Latest / Conversations: Special Guests with Preston Scott / Campaign 2024 - Tallahassee Seat 1 City Commission Candidate Rudy Ferguson

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Campaign 2024 - Tallahassee Seat 1 City Commission Candidate Rudy Ferguson · Conversations: Special Guests with Preston Scott

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Rudy Ferguson has decided to take on incumbent Jack Porter for seat one on the
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Tallassee City Commission. Now I need to mention that Commissioner Porter did not accept
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an invitation to have a chat. So here's my conversation with Pastor Ferguson.
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Rudy, it's great to formally meet you. Appreciate you coming in this morning.
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Thank you so much for an invitation. I really appreciated. Thank you.
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It is it's not uncommon for me to talk to someone who's a pastor.
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I was a vocational pastor for about twenty years. Awesome, but I
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never ever would have considered running for political office. There that get it.
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And so tell me what nudged you, what brought you to a place where
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you felt like this was something you Did you feel called to do it or
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did you feel like you needed to do it? Why? I think they're
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probably one of the same, the call and the need simply because as a
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pastor in our neighborhood, you know, oftentimes we have quite a few people
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who are running for office who always come to our churches, who always act
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for support, and they make promises and they never really make keep those promises,
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let's be honest sometimes and then they never come back to whether they win
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or lose, they never come back to say thank you. As a pastor
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of my community, it's important that people depend on me to make sure that
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the right individuals are coming in our community and also addressing our needs. Oftentimes,
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I've worked with plenty of elected officials, some didn't win, some did
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win, and I've had the privilege of working with them and also given our
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story, what do we need in particular in our neighborhood, which is the
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greater French Town community in Griffinheit, which we know is the three two three
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four area code, which is the most in Parvish according to the statistics in
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the state of Florida. And so push me towards that wells. You know,
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if you want to get something done right, sometimes it's best to just
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do it yourself. And as a community activist and working along with our city,
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the mayor and the commissioners and county commissioners to bring some resolve to our
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community, I decided, why would I wait for someone you know, a
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savior so to speak, to come to our community when I have been doing
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this work for a very long time and I decided they're wanting the same,
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whether it's in the pulpit or whether it's on the pavement. Let's see if
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we can move this needle. So I was encouraged by my own heart and
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pushed by my wife to ensure that. She said, Honey, go forward.
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If you want to see this happen. You've been working with the city
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a long time. You've been working with the county for a long time.
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In our communities. Go forward. Let's change the optics in front of us
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and make sure that our community, our kids, this city overall gets where
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we need to go collectively. Before we talk about what that looks like to
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you moving forward, let's go back a little bit and get everybody a snapshot
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of who you are. Thank you well. I am a sixth generation Tallahassee
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and that's the Ferguson that, that's the Christie's, the Jones and the Knights
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all put all my family members in there. So been here a very long
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time. I went to Amos P. Godby. I've started working for the
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Tallahassee Urbanly when I was about seventeen years of age, and they taught me
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how to be a community serving if you will, or more so elited leadership,
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and it gave me that sense of work. And I've got married pretty
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much out of high school. We got married at by twenty and I'm proud
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to say we have been married now thirty two years. We have about thank
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you, We've got about four grown children, thank god. We also have
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about six grandchildren, maybe seven. I think it's seven in the county when
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they move around a lodge got to miss Poplins County. My daughter and my
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son and we have been working in Tallahassee for a very long time and serving
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our community. What led me up to this point as well as far as
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my background is concerned, I kind of had a strong idea that I wanted
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to be a part of the community and be a part of bringing out a
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community what it used to look like as much as we possibly can that village
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concept, if you will, President, How do we get that where we
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care about each other, what we love about, what we love on each
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other. I thought it was important enough for even with my own sons and
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my own my daughter and my cousins and my friends, to see where,
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you know, how do we make things better in this city? My background,
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again, I was able to work for Governor Law and Childs when I
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was twenty three years of age. He pointed me to the MLK Institute for
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Nonviolence as the state's sole youth representative. So I traveled the country speaking on
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behalf of nonviolence and how do we, you know, make sure we get
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the guns down and get our kids in school and make sure they live along,
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long life ngevity, have that in place. We also I was also
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given an opportunity by former Attorney General Bob Butterworth, who gave me the Citizens
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of the Year award when I was about twenty five, and not to mention
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traveling with him a little bit and speaking on issues with about gun violence and
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things of that nature, not just for gun violence but also just violent crimes
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holistically. I would also say that I've received a number of awards for my
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service in the community, but Preston is never about the awards. It's the
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award to me is watching our children and our community to grow, making sure
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that they're safe. And I take a great sense of pride in doing that.
