]<ref>{{cite web |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19970605161453/http://www.state.fl.us/citytlh/city-off.html |url-status=dead |url=http://www.state.fl.us:80/citytlh/city-off.html |archive-date=June 5, 1997 |title=City Officials |work=City of Tallahassee |via=Internet Archive, [[Wayback Machine]]}}</ref>
*2003–2014 [[John Marks (mayor)|John Marks]]
*2014–2018 [[Andrew Gillum]]
*2018–present [[John Dailey (Florida politician)|John Dailey]]

<ref>{{cite book |last=Hubbard |first=Linda S. |title=Notable Americans: What They Did, from 1620 to the Present |date=1988 |publisher=Gale |page=387}}</ref>
<ref>{{cite web |title=Tallahassee Mayors Intendants |url=http://www.leoncountyfl.gov/libraryapps/stumpers/view.asp?trivianumber=96 |work=Stumper |publisher=Leon County, Florida |access-date=October 12, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171013013729/http://www.leoncountyfl.gov/libraryapps/stumpers/view.asp?trivianumber=96 |archive-date=October 13, 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref>
{{hidden end}}

===Federal representation and offices===
[[File:TallahasseeCityHall.JPG|thumb|Tallahassee City Hall]]
Tallahassee is part of [[Florida's 2nd congressional district]].

The [[United States Postal Service]] operates post offices in Tallahassee. The Tallahassee Main Post Office is at 2800 South Adams Street.<ref>"[https://archive.today/20120720070918/http://usps.whitepages.com/service/post_office/55246?p=1&s=FL&service_name=post_office&z=Tallahassee Post Office Location – TALLAHASSEE]." ''[[United States Postal Service]]''. Retrieved on May 6, 2009.</ref> Other post offices in the city limits include Centerville Station,<ref>"[https://archive.today/20120718201343/http://usps.whitepages.com/service/post_office/71830?p=1&s=FL&service_name=post_office&z=Tallahassee Post Office Location – CENTERVILLE STATION]." ''[[United States Postal Service]]''. Retrieved on May 6, 2009.</ref> Leon Station,<ref>"[https://archive.today/20120717010115/http://usps.whitepages.com/service/post_office/58135?p=1&s=FL&service_name=post_office&z=Tallahassee Post Office Location – LEON STATION]." ''[[United States Postal Service]]''. Retrieved on May 6, 2009.</ref> Park Avenue Station,<ref>"[https://archive.today/20120720060221/http://usps.whitepages.com/service/post_office/72392?p=1&s=FL&service_name=post_office&z=Tallahassee Post Office Location – PARK AVENUE STATION]." ''[[United States Postal Service]]''. Retrieved on May 6, 2009.</ref> and Westside Station.<ref>"[https://archive.today/20120716233435/http://usps.whitepages.com/service/post_office/69614?p=1&s=FL&service_name=post_office&z=Tallahassee Post Office Location – WESTSIDE STATION]." ''[[United States Postal Service]]''. Retrieved on May 6, 2009.</ref>

The [[National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration]] maintains a National Weather Service in Tallahassee. Their coverage-warning area includes the eastern Florida Panhandle and adjacent Gulf of Mexico waters, the north-central Florida peninsula, and parts of southeastern Alabama and southwestern Georgia.

The [[81st Infantry Division (United States)|81st Regional Support Command]] of the [[United States Army Reserve]] (USAR) has an Army Reserve Center at 4307 Jackson Bluff Road.

The Naval and Marine Corps Reserve Center (NMCRC) is at 2910 Roberts Avenue host the [[United States Navy Reserve]] Navy Operational Support Center Tallahassee (NOSC Tallahassee) and the [[United States Marine Corps Reserve]] 2nd Platoon, Company E, Anti-Terrorism Battalion and 3rd Platoon, Company E, Anti-Terrorism Battalion.

