You can visit Rick Minor’s website HERE. On his website you will find “about” him, ways to “get involved,” and ways to “contact us.” We encourage all our neighbors to view his website to learn more about him.
Where are you from and how do you think that impacts or influences your
decision to run?
I was born in South Florida but moved around a lot while growing up: Miami, Clearwater, Dallas, Stuart, Boynton Beach and Daytona Beach. After graduating college and starting my first job as an IT/business consultant, I worked on several long-term projects and lived wherever our clients were: Tampa, Chicago, Austin, Washington DC, Germany, Hong Kong, South Africa, and New Brunswick, Canada.
Nearly 25 years ago, I moved to Tallahassee for a new public policy job and fell in love with this community. My wife Jessica and I met and got married here, and we’re raising our two daughters here. I consider myself fortunate to have experienced living in numerous places, but none of them has as strong a sense of connection or cohesiveness as Tallahassee / Leon County.
I didn’t run for office because I’m passing through or because it’s a stepping stone. I’m running because this is home. The decisions we make at the County Commission affect my family just like they affect everyone else’s — our neighborhoods, our environment, our schools, and our economy. That perspective keeps me focused on long-term stewardship rather than short-term politics.
What do you believe you have brought or will bring to the commission that
is unique to you?
I believe I have a unique set of work experiences that gives breadth and depth to my decision-making. Some of my past roles include:
- CEO of our regional food bank – During my three-year tenure at the Big Bend’s food bank, food distribution grew by 86%, revenue increased by 54%, and in a single year we delivered 12.7 million pounds of food to those in need – at that point an all-time record. Having served in this role, I’ve seen first-hand the struggles experienced by many Leon County residents.
- Chief of Staff to the Mayor of Tallahassee – As the Chief of Staff to a Tallahassee Mayor, I gained valuable, first-hand experience with local issues. For instance, for nearly four years I participated in weekly meetings with the Mayor and City Manager – just the three of us – to discuss local issues and projects. It was excellent preparation for my role as a County Commissioner.
- Consultant for local and state governments – For many years I served as an IT/business consultant, and then later as a public policy consultant, for governments throughout the United States and abroad. Working for Germany’s Deutsche Bahn, the United States Postal Service, New Mexico, New Brunswick in Canada, and other governmental clients has given me a broad perspective that I bring to my work for Leon County residents.
In addition to my background and experience, I also approach big initiatives with relentless tenacity. For example, for years I’ve worked with residents, businesses, and my County Commission and Blueprint colleagues to improve the safety and aesthetics of Tallahassee’s #1 Gateway: North Monroe Street. It hasn’t been easy, but we’re now seeing REAL results on the corridor – new sidewalks, upgraded medians, and a successful federal grant award of $16.8 million for safety improvements. Big wins like this require perseverance, teamwork, and patience.
In another example, I’ve also been pushing for the restoration of passenger rail through North Florida. This is another yearslong effort and it requires legislative approval, but we’ve assembled a robust group of advocates and this year we’ve made more progress than ever before. It will take more time and effort, but with perseverance I do believe we’ll be successful in bringing passenger rail back to Tallahassee.
Affordable housing is a growing problem especially in Leon County. Many
neighbors now face high rent costs or mortgage costs, do you have any
new or fresh ideas?
Leon County will need 11,500 new affordable housing units by 2045, and the current shortage of affordable housing inventory contributes to high rent and mortgage costs. Solving this problem is one of our greatest priorities, and over the past few years my Commission colleagues and I have taken several steps to address it, such as:
- Last year, I voted for the annual allocation of $500,000 for gap financing of affordable rental projects. The funding comes from a combination of State Housing Initiatives Partnership (SHIP) funds, the County’s portion of OEV funding, and County general revenue. The County Commission’s vote of support was unanimous.
- We’ve authorized $183 million in bond financing for development by the Leon County Housing Finance Authority. This helped secure an additional $125 million in private, state, and federal funding.
- We’ve invested $5.8 million in affordable rental projects, which helped secure another $66 million in private, state, and federal funding.