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And I'm not looking for a pat on the back of or reward,
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just simply wanted to see our kids, my kids, your kids, grandkids,
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all have something that they can look forward to down the line. So,
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in a nutshell, that's Rudy Ferguson. I have been doing this radio
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program Rooty for twenty two now into my twenty third year. I've lived here
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since nineteen eighty seven. Not near the deep generational ties that you have,
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but this is my home I recognize, and you know, one of the
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things I joke with people about, you want evidence there's a God. It's
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that a conservative who's a Christian can sustain a radio program for twenty two years
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in a community that a lot of people don't agree with my politics. There's
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evidence of a God to me right there. I say that because one of
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the interesting dynamics that exists right now in the city is it is not district
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representation. I think it needs to change. I think being the only city
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in the state of Florida with a population above one hundred thousand that does not
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have district representation is embarrassing. But that said, it is what it is.
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There are a lot of people that might align with my views on things
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that listen to my radio program and are probably listening to this podcast right now.
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Now. Clearly I have people that don't agree with me that listen every
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day, and I love it. I welcome it. I love talking with
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people that I disagree with, because that's something that's missing today is the ability
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to have the conversation. And so what is it that you feel like you
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could offer people that live in the northeast part, the east part of Tallahassee
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that don't feel like they have a voice at all because they're not represented district
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wise, and they get it. You know, you live in a part
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of town. We work in a part of town that certainly deserves representation that's
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focused on that. But what would you say to people that are feeling a
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little left out? Well, I think I agree with you one hundred percent.
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You know, when you think about the makeup of Tallahassee very unique.
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Everything about us is unique, and so we have to handle our city with
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kid gloves. We have to do that because we're not a major metropolitan city
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and we don't need to be like Portland. We don't need to be Seattle,
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we don't need to be San Francisco, and so representation at city Hall
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has been lacked there. I can say that certainly you we all agree with
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that. The thing that I would like to bring a city commissioner is number
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one civility. Let's bring back the common sense, the decorum, if you
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will, of how do we deal with the issues on the northeast side of
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town or on the south east side of town? How do we deal with
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those issues collectively? I think that with non district represented representation, that doesn't
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in my expectation and when my perspective, it doesn't mean that we can't get
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the job done. As a commission I want to work and I will build
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a coalition of those on the northeast side of town, the south side of
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town, and the north northwest side of town, wherever may me be,
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in order to make sure that we have that common goal. How do we
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how do we get to that police of how do we make sure that my
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tax dollars are spent correctly? How do it? It's interesting that you say
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that because, for example, and one of the beauties of our format is
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I don't have to worry about a commercial interruption here. We can just talk
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and as I and for those of you listening, I didn't submit questions to
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Pastor Ferguson. I didn't submit questions to anyone that I've invited to come in
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here. Some aren't going to accept the invitation. I can probably guess who
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won't. But we want to just talk and have an open conversation about things.
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One of the things that you just mentioned there about the different parts of
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town is how do you propose hearing from them? In other words, some
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people have said, well, you know what, it'd be great if like
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some of the city commissioners would set up a time to come talk to us
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where we're living, you know, at a community center in the northeast or
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or somewhere in the east, norwester or wherever. What is a way that
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you feel as though, Rudy, we can solicit input from people who right
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now might not feel their voices being heard at all. That's that's a very
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great question, because I believe relationships are so important. Sure building relationships.
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I believe that as a commission in your next city commission, I put that
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on the table is simply that I will go out there. I will set
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up a meeting at the neighborhood recreational center, whether it be one of the
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largest churches there, whatever we can do to hear their concerns. They are
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taxpayers, they live in this city, they contribute to the overall growth of
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this city. It's important that we go out there. Everybody can't make it
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to the three o'clock meeting in their city, all I understand that, but
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then they're not really designed to be friendly to people that want to say something.
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I would agree with children, they want to come out, and then
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it's not enough time. It's really and that's that's a whole lot to put
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in. And I can imagine I couldn't put a sermon in three minutes,
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you know, and maybe a scripture and a title. Now that's a wrap.
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But I would serve head. The thing that I could do is go
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out there. Let's set up a time, have everyone come to the room,
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let's talk. Whether I have solutions at that moment is not important.
