Like many in Tallahassee, I moved here to pursue higher education and stayed after finding community and a purpose as a high school teacher.
My love of music also led me to a wonderful community where I met the love of my life. Alicia and I were married in 2014, and have since added two beautiful children to our family.
I’ve been blessed by Tallahassee. These experiences, and many others like it, define my candidacy. I plan to lead the same way I plan to campaign: by listening and putting people first.
As a city commissioner, I promise to serve Tallahassee with transparency and accountability to the public, working collaboratively with community-led groups to meet our City’s needs.
Meet
PJ PEREZ
Our Vision
Connection is at the center of my campaign. My 15 years as a public educator has given me a unique perspective on the pressing need for genuine social connection to combat isolation. We cannot insulate ourselves from politics at the state and federal level, but we can take those feelings of frustration and direct them towards local civic engagement. It’s an incremental process that will take time and sacrifice, but everything valuable and important is born out of meaningful struggle. Let’s embrace the challenge of co-creating a vision for Tallahassee that we can all be proud of!
My decisions as a commissioner will be informed by connection and aligned with the needs of the entire city — not just the powerful.
More Transparency & Accountability
It's no secret Tallahassee has major issues with too few voices at the table on too many important decisions. The proposed TMH-FSU hospital transfer, major Blueprint projects, and hurried land use amendments to our Comp plan are all examples of ways in which city hall has been isolating itself from community input.
I'll be a commissioner who advocates for more Town Hall-style public events with my fellow elected officials and members of the public. My goal is to make local government more accessible so I’ll always have an open door to anyone who wishes to find more ways to connect to city hall. Elected officials are members of the communities they govern. They must work collaboratively with people from the community by tapping into all the inspired grassroots activism happening across various sectors in our city.
Improving Walkability & Fighting Sprawl
A vibrant city prioritizes having amenities people can access without a car, regardless of what part of town you're in. Walkable development decreases traffic congestion, facilitates connections, and enhances public safety. Human-scaled development emphasizes connection by building communities where people can walk, bike, and interact.
Reckless urban sprawl disconnects us from each other, our environment, and from our ability to remain financially viable as a city. The debt obligation brought on by the associated infrastructure costs of far-flung sprawl becomes an albatross on our city’s budget. We must engage in thoughtful growth informed by the needs of our community.
Fighting for Local Control
As we've seen with the ordeal over brightly colored artistic crosswalks being erased by State Government overreach, "Home Rule" local authority is under attack from politicians looking to serve outside interests. The more we meaningfully engage with each other in our community the better we’ll be able to push back against unwanted state and federal mandates. We’re all shareholders in this city and the more honest, solution-driven dialogues we have, the more of ourselves we’ll see in our growth as a city.