Water Damage Restoration in Tallahassee, FL

Updated 9:58 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 5.

After more than a year of legal wrangling in some cases, the Florida electorate has decided which constitutional amendments they approve of and which ones they do not.

Note that these are unofficial Election Day results and the final numbers may be different.

Who won?See the 2024 Florida general election results

Amendment 1 - Partisan School Board Members - FAILED

Makes district school board elections partisan again with candidates' political parties listed with their names on ballots, the way they were before voters decided to make them nonpartisan in 1998.

Amendment 2 - Right to Hunt and Fish - PASSED

Enshrines hunting and fishing "preserved forever as a public right" in the Florida constitution and establishes that hunting and fishing are the preferred means for "responsibly managing and controlling fish and wildlife."

Amendment passes:Florida voters add 'right to hunt and fish' to state constitution

Amendment 3 - Recreational Marijuana - FAILED

Anyone 21 years old and older would be able to use and possess up to 3 ounces of marijuana with not more than 5 grams in a concentrated form (with assorted restrictions). Pot could be sold through marijuana dispensaries without the need for a medical marijuana card.

Amendment 4 - Abortion Access - FAILED

Makes abortion legal until fetal viability, which is generally considered to be around 23-24 weeks. It would also allow abortions when necessary to protect a patient’s health, as determined by a health care provider.

Amendment 5 - Homestead Annual Inflation Adjustment - PASSED

Ties part of homestead property exemptions to inflation rates, could reduce revenue for local governments.

Amendment 6 - Public Campaign Financing - FAILED

Public funding would end for candidates for governor/lieutenant governor, attorney general, chief financial officer and agriculture commissioner.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) - After months of candidates inundating voters with commercials and texts in attempts to win their votes, the time to cast ballots has finally arrived.

See WCTV's complete 2024 Election Guide by clicking here

Many Leon County residents have already voted. As of about noon Monday, the Leon County Supervisor of Elections Office has received more than 110,000 ballots, with more than 76,000 of those coming from early voters. As of Monday, the county reports about a 59% voter turnout.

READ: Here are the key Leon County races to watch this general election

Early voting ended Sunday in Leon County. But the remaining 41% of registered voters in the Capital County still have one more chance to cast their ballot: Election Day, which is Tuesday.

Polls will be open in Leon County on Tuesday, November 5 from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. If you are in line to vote by 7 p.m., you will be allowed to cast your ballot.

The Leon County Supervisor of Elections Office urges residents to verify their polling location online. You can do so by clicking here. You can also view your sample ballot at that link.

When you show up to vote, make sure to bring your ID. Upon arrival, a poll worker will ask you to verify your name and address before handing you your ballot.

It is not too late to turn in your Vote-by-Mail ballots. The Supervisor of Elections Office accepts those until 7 p.m. on Election Day. While it is too late to try to mail the ballot, voters can still hand-deliver completed Vote-by-Mail ballots to the Elections Office at 2990-1 Apalachee Parkway.

Family members are also allowed to drop off Vote-by-Mail ballots.

If you cannot make it to your polling location on Election Day, you have two options, according to the Supervisor of Elections Office:

The Supervisor of Elections Office notes that the second option has special requirements: “To vote this way, voters must give a reason they cannot vote at their regular polling place. A family member can also be designated to pick up a voter’s Vote-by-Mail ballot for them with a completed designee form.”

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Tours are beginning for the Tallahassee Florida Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

On Monday, October 28, 2024, the media attended a news conference and toured the new house of the Lord. Those participating in the event included Elder Neil L. Andersen of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.

"We loved seeing the temple," said Elder Andersen. "I was very, very moved by the feelings in the temple."

[The journalists] had good questions, said Elder Corbitt of the North America Southeast Area Presidency. “It was a beautiful, unifying experience.”

At the news conference, Elder Andersen and his wife Kathy expressed their love for Florida and why this temple is so special to them. Kathy is from Florida, and they raised their children in Tampa.

“It just fills our hearts thinking about what this means to the people of northern Florida,” Elder Andersen said.

Kathy’s great-grandfather was baptized in Florida and sold all he owned to travel to a temple.

“His sacrifice at that time was quite great,” she said. “To think that there is a temple now where my great-grandfather traveled, sold everything, to be able to go to the temple is just such an amazing blessing and such a great gift from our Heavenly Father.”