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What's important is I'm coming to hear their concerns. Go back to the city
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halls, sit around the table, talk to who's important. Hey, you
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know, miss Jane and her husband have this issue, and mister Charlie has
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this issue her. How do we put all this together? That's what a
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commissioner does. It's servant leadership. We're not in this for fame or glory.
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We're in this for service. How do we make sure that we move
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the needle for the people on this side of town. We go to them,
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how often we go to them? You know, I can attend one
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of their neighborhood association meetings and invite me to that, I will come.
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They have any church services that they would like me to be a part of,
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I will come. I love church, so I would certainly love to
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be a part of that. But the thing that I would love to bring
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to the table is my ears, listening to what's important to them, hanging
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that back to city Hall, begin to work it. And the most important
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part not just listen, give them something back tangible, Say hey, miss
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Jane, and I heard you. Here's what I'm working on, here's what
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I found out. Push that back to them. I believe that if people
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know that you have heard them and you're working, they're patient enough to make
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sure that you're able to do your job. You know, I've had people
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contact me now I'm not a commissioner now, you know, and contact me
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about certain things in their neighborhood. They want me to be aware of it.
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In fact, I went to a neighborhood this weekend, just jumped in
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the truck, came over. She showed me what was her concerned. She
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said, I know you're not commissioned yet, but when you get in office,
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could you see about this particular issue. I wrote it down, I
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told her I would. Her name is Miss Annie, and I said I
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will, Miss Annie, and and I'm grateful of that, grateful for that
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because I want to be able to be that commissioner without devices and divisions and
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preconceived notions and positions on what city commission and what a city commissioner should do.
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I definitely want to get to the commission as it has functioned and what
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it's focused on. But before we go there, I looked at your website
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a little bit. Didn't do any deep dive because I don't like asking questions
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that are beyond where the average person listening is at. Gotcha, most people
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haven't visited your website. They don't know much about you. Gotcha, what
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before you started talking to people? What informed you about what you would list
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as the most important issues that you think need to be addressed from a commission
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standpoint? What did you go into it thinking? And then as you have
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met the Miss Annies and others in the community, has it changed or has
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it simply amplified what you originally thought. In other words, what are priorities
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what matters most to you? Well, I think I'm not That's a very
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good question question for me. I would simply say, as a boots on
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the ground must leaves are always rolled up. I'm always got manned in the
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dirt. And what I mean by that is, I'm always working, I'm
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always got my ear in the in the neighborhood, I'm in the barbershops,
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I'm listening. So what also caught my attention? As we see in the
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news, and also I've had the unfortunate opportunity to eulogize, you know,
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those who died violently and particularly with guns, and and and it's a disheartening
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thing. So my priorities, prior to running and filing to run for office,
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what's public safety? Taler hassee? Cannot become the worst as they have
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us in the newspaper. You know, we're worse than Miami, Florida.
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And I know that's per capita, But nevertheless, I don't like that because
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this is my home, this is where I live. I don't want people
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contemplating whether or not they want to send their kids to Florida State or fam
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You and they're thinking, well, crime, because I do know that's the
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first thing a responsible parent would do was looking to see house crime in that
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city. Do I want to send my kid in that city? And Tyler
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hassee is worse than Miami, Florida Jacksonville. So that would be that would
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be my first priority. Public safety. Let's deal with making Tallahassee safer.
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Let's deal with solving crimes. Let's deal with all those aspects. So you
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and I, our families were able to go to the grocery store, whether
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it be a nighttime, whether it be a daytime, whatever it is,
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and they feel safe in this city. That's important to me and that's a
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priority. I would also say my second priority, Preston, would be homelessness.
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We cannot and I say this with all sincerity as a pastor, as
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a concerned citizen with the heart of God, I would simply say this is
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that, but Talahassee cannot become a national We cannot afford a national migration of
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homeless people coming from all over the country to Tallahassee. It's not that we're
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insensitive, we just can't afford that type of migration. Mass people moving into
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Tallahassee, and I would argue it doesn't help people to enable them in their
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homelessness. I would agree we find the solutions. Now, what do I
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know the solution may be. I don't know, but I do know I
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will want to work with those who can address that. The subject matter experts,
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the people have been successful in other communities. It would seem that maybe
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we ought to ask what you do. But I'm not the sharpest knife in
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any drawer, Rudy, But I know that right, and I got you,
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and I certainly I think that's that's important. I've had the privilege of
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talking to people that have businesses on Pensacola Street and they've shared with me,
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and they said, Rudy, this is bad. I've got I've got homeless
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people living on top of my roof here and they're taking the car off of
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my roof. I've got people building tents and on the side of the building.