These efforts and others like them are leading to real progress: more than 1,200 new affordable rental units have been constructed or will be constructed over the next 12-18 months. Locally, this is the greatest increase in housing developments for low-income families in more than 50 years.
Do you support a consolidated government with the city? Why or why
not?
At a high level, consolidation of our city and county governments might seem like a good idea. Common sense would suggest that a streamlined government structure would save taxpayer dollars and increase efficiency. On December 9, 2025, the Leon County Commission discussed the issue and voted 5-2 in favor of proceeding with a non-binding referendum for the November 3, 2026 ballot, to gauge public interest in exploring consolidation. I voted in favor of that motion.
The devil’s in the details, however. For example, Leon County has distinct urban and rural areas, with different needs and different expectations of service. How do we fairly split costs between urban and rural residents? Would consolidated law enforcement be more effective and more responsive? How do we ensure that our rural residents continue to have strong representation of their interests and priorities?
In Leon County, consolidation has appeared on the ballot four times – in 1971, 1973, 1976 and 1992. In each case, there appeared to be early, broad support, but that support declined once the community started debating the details. As a result, those referenda failed to pass. Other Florida communities such as Hillsborough, Escambia, Alachua and Volusia have similar stories, but all of these votes took place more than 30 years ago. It’s possible that attitudes have changed.
If this year’s non-binding referendum passes in November, I’m committed to working in good faith with my colleagues and the community to draft a sensible proposal. At that point, my personal support of consolidation will depend on whether we can develop a plan that provides clear financial benefits, ensures quality services for both urban and rural areas, and which obtains broad community support.
Do you support an interlocal agreement with the city (specifically fire/ems
services but could apply to other services)? If so, what do you plan to do
to mend the relationship with the city? If you do not, what do you plan to
suggest to offset our neighbor’s tax cost for a new county fire
department?
Leon County and the City of Tallahassee have a long history of working collaboratively and productively through interlocal agreements, such as with the Tallahassee-Leon County Planning Commission, water/sewer, GIS, parks and recreation, road maintenance, and a shared permitting portal. Leon County residents – within the City limits and in the unincorporated areas – benefit significantly when these intergovernmental partnerships are fair, transparent, and fiscally responsible.
I was disappointed when the County and City Commissions could not come to an agreement on the City’s proposal to increase fire service fees. The rhetoric on both sides has been overly heated, and it shouldn’t be. Residents don’t care whether the County or City “wins” this battle… they just want high-quality, affordable fire protection services. As such, your County and City Commissioners need to calmly work together and find the best solution for the people who live here.
My role, as I see it, is to help cool tempers and quickly find the best, most effective way to reestablish an interlocal agreement for fire services. I’ve reached out to some City Commissioners and have had very constructive conversations.
The County recently hired a top-tier consulting firm to evaluate our current fire services agreement, identify and compare alternative service delivery models, and recommend cost-effective options. When this report is completed and released later this year, we’ll have an unbiased, third-party analysis of what option(s) will best serve this entire community. And that can be a catalyst for bringing the County and City together again to negotiate a new interlocal agreement.
When it comes to Blueprint, if there was one project you could remove,
what would it be? Assuming that blueprint has sufficient funding to
replace the project you removed, what project/idea would you replace it
with?
If you’re asking about Blueprint projects from the past or present, I would remove the $27 million for Doak Campbell Stadium improvements (the $20 million appropriation, plus $7 million in debt service). Yes, the stadium is a huge economic driver and our entire community benefits from FSU’s success. I also agree that stadium upgrades were worthwhile and necessary, but I don’t believe taxpayers’ Blueprint funds should have been used for them. Blueprint’s $20 million was a relatively small share of the entire stadium renovation project – less than 8% of the total $265 million cost. If those funds had been spent elsewhere, they could have had a broader, more direct benefit for Leon County’s residents.
