Tallahassee’s values are Democratic values | Ryan Ray

Democrats in Tallahassee are united around a common cause: defeating Donald Trump to preserve our quality of life in Tallahassee and protect the democracy that guards the freedoms we all value in our nation.

Another Trump term, emboldened by a right-wing activist Supreme Court, would be even more devastating to our interests than state Republicans’ inability to control insurance premiums, reckless oil drilling currently proposed in the Apalachicola River, and Gov. Ron DeSantis’ callous vetoes of local arts funding.

Overturning marijuana prohibition and a woman’s right to choose, free from gerrymandered state politicians’ dictates, are on the ballot in 2024. Many people in Leon County support these initiatives and the Leon County Democratic Party agrees with them.

An increasingly authoritarian Republican Party seeks to deprive us of these fundamental freedoms. But once again, we will win at the ballot box, just as we did to secure medicinal marijuana and an increased state minimum wage.

The party of Franklin Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy and Barack Obama continues to be the party of Leon County’s values – and our best vehicle for fighting back.

Were it not for the efforts of our Leon DEC’s leadership, a Moms for Liberty-backed Republican School Board member would have gone unopposed. Instead, we will return that critical seat to the Democratic column – and governance in step with our town’s values.

I don’t expect Democrats to agree on everything. Our strength lies in our rich diversity and ardent internal debate, after all. But we can agree that standing up to MAGA extremists who seek to enrich billionaires at the expense of the rest of us is the right thing to do.

Whether you’re a fiscal conservative tired of wasteful giveaways and no-bid contracts to the developer class, a Democratic progressive or Blue Dog, or a No Party Affiliated voter understandably weary from the antics of cynical hackery on either side, I ask you to join with us in supporting grassroots Democratic candidates with a reform vision for the future — the antidote to the back room deals of the Bad Old Days in Tallahassee.

Just last week, elections in the United Kingdom and France showed the world people are tired of Far-Right authoritarianism. Let’s continue the global momentum against fascism and greed and towards a better world order that works for everyday people, right here at home.

Ryan Ray is chair of the Leon County Democratic Party, aide to City Commissioner Jeremy Matlow and host of the Florida affairs podcast “Tropical Depression.” He can be reached at chair@leondems.com .

JOIN THE CONVERSATION

Send letters to the editor (up to 200 words) or Your Turn columns (about 500 words) to letters@tallahassee.com . Please include your address for verification purposes only, and if you send a Your Turn, also include a photo and 1-2 line bio of yourself. You can also submit anonymous Zing!s at Tallahassee.com/Zing. Submissions are published on a space-available basis. All submissions may be edited for content, clarity and length, and may also be published by any part of the USA TODAY NETWORK.

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Tallahassee’s values are Democratic values | Ryan Ray