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Public Open House

The public open house will run from Monday, November 4, through Saturday, November 23, 2024, excluding Sundays. All are invited to tour the temple. There is no cost to attend, and reservations are not needed.

Temples are sacred buildings designed to help God’s children feel close to Him and His Son, Jesus Christ. Once the temple is dedicated, entrance is reserved for members of the Church. This open house is a unique opportunity to tour this house of worship.

"Temples give to us a place that, for us, is the most sacred place in all the earth," said Elder Andersen.

Beth Demme, a pastor at Gray Memorial United Methodist Church in Tallahassee, took a tour through the temple on Monday, October 28. “I was really impressed by how every detail is intended to glorify God,” she said. “I was really moved just by that intentionality.”

“I've seen open houses in various communities, and the temple blesses the community as a whole,” said Elder Corbitt. “It's not just members of the Church. The whole community is lifted, it's blessed.”

Elder Patrick Kearon of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles will dedicate the temple on Sunday, December 8, 2024, at 9 a.m. EST, and the dedication will be broadcast to all units of the Tallahassee Florida Temple district. When dedicated, this house of the Lord will be the 202nd operating temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

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About the Tallahassee Florida Temple

Temples of the Church of Jesus Christ are different from meetinghouses or chapels where members gather for Sunday worship services. A temple is considered a house of the Lord, where the teachings of Jesus Christ are reaffirmed through marriage, baptism and other sacred agreements that unite families for eternity.

"It gives us a place where we can reflect on what is really important in life," said Elder Andersen.

“In temples we have the opportunity to learn more about Jesus Christ, to draw near to him, to find hope in his teachings, to link families together for eternity. Temples mean everything to us,” said Beth Sundstrom, a native of Tallahassee and a fourth-generation member of the Church of Jesus Christ.

Construction began with a groundbreaking ceremony on Saturday, June 5, 2021. Elder James B. Martino, now an emeritus General Authority Seventy, presided at the ceremony.

“This temple will bless the entire land around it and the entire community,” he said. “It will be a beacon of holiness and a place of peace for all to both see and feel. Here we will seek to draw closer to God, to hear His voice, and seek to follow His teachings.”

The Tallahassee Florida Temple is a single-story structure of approximately 29,000 square feet on a 4.97-acre site at 2440 Papillion Way in northeast Tallahassee.

This new house of the Lord is one of five temples in Florida that are in operation, are under construction or have been announced. The others are or will be located in Fort Lauderdale, Jacksonville, Orlando and Tampa. The Tallahassee temple will serve more than 30,000 members of the Church in 77 congregations.

There are more than 170,000 Latter-day Saints in nearly 275 congregations in Florida, which is in the far Southeastern United States.

“Come and join with us and find why we have such great hope and endless joy,” invited Sundstrom. “Come and see and appreciate the beauty of the temple, but also come and feel what the temple really means to us because of our faith in Jesus Christ.”

Style Guide Note:When reporting about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, please use the complete name of the Church in the first reference. For more information on the use of the name of the Church, go to our online Style Guide.

These days there are so many mailers, commercials and candidate forums, it’s easy to forget about the city charter amendments that Tallahassee city residents will see on their ballots this year. Here's a breakdown of what those amendments are and what voting yes or no on them would mean.

Perhaps the most controversial local charter amendment concerns increasing city commissioners’ pay. That’s Question 1 on the ballot. It reads, “Shall the Charter of the City of Tallahassee be amended to provide that members of the City Commission be paid an annual salary equal to the annual salary set by state law for members of the Board of County Commissioners of Leon County, Florida?”

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What that means is that if Question 1 passes, city commissioners would earn the same salary as the county commissioners and the mayor. Right now, that’s $99,000 dollars per year. That’s a big increase over the $49,500 dollars city commissioners currently make. And it’s more than commissioners in other large Florida cities make.

But Tallahassee City Commissioner Curtis Richardson says it could mean the difference between someone running for local office or not.

“It’s been very difficult when I was working full time -- I’m retired now -- to be able to do both," he said. "And I can see in the future there will be individuals who would like to serve, but they can’t do it because of the salary that we’re paid, which is half of what county commissioners and the mayor are paid.”