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I've got people doing this, and I've got people camped out in front
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of my you know, my store, which is a major deterrent for those
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customers. Because Taller Hassee is uh is a business town as well. When
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people who live here pay time, and they want to be able to take
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care of their families and they can't do that with a migration of homeless people.
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And not to sound insensitive, but realistically speaking, that business will go
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under if we as a city and all of us in this city work together
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to find that solution or solutions if you will. It seems as though both
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commissions have chosen the path of let's write a check to organizations with not a
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lot of accountability on where that money goes and how it's spent, versus let's
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address with policy, Let's let's determine what these guidelines need to look at look
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like rather so you know that regardless of the commissioners, both commissions have been
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resistant to picking up this responsibility. Well, and I've seen that, and
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I think it's more so. I think it's more so to the to the
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to the point where they're reprioritizing what's what's in front of them. In every
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commission meeting, you'll see something new, nip pop. But whether it's the
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charter review, whether it's that. But I think as a commissioner, we
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have to deal with that. When you're in office, there's nothing you can
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simply walk away from or pivot from and say, let let another commissioner deal
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with that. I think that problem will get worse, especially at homeless problem.
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It will get worse if we don't address it, and by the time
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we get to it, when we seriously want to address it, we might
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be truly behind the eight ball on that because we have allowed it to go
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on for so long. We want to be able to address that situation,
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to address that issue, and whatever we can to fix this crisis. It
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is a crisis and has it become a problem for not just for the business
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community, but also for those who live in this town, who work in
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this town, who pay taxes in this town. It has become a situation
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where they're living in the trees and they're living in this place, and I've
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come to realize that some people they would rather live on the streets, and
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that's something we also have to deal We have to put policies in place to
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eliminate that type of existence. You know, there's no doubt the state role
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in this, and I believe that the legislature, certainly the governor in the
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last session, address some of the homelessness by putting more responsibility on communities to
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deal with it. But you mentioned that there's some that just choose this lifestyle.
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You know, I've always felt that there was a triage required. There
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needed to be an addressing of okay, why are you out here? And
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they're those that are mentally ill and they need mental health services, and to
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me, that's where the state jumps in and starts providing more resources for mental
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health. There are those that are truly down on their luck and just need
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some help. They do not want to be in this situation. They need
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some help. But then there's that other element, and that other element is
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choosing this lifestyle. And you know, I think identifying the problem is key
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to solving it, but we've never seemed to want to take the effort to
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do that. But there's a Venn diagram here that you've already begun drawing in
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that your first priority his crime uring public safety, which to me is number
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one, and what a government's supposed to provided citizens second homelessness. But there's
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a there's an intersection there where there's some crime in that in that arena.
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What's third on your priority list? Jobs simply bringing better jobs in jobs period.
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Now my philosophy is this, I believe that when jobs go up,
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guns go down. That is simply my my belief. If I can give
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a young man a job, you know, and put him in place where
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you have a sense of pride, hope and also have a sense of you
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know, being becoming a positive, productive citizen, I believe that we can
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begin to bring that number down. The vunent crimes, gun crimes, homelessness,
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all of that will come down because, like we said earlier, there
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are some people who just choose to live on the streets. But those who
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are just simply down on their look and they're looking for an opportunity, those
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are the ones that we'll be able to catch with a good job, with
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the you know, we're they able to take care of themselves, whether they
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have to provide for themselves. So I am coming into town was a very
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good thing. Yes, sir, went out of shadow the doubt. And
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unfortunately my opponent, you know, was the only commissioner to say it was
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a bad idea to come to Tallahassee. If you really look at that press.
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And I have to say this is so important because in three two,
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three oh four, which again we talk about the most imparvish, the thing
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is that about two hundred and ten employees and residents from that zip code now
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work for Amazon. I was going to ask you if you knew the number.
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I didn't know the number. Well done, thank you, sir and
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so. And I thought about it. I said, now we can start
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walking out of the most in parvish and start walking into the most emerging coming
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out of this, you know. And it's a sense of pride when I
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matter of fact, I can go make it personal. My own son,
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my youngest son, works for Amazon. And do you know how good I
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feel when my son don't have to call and say, hey, pop,
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um a little short on some money, you know, and he's able to
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take care of himself, able to provide. Well, you yourself said,
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how many generations deeper you in this six? Yes? All right? How
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I know that since I moved here in nineteen eighty seven, if we just
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use the term French Town broadly that part of the community, there have been
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at least four or five very directed efforts to revitalize to help the area.