===Consolidation===
Voters of Leon County have gone to the [[Polling station|polls]] four times to vote on [[Consolidated city-county|consolidation]] of Tallahassee and Leon County governments into one jurisdiction combining police and other city services with already shared (consolidated) [[Tallahassee Fire Department]] and [[Leon County Emergency Medical Services]]. Tallahassee's city limits would increase from {{convert|103.1|sqmi|km2}} to {{convert|702|sqmi|km2}}. Roughly 36 percent of Leon County's 265,714 residents live outside the Tallahassee city limits.

Each time, the measure was rejected:<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.leonvotes.org/Portals/Leon/Documents/Elections%20and%20Results/PDFs_XLSs/Consolidation_City_County_Government.pdf |title=Consolidation of City (Tallahassee) & County (Leon) Government |publisher=Leon County Supervisor of Elections |access-date=November 2, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171107021128/https://www.leonvotes.org/Portals/Leon/Documents/Elections%20and%20Results/PDFs_XLSs/Consolidation_City_County_Government.pdf |archive-date=November 7, 2017 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

[[File:Tallahassee FL Leon County Courthouse03.jpg|thumb|The Leon County Courthouse]]
{| class="toccolours"  style="left:left; margin-left:1em; width:300px;"
! colspan="8" style="text-align: center; background:blue" | <span style="color:white;">'''Leon County Voting On Consolidation''' </span>
|-
| '''Year''' || '''FOR''' || '''AGAINST'''
|-
| colspan="3" |<hr/>
|-
| 1971 || 10,381 (41.32%) || 14,740 (58.68%)
|-
| 1973 || 11,056 (46.23%) || 12,859 (53.77%)
|-
| 1976 || 20,336 (45.01%) || 24,855 (54.99%)
|-
| 1992 || 37,062 (39.8%) || 56,070 (60.2%)
|}

The proponents of consolidation have stated the new jurisdiction would attract business by its size. Merging governments would cut government waste, duplication of services, etc. However, Professor Richard Feiock of the Department of Public Administration of [[Korea University]] and the [[Askew School of Public Administration and Policy]] of [[Florida State University]] states that no discernible relationship exists between consolidation and the local economy.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.fsu.edu/~localgov/publication_files/Feiock&Park&Kang_Consolidation_K3.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070614150850/http://www.fsu.edu/~localgov/publication_files/Feiock%26Park%26Kang_Consolidation_K3.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=June 14, 2007 |title=City County Consolidation Efforts: Selective Incentives and Institutional Choice |access-date=August 2, 2014}}</ref>

===Flag===
The former flag of Tallahassee was vaguely similar to the [[flag of Florida]], a white [[saltire]] on a blue field, with the city's coat of arms, featuring the cupola of the [[Florida State Capitol|old capitol building]], at the center. The flag is an homage to the Scottish and Ulster-Scots Presbyterian heritage of the original founders of the city, most of whom were settlers from North Carolina whose ancestors had either come to America directly from Scotland, or were Presbyterians of Scottish descent from [[County Down]] and [[County Antrim]] in what has since become [[Northern Ireland]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Purcell |first=John M. |title=American City Flags (Part I: United States): 150 Flags from Akron to Yonkers |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3ztmAAAAMAAJ&q=%22white+saltire+on+a+dark+blue+field%22 |access-date=February 11, 2011 |year=2004 |publisher=North American Vexillological Association |location=Trenton, New Jersey |isbn=978-0-9747728-0-6 |page=345}}</ref> The current flag incorporates a stylized 5-point star and the city name on a white background.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tallahassee.com/story/opinion/2017/08/11/calmet-design-new-flag-tallahassee/559081001/?cookies=&from=global |title=Calmet: Design a new flag for Tallahassee |website=Tallahassee.com |access-date=November 22, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170903074732/http://www.tallahassee.com/story/opinion/2017/08/11/calmet-design-new-flag-tallahassee/559081001/?cookies=&from=global |archive-date=September 3, 2017 |url-status=dead}}</ref>