City commissioners receive the same medical insurance, flex bucks, 401(k), and pension benefits as other city of Tallahassee employees. They also get a supplement and a car allowance as benefits provided to elected officials.

The majority of Charter Review Committee members agreed that the commissioners should get a raise. But due to the chronic infighting on the commission, many knowledgeable observers predict this amendment will fail.

Question 2 would expand the jurisdiction of the Independent Ethics Board to include city commissioners when they’re serving as board members of outside governmental agencies. Think of the Blueprint Intergovernmental Agency, on which the city commissioners are all board members.

“The perception of corruption leads to loss of trust.”

That's Ernie Paine of the group Citizens for Ethics Reform. He was on the Charter Review Committee—a group of 10 people appointed by the city commission to vet proposed charter changes. The commissioners assigned four topics to the committee – but Paine proposed another, ethics-related, and it was approved, first by the committee and then by the commission.

Paine’s hope is that expanding oversight at City Hall will lead to a culture shift.

“The only way we can restore trust in city government is through transparency and accountability," he said.

Questions 3 and 4 have garnered less discussion from commissioners or members of the public. Three would eliminate the August primary election in two-person races, and 4 would enact a charter review once every 10 years.

That brings us to Question 5—proposed by Dennis Sutton, the city’s inspector general. It simply says, “Shall the Charter of the City of Tallahassee be amended to define the role of the Inspector General by charter rather than by ordinance?”

“Right now, the investigative division is only provided for by ordinance," said Sutton. "The audit division is provided for by charter."

Sutton is also the city's auditor. He handles whistle-blower complaints for most city employees. But because the inspector general reports to the commission, he says his office can’t process complaints involving commissioners, their staffers, or his own staff. He says a yes vote would change that, because the city commission cannot choose to abolish any office defined by the charter.

“This is an opportunity to bring the two and meet best practices into one office under one official instead of myself serving two roles at one time – both city auditor and inspector general – which is, frankly, unique anywhere that I know of.”

Not everyone agrees with the idea. Charter Review Committee member Jared Willis is president of the consulting firm Catalyst Strategies.

“My concern was that this would was something that would be weaponized, because we’re talking about whistle-blower complaints against city commissioners,” said Willis.

Willis ultimately changed his mind when the Charter Review Committee members decided to vote unanimously for Question 5 to appear on the ballot.

It’s been a long process. But now Tallahassee voters will have their say.

***

The League of Women Voters has put out a guide on the city charter amendments.

The Victorian house is being torn down to make room for DeSantis' security team.

Tallahassee neighbors say they were in disbelief Monday morning as they watched the demolition of one of the oldest Victorian homes in the area.

Local residents and a handful of state officials from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, watched as a wrecking crew bulldozed the former Gladstone Mansion in Downtown Tallahassee.

The old family home was built in 1897. It later served as a boarding place for World War II soldiers. Only the mansion’s stained-glass windows were preserved—everything else was turned to rubble.

“Yeah, they’re tearing it down, and I have mixed emotions about it," said J. Doug Smith, a seventh-generation Tallahassee native and the great grandnephew of the man who built the Gladstone home.

The Gladstone at 716 N. Monroe, formerly known as the E. L. White Boarding House, was built in 1897 and is the last Victorian home standing on Monroe. It is currently being torn down by the State of Florida for the sole purpose of improving the view to the Governor's Mansion 1/ pic.twitter.com/bQzC2CpJ7L

— Tallahassee History (@TLH_History) August 6, 2024

Smith said Monday that he’s sad to see it go, but finds joy in the fact that a piece of his family’s home will be kept safe in the Tallahassee Museum.

“I look at the positive part of it," said Smith. "The state is giving us, the Tallahassee Historical Society, the four stained glass windows. And we’ve already made arrangements to donate them to the Tallahassee Museum. So, they’ll still be around for people to see.”

The Gladstone was one of the oldest Victorian homes in Tallahassee. After years of abandonment, the state bought the property in June for half a million dollars. State authorities said they needed the house to be gone, because it posed "significant security issues” for the Governor’s Mansion, which sits directly behind it on Adams Street.

Governor Ron DeSantis has spent $2 million buying up similar historic buildings around Tallahassee to make room for security at the Governor’s Mansion.