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But what really starts to change the dynamic from my view, You correct me
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if I'm wrong, is when someone like an Amazon comes in and provides great
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jobs at high numbers of jobs available. That's what changes that area. Am
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I right or wrong? Absolutely correct? But that's the change. You know.
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All the other efforts were fine and well intentioned. I'm not demeaning them,
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but they didn't really move the needle. I agree. The thing that
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moves the needle is that the ability for a person to take care of themselves,
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improve their quality of life, give them a sense of hope and pride,
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and also become a pod of the citizens here in tylerhassee Florida. When
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a person actually can do that, the ultimate goal for me, Presston in
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getting jobs is also having nice wage where they can go out now, have
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some disposable income where they can go to them all, where they can go
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to our restaurants, where they can patronize our local business here and have that
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money recycle back through our town. Sure that eliminates us from having to raise
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taxes, which, by the way, I'm totally against raising. I don't
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want to put that burden on a hard working family. I don't want to
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say, well we need this, let's raise taxes. No, let's find
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other means resources. How do we undergird or underwrite rather and expense what I'm
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having to come to a single mother and a single family who are doing their
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very best they can to stay afloat, and I add a come along,
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and I add another burden. As far as tax, even though it may
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be for something essential, I don't want to do that. I want to
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be able to find and as a commission I want to be able to work
23:53
with everyone to find that coming. I think the phrase I'm looking for is
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fiscal responsibility. Want to be able to stay with that parameters and make sure
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they were able to move them so Tallahassekin and people can enjoy a living here.
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You mentioned the tax issue. That's a very nuanced issue because the incumbent
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Commissioner, Jack Porter, voted against the tax increase. But the reason she
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voted against the tax increase was because she did not want monies going to Tallahassee
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police, which is what the justification was given by the other three commissioners that
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voted for the tax increase. And so Rudy, when I talk to people
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about it, I say to them, don't be misled by commissioners voting against
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the tax increase that, oh, by the way, before they were in
24:42
favor of. Instead, look at the deeper issue And the deeper issue to
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me is should they have raised taxes. No, they should have found the
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money in the revenues that they had and allocated differently so the TPD had adequate
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funding. But don't buy the argument that the reason why this tax increase was
25:04
fought was because they are opposing taxes. That's not honest. That is not
25:11
honest. But do the people that you're talking to understand because right now your
25:18
primary opponent, who's the incumbent, and anyone running for any office, the
25:22
opponent is the incumbent because they're the incumbent. Sir. They're out there saying
25:26
we're anti tax but deep down, no, they were anti police. I
25:30
agree with you one. And to have my opponent to simply say that she
25:36
does not feel safe with Chief Rebels or with our law enforcement agent is a
25:41
slap in the face of those who put on the badge, the gun and
25:45
know everything they need to go out and serve and protect this city. I
25:49
don't like the phrase, and I've had the privilege of working along with the
25:52
Chief. Rebels as is first chairman of the Tallahassee Citizens' Advisory Council, different
26:00
from the city's Policemen's Review Committee. Didn't want to be a part of that
26:06
because I believe that I would rather work along with law enforcement to bridge the
26:11
gap between our most vulnerable communities, in particular black communities, and our law
26:15
enforcement bring it together. But that's certainly not the enemy. There is no
26:21
perfect person and there's no perfect agency. But holistically, I believe that our
26:26
law enforcement agent I've had the privilege of working with them, they have a
