City of Tallahassee Attorney Cassandra Jackson is stepping down
attorney Cassandra Jackson.”/>
Tallahassee City attorney Cassandra Jackson is resigning from her position after five years on the job.
Her sudden resignation is effective Nov. 24, according to a proposed contract amendment that will go before city commissioners next week. The amendment says Jackson will stay on as a city employee/consultant through June 1, 2024. She will maintain the same salary and benefits.
It’s not clear if Jackson submitted a letter of resignation. Today, one day after the agenda modification was made public, Jackson sent a written statement to the Tallahassee Democrat about her decision.
“It has been the honor of my legal career of nearly 40 years to serve as Tallahassee’s City attorney,” Jackson wrote. “Public service is one of the most admirable and rewarding of professions. I have served the public with the highest level of legal professionalism, knowledge and integrity throughout my career and will continue to do so.”
She went on to say that “for personal reasons,” she’s requested the City Commission amend her employment agreement to permit resignation and continue to serve as a legal advisor “until my planned retirement on June 1, 2024.”
“City residents can be assured that I will leave the City of Tallahassee with a current legal staff that has extraordinary legal training and skill,” Jackson wrote.
The agenda item added Thursday comes after City Commissioner Jeremy Matlow blasted Assistant City Manager Wayne Tedder in videos posted Oct. 30 on X, formerly Twitter, for excluding and “disparaging” Jackson in text messages with an attorney representing Jacksonville-based GreenPointe Developers, the company behind a 900-acre development within “The Heel” of the Welaunee Plantation property. Plans call for a road that will cut across a portion of Miccosukee Greenway.
In the text shared by Matlow, Tedder commiserates with the developer’s attorney and tells him it’s “pretty dang obvious the city attorney believes staff has given away the farm.”
“Unfortunately she lacks the credentials, knowledge and experience with the issues to make a positive contribution to this level of work,” Tedder writes in the text shared by Matlow.
Jackson did not immediately respond for comment. City management has not released a statement on her resignation or subsequent work assignment.
Matlow said he believes the resignation was prompted by “the nature of the work environment.” He called Jackson’s resignation “heartbreaking.”
“We have a city management office that has been trying to work around her for months, conspiring with developers, attorneys to get conflicting legal advice,” Matlow told the Tallahassee Democrat. “She just sees that when you look at where city government is now and where the majority of the commission is taking us, I think she just doesn’t feel like she has the support to continue.”
Before the agenda modification was released, Commissioner Dianne Williams-Cox told the Democrat that she “could not confirm or deny” whether Jackson resigned as the city attorney.
“Regarding Cassandra and what she is doing and not doing, it’s up to her to decide what she wants to say about that,” Williams-Cox said. “If you want a confirmation or denial, you need to talk to the city attorney.”
Jackson, an appointed official who answers to the City Commission, was hired in April 2018 and had served as the deputy city attorney for two years before taking the position.
She received her Bachelor and Juris Doctorate degree with high honors from Stetson University. According to the city, Jackson is a member in good standing with The Florida Bar, United States Circuit Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida, and the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida.
Contact Reporter TaMaryn Waters at tlwaters@tallahassee.com. Follow @TaMarynWaters on X.
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