For example, we could have used the $27 million to purchase the Railroad Square properties and start redeveloping them into a revitalized arts/cultural district that would benefit the surrounding Southside neighborhoods as well as the entire community. Not only would this provide a family-friendly entertainment venue for residents, but it would also attract people from throughout the region, drawing commerce to the Southside, creating jobs, and increasing tourism.
Many of our neighbors locally and in Wakulla are feeling and seeing the
effects of bad environmental practices on our waterways. Our county and
city play a role in this destruction, is this an issue that concerns you, if so,
what will you propose in order to correct our negative impact on our
environment?
Yes, this greatly concerns me. Our lakes, rivers and streams are integral to our quality of life, yet it’s clear that failing septic tanks in Leon County are degrading the aquifer and, consequently, Wakulla Springs. To address this, Leon County’s Commission and staff have made septic-to-sewer conversion a priority. In Leon County’s FY2022-2026 Strategic Plan, we’ve committed to upgrading or eliminating 500 septic tanks in the Primary Springs Protection Zone. And because of our close work with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP), Leon County has received more than $9 million in FDEP grants for our septic-to-sewer projects.
In addition, the Lake Jackson Aquatic Preserve (LJAP) is in District 3 and I’ve made its protection a high priority. In 2024, Leon County received a congressional appropriation of $800,000 for the restoration of Ford’s Arm at Lake Jackson. These funds are being used to mitigate flooding and improve water quality.
During comprehensive plan rewrites last year, a proposed change for rural land north of Lake Jackson would have allowed the development of tens of thousands of new housing units. In two letters to our Planning Department, FDEP expressed concern that development of this magnitude would have a detrimental effect on the LJAP. Working with conservation groups and neighbors, I stood strong against these excessive land use changes and the proposal was rescinded.
We have seen our public assets being sold by the city at an expedited
pace. If the county proposes selling county assets, what is your position
on selling public assets and what does your ideal process for selling
public assets look like?
Public assets belong to the people. Selling them should be thoughtful, and justified as a clear benefit to the community.
Any proposal to sell significant County property should include:
- Transparent public hearings.
- A public inventory and explanation of why the asset is no longer needed.
- Independent valuation.
- Clear articulation of how proceeds will be used for long-term public benefit.
Quick sales without sufficient community input undermine public trust. I would insist on a transparent, methodical process.
Neighbors living in the city pay county taxes. How do you plan to
represent their voices when they feel unheard by the city elected
officials?
I work for every resident in Leon County — whether inside or outside the city limits — and if they wish to express a position to the City Commission or need other assistance from the City, I try my best to make sure their voice is heard.
So long as it’s fully compliant with Sunshine Law, I often speak with City Commissioners about major issues. For example, I’ve called City Commissioners to share constituents’ positions on the Tallahassee Memorial Healthcare deliberations, the fire services fee, and the City’s firefighters’ contract negotiations. I’ve also told City Commissioners they are welcome to discuss County-specific issues with me, so long as we won’t vote on them together as members of the same governing body (e.g., Blueprint, etc.). While I don’t always agree with the positions taken by City Commissioners, I believe it’s important to maintain these lines of communication.
It’s also helpful to maintain productive relationships with non-elected City officials. In February, I organized a North Monroe Business Crime Watch meeting for businesses along the corridor. Since much of North Monroe is within the city limits, I invited Tallahassee Police Department Chief Lawrence Revell to speak, and he graciously accepted.
No problem is too small. When residents contact me about a missed trash pickup within the City limits, County staff and I work to ensure the City is notified. When I read a City constituents’ Facebook post about a leaking dumpster within the City limits, I contacted a City Commissioner for help in cleaning it up.
What is one thing your neighbors can’t find through a Google search but
that you would like your neighbors to know about you?
What people may not see online is how seriously I take the responsibility of this office. I study the issues. I ask detailed questions. I think carefully before I vote.
True public service is not about headlines — it’s about steady, consistent work. This is my full-time job, and I want my neighbors to know that I approach it with humility, preparation, and a genuine commitment to doing what’s best for Leon County residents.
Campaign Website Link
For more information about my campaign, please visit:
www.RickMinor.com