26:30
mindset. Hey, Rudy, we want to serve, we want to protect,
26:33
we want to make sure. And I have to respect the fact that
26:37
they're able to move so quickly to apprehend a crime, a criminal who has
26:41
done something to victimize our city or family. And I respect that, and
26:45
I respect them as well as our fire department. I respect them all of
26:49
our essential services for doing what they do to go out and serve and protect
26:53
and make sure our city is safe and secure. But my opponent feels then
27:00
it's about the taxes. No, we all know, And I explained that
27:03
to them, she's simply against TPD, she's simply against law enforcement. Anti
27:10
law enforcement, I would sing, And it's a deeper thing to come against
27:14
one one's essential service. And then at the same token try to uplift another
27:18
one. I think all of our essential services are important, and how is
27:22
your next commissioner, I would balance the two between the fire department as well
27:26
as the law enforcement agencies. If you had been sitting in the room as
27:30
an elected official when they were having the discussion over taxes and whether to raise
27:36
the millage and raise more money for the purpose of funding the police department to
27:42
a better level, because everybody in this community knows they were underfunded for maybe
27:48
fifteen years, and so we're almost catching up to a certain extent. But
27:56
if you're in the room, if you're sitting there with the other four commissioners,
28:00
pastor, are you having the discussion, because what I heard you saying
28:04
is we may not have needed to raise taxes, we needed to look at
28:11
the allocation of what revenues were coming in and allocated differently so that TPD was
28:17
properly funded. I would agree with that. Is that the discussion you were
28:19
comfortable having. I was just I'm very comfortable with having that because again,
28:25
I want to ensure that law enforcement and everything they need in order to do
28:30
their jobs effectively. Is that first is that for funding public you know,
28:33
public safety yes, that's first, because everything else falls behind it. And
28:38
I say that because if we're not safety and crime is running rampiant, what
28:41
businesses want to come here? Secondly, what family wanted to send their children
28:45
here for school? And then those who live here we start contemplating whether it's
28:49
time to get out. So these are all of the negative attributes that follow
28:55
behind that, and we want to ensure public safety. Then after public safety,
28:57
homelessness, and after homelessness, let's deal with jobs, you know,
29:00
economic development. How do we bring that into play? Those are the most
29:04
important. But to answer your question, if I was there, I would
29:07
look for other avenues. How do we three commissioners that passed it. I
29:11
mean, granted I would rather have them reallocated funds. They didn't have that
29:17
discussion either, so they gave ample room for others to try to make this
29:22
trojan horse kind of canard argument that they are opposed taxes. No, they're
29:26
posted funding police. And I think that's the main reason why my opponent has
29:30
really went for this, because it's not about giving it's not about the taxes.
29:34
They used it as they weaponized that rather in order to further their agenda.
29:41
And I would say go further, say the Bernie Sanda school of thought.
29:44
You know, how do we change this and turn city hall upside down
29:48
not for the sole purpose of serving, you know, the people live in
29:51
this city, but also but dividing the people that live in this city.
29:56
I'm not into briefings, you know, with our city managers. So I'm
30:00
almost like the rest of the citizens. I have to take what's in front
30:03
of me and make a decision based on that. But I truly believe that
30:07
it's important. I want to ensure that our law enforcement agencies have what they
30:11
need. In particular, when a cat and when a cadet comes out of
30:15
the academy, we want to make sure that we're competitive enough to get those
30:18
and keep those. We don't want them coming here, getting educated in that
30:22
field and then having to go to Tampa. And we did the training,
30:25
and we did the training. So we educate them, Preston, then we
30:27
exterminate them. You know, that's not the goal. The goal is if
30:30
we educate them, let's put them on the payroll because they're ours, and
30:36
I want to ensure that we're competitive. I understood that. I want to
30:37
make sure that they have the proper gear on each in every law enforcement officer
30:45
male female, are brave. They get up in the morning, leave their
30:48
home with the hope and prayer that they'll make it back to their families.
30:52
I want to ensure that they're able to do their job and then go home
30:57
and hug on their family as I made it back. That's important to me.
31:02
So we don't look at law enforcement offices as robocops, you know,
31:06
and we look at them as humans. And they are humans. They are
31:08
taxpayers and they serve the city, and we want to take that same respect
31:11
and that done over to the firefighters. We want to make sure that everybody
31:15
has that level of across the board. I live here, I play here,
31:21
I serve here, and I want to enjoy living here. I wish
31:26
that we could avoid this part of the conversation. But the fact of the
31:30
matter is you are running against Jack Porter, who's seeking reelection. She sat
31:36
in the chair next to where you're sitting right now when she ran for office,
31:41
and she didn't necessarily represent what she really thought and what she really believed
31:47
in what she was really going to do when she sat in that chair.
31:51
So I'm betting that she's not going to take me up on the invitation to
31:55
come and sit and talk. You know, I don't engage in god her.
