Tallahassee Commissioner Matlow skipped chamber sessions in Greenville to meet 'everyday people'

Tallahassee Democrat

The Tallahassee Chamber of Commerce's recon trip to Greenville, South Carolina, was jam packed.

Days were busy with few breaks. The group, a mash-up of more than 80 millionaire developers, executives, higher education heads and public officials, traveled by plane or car to bring back ideas to grow Tallahassee's economy.

By Monday afternoon, the Tallahassee group overlooked freshly mowed grass at Fluor Field, a minor league baseball facility, and listened to success stories by entrepreneurs who found roots and wealth in Greenville. On Tuesday, they went to Greenville's airport, where Tallahassee trip-goers fired off questions in a packed conference room.

But, one elected official — City Commissioner Jeremy Matlow — wasn't there and skipped out on several sessions on the three-day trip.

Instead, Matlow opted to go off script from the Chamber's trip agenda. He and his aide Ryan Ray explored Greenville on foot or set up meetings with "everyday people."

RECAPPING THE TRIP

His social media posts chronicled his exploration and activities. Instead of listening in on panel talks in Monday's schedule, he made a "first impressions" video sitting on a black swing bench in Greenville's downtown waterfall park.

Matlow is one of about 20 city and county officials whose Greenville trip tab is likely to be picked up by taxpayers. The cost includes registration, airfare, hotel, food and miscellaneous expenses.

On Tuesday, instead of going to Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport, Matlow had a face-to-face meeting with Edgar Brown, who heads the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. Matlow said he wanted a candid conversation with a union worker, an everyday man, to learn about his experience working on large-scale developments.

"I walked away with a better understanding of how their local business community works with organized labor,” Matlow told the Tallahassee Democrat on Thursday.

"I think we did our best to get an overall view of the city," he added. "You can learn a lot more by just getting around and talking to people than being stuck inside all day."

Matlow's absence became a topic of conversations throughout the trip. Out of the city's full commission and three county commissioners in Greenville, Matlow was the only one that missed the majority of the sessions and the wrap-up Wednesday morning.

Other public officials, including top administrators at the city and county, also missed the wrap-up or were seen chatting outside for parts of sessions.

In 2017, when the Chamber organized a trip to Nashville, several trip-goers ducked out of sessions.

Mark O'Bryant, who chairs the Chamber's Board of Directors, said there was "a lot of in and out by a number of people, including the commissions" in the 2017 trip to Nashville. This year, he said, the Chamber urged attendees to participate and be engaged throughout the invite-only trip.

When asked about Matlow, O'Bryant said he was approached by some attendees regarding Matlow's whereabouts. He couldn't give an answer.

"He didn’t get the full benefit of the trip,” said O'Bryant, president and CEO of Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare. "When everyone else is there and one person is not, it’s more noticeable.”

City Commissioner Curtis Richardson said he noticed when Matlow wasn't around but didn't want to pass judgement.

He said Matlow was elected by voters and that's who he's accountable to, and that includes explaining to voters why he didn't participate in all of the sessions.

"I think he owes that to the citizens of this community," Richardson said. "If it’s legitimate reasons, they’ll accept it.”

Some trip-goers, including those who didn't want to go on the record, said Matlow's absence from the airport was a missed opportunity to learn more about a potential governance structure that could benefit the city.

Two years ago, the Chamber announced its stance for a radical change in Tallahassee's governing structure and supported an independent authority structure, which would be run like a business by a president and CEO instead of a city-managed department.

The commission has a workshop scheduled next week to discuss the airport's governance and whether a firm should be hired to do a deeper study on potential governing options.

Airport in the spotlight:

Matlow, a new commissioner elected in November, balked at comments on his airport absence. He said he didn't realize "we were doing a 'Governance 101' at the airport."

"I thought it was just a tour of the airport ... I didn’t really see it as an example of what Tallahassee could do," he said, pointing to the airport's Inland Port and how that's not a likely option for Tallahassee.

Matlow, founder and managing partner of local businesses including Gaines Street Pies and the Wilbury, said he was elected to get the full story and not just the business community's perspective.

"So, I wanted to go out and meet with everyday people and get their opinions on affordable housing, economic mobility and some of the challenges they were facing," he said.

Matlow said he “got more than most” out of the trip by venturing away from the pack in order to get “the full picture and the full view.”

He said if the Chamber wants to “exercise its right to influence” it should come to a commission meeting and make its stance known to the public.

“Any implication that City Commission policy was intended to be influenced outside of the public eye and far away from the voters, I just think that’s totally inappropriate,” Matlow said.

“We believe that any type of meeting of the minds involving city government and elected officials should be done publicly and not in private,” he continued “The people of Tallahassee elected all of us to gather all sorts of perspectives and not just one side. And, that’s we went to do.”

Contact TaMaryn Waters at tlwaters@tallahassee.com or follow @TaMarynWaters on Twitter.