32:00
I would just like to follow up on the things she said versus the
32:02
things she's done. But one of the things that she has done is she
32:07
has chosen to use her time as an elected official to go to national conferences
32:16
in things with organizations that have a very radical agenda. I know that there
32:24
will be issues politically where you and I philosophically will be different because you're a
32:30
Democrat. I'm a Republican and I'm okay with that. I'm very comfortable with
32:35
that. I am that said, I am not comfortable with where part of
32:39
the Democrat Party has gone. And I believe Commissioner Porter represents that. Are
32:45
you concerned about her unwillingness to simply answer who paid for these trips? Who
32:51
paid for this expense? Did the taxpayers pay for this? And she's not
32:55
willing to answer simple routine questions. I agree. That's the thing about becoming
33:01
a public servant. Your life is now public, and as elected officials,
33:07
we are beholding to those who put us in office and those who live in
33:12
the city, whether you voted for me or not. That's a mood point,
33:15
I'm still responsible to answer the questions that you've asked me. My life,
33:20
even as a pastor, my life is already on display, you know,
33:22
and so going into public office simply just I'm already in that ram.
33:28
And so when questions publicer the public. I love that publicer, you know,
33:31
and I think that's important, the questions that she does want to ask.
33:34
And that makes people think, Preston, why why didn't you want to
33:37
talk about it? Why aren't you addressing these illegitimate questions If it's not a
33:40
big deal to answer the question. Otherwise it immediately turns it into a bigger
33:45
deal, as it certainly does. And of course, you know, as
33:50
a commissioner, your next commissioner, because I put that there. As your
33:52
next commissioner, you know, you want to make sure that transparency is there.
33:57
You're expecting us to live above board, expecting us to make sure that
34:00
we hope we stand accountable for what we are doing. And I want to
34:04
be in that, in that realm of saying, hey, Preston, this
34:07
is where we are. Pick up the phone, not just on your show,
34:08
but pick up the phone and say listen, I've got an idea.
34:12
Because I want to work with the Republicans, I work with the Democrats,
34:15
I will work with independence, I'll work with social service in the churches.
34:19
Why because I want to make sure that Tallahassee is collectively sound and then we're
34:23
moving together as one city in light of our political differences. But we all
34:30
live here in Tallahassee, and I believe the commonwealth of the people is.
34:34
That's what the commission and this is a nonpartisan race, and so we can't
34:37
get wrapped up in this into that we get wrapped up into the fact that
34:40
the people are requiring us and hoping that we will represent them whole realistically across
34:45
the board, whether it be on the South or whether it be on the
34:47
north. Bring it together, let's find that common ground. Well, you
34:52
say it's nonpartisan, but you know it's not, because the Progressive Operatives are
35:00
are already trying to throw more than likely a quote Republican in a different race,
35:06
and no one knows anything about this person, but it's designed to bleed
35:10
votes and cause people in the northeast and maybe in the southeast and maybe in
35:15
the eastern part of the area to vote for quote a Republican that they see
35:22
on the ballot, but it's not about that. But what would you say,
35:28
because I would point to the election of John Daly as mayor over Christen
35:31
Doser, and I would say to you that the people listening to you right
35:37
now are the ones that made that happen. They are the ones that swung
35:43
that vote for John Daly, not because he's a consummate friend of the Northeast,
35:50
but because they looked at the alternative and said, yeah, no,
35:54
what would you say to people that, quite frankly, they are Republicans.
36:00
There isn't a Republican running in your race. They're not. There are different
36:06
shades of Democrat, Yes it is right, Yes it is. There are
36:08
people that are what I would call what I hear from you as you are
36:13
what I would call an old school Democrat, a moderate. I could be
36:16
wrong, but that's what I would interpret your beliefs as being. Having not
36:22
gone any deeper. And the reason why I didn't go deeper, Rudy,
36:24
is because a lot of the issues that some of the city commissioners want to
36:30
make an issue have nothing to do with Tallahassee. I agree, they're taking
36:35
nationalized issues and trying to create them as an issue. Here when they don't
36:39
exist, I agree, would you want under present? So what would you
36:43
say to people that are I'm not voting in the city race because I live
36:47
in the county, I don't have a vote. I pay to the city
36:51
and a utility, but somehow I don't have a vote. So what would
36:54
you say to those that do have a vote though, and they're having to
36:58
choose? I would simply say that I respect John Daly. He is I
37:05
consider him to be a friend, and I appreciate his endorsement of this seat.
37:09
I've had the privilege again of working with him throughout the years when he
37:13
first became when he first was elected to mayor. He has visited my community
37:17
on several occasions. We are a food desert in my community, and he
37:22
has led the charge to ensure that we have a new grocery store come into
37:25
our community. So those who the elderly who have wheelchairs and they can't get
37:30
to publics on Lake Kella, or they can't get to publics there on o'keller,
37:34
but a neighborhood store will give them access to ride up there or even
37:38
walk if necessary to the grocery store. That to me is as a major
37:44
thumbs up to our mayor and to have his support and his endorsement. I
37:46
would say to your listeners is that if Mayor John Daly understands and agrees with
37:52
me, endorse me, then that's a signal to say that Rudy is on
37:57
the right path to address the issues and the concerns about community. He believes
38:01
what we believe. He believed that Tallahassee should grow responsibly. It's inevitable that
38:07
we're going to grow. He believes in law enforcement, you know, he
38:10
believes in the fire department. But I think people you know, and perhaps
38:16
and again I'm not speaking for everybody, but I'm speaking for a lot of
38:21
folks that I've been speaking to for twenty plus years. Yes, sir,
38:24
they didn't vote for John, they voted against Christen. They had to make
38:35
a practical, pragmatic choice, right because John, Quite honestly, I think
38:39
his leadership on issues on the Commission as they sit right now have been lacking.
38:45
I think people on the Commission that have been there needed to stand up
38:49
when commissioners have called police that have been acquitted calling them cop killer cops.
38:54
Wow, those are slanderous terms. I agree. The position is that some
39:00
of the commissioners have taken that are extremist. Someone needs to stand up and
39:06
say, wait a minute, that's not appropriate, right, And no one
39:09
did that, And so I think I'm communicating to you there's people out there
39:16
that simply voted for Mayor Daily because they felt he was the better of the
39:22
two alternatives. I would agree. I want to give them a reason why
39:27
you think they should vote for you, not as much against Jack Porter,
39:35
for you versus others that are in the race as of now. And I
39:38
will certainly say this, and I'm glad you made that clear, because I
39:43
believe that I'm the better choice. I've worked along with our community. I've
39:47
been serving in our community. This will be a continuation of me serving in
39:52
our community in our city. My opponent has not had the mindset to produce
39:59
anything other than than something from a national agenda, trying to bring different types
40:06
of national agendas to a local economy to a local city that has no bearings.
40:12
We have watched and we have observed where nothing has gotten done. Zero.
40:16
She does not have the relationships, she does not have the coalitions,
40:21
you know, and the only reason she is now visible She's been absent since
40:24
twenty twenty is because she's running for reelection. This is simply playing well.
40:29
And you mentioned early on in our visit there's just been a lack of collegiality
40:34
in large part because of a couple of the commissioners. I agree, and
40:37
we needed to. And I would also say, you need a commissioner that
40:39
can think independent and not vote for the you know, simply with you know,
40:45
the other commissioner on everything he produces. I think a commissioner must stand
40:50
alone have its own thought process by talking to the people in the community to
40:53
address their issues and their concerns. We can do that harmoniously. We can
40:59
do that with decorum and not become enemies, and not become and not you
41:02
know, throw, you know, name calling and things of that nature.
41:06
But I believe we can do that with respect. Well. I always agree
41:09
with the other commissioners. Probably not well, I always disagree with them on
41:13
a lot of issues. Probably not. But I tell you one thing we
41:15
will do. I would think independently, and I would think, you know,
41:19
collectively, when it's necessary, when it's something that builds our sitting.
41:23
I won't go up to the city commission to turn it upside down. For
41:28
any type of political you know, antics, it will simply be because this
41:32
I think this is fair and I think this is the way we should be
41:36
looking at something. And if my colleagues on the city commission say, really,
41:38
well, we don't see it that way, respectfully, I understand.
41:42
But this is what not just what I see, but the citizens I've spoken
41:45
through in the north side of town, they think this is going to hurt
41:50
them now whether they vote for to vote against it. But I want to
41:53
be able to make sure I represent it and without having someone beholding rather to
41:58
someone who feel they put me in office. That's important. If someone wants
42:04
to learn more about you, your website, what is it Rudy ferguson dot
42:08
com, or simply give me a call. My number is eight five zero
42:13
three three nine three six sixty one. Anything you want to share that we
42:17
didn't get to, well, I want to say first thank you for having
42:21
me on to your show, Plas. It has been an honor, you
42:23
know, to talk to you. And all will close by saying closed by
42:27
saying that I am the commissioner that will get the job done. I am
42:30
the commissioner that will bring jobs to the city, relationships to the city and
42:37
also make sure that we are that all American city that we live up to.
42:39
It is my job. My family lives here, your family lives here,
42:44
and I think we want to continue that even after we're gone. We
42:46
want to make sure that our family are still have their roots in this city
42:51
and able to continue on after we're gone. Thanks for the time, Thanks
42:54
so much pressure for having met