Florida › Leon County › Tallahassee City Commission Seat 3
3 candidates are tracked for Tallahassee City Commission Seat 3, headed to a November 3, 2026 runoff: Tom Derzypolski, Talethia Edwards and PJ Perez. Candidate information follows official Leon County election filings; verify with the official election office linked below.
August 18 result: PJ Perez (29.1 percent, 11,612 votes) advances to the November 3 runoff; the second spot goes to a machine recount, with Tom Derzypolski (10,524) leading Talethia Edwards (10,500) by 24 votes, per the Supervisor of Elections and WCTV. All three are shown until the recount settles the pairing.
Tom Derzypolski
Nonpartisan
Tom Derzypolski is the co-founder and owner of Tallahassee PR firm BowStern and an eight-year Navy corpsman veteran, FSU graduate and past local Red Cross chair, per his campaign site; he is the race's top fundraiser.
2026 priorities
- Responsible growth, per his campaign site
- Public safety investment, per his campaign site
- Fiscal responsibility and transparency, per his campaign site
Source: candidate campaign site, roster verified 2026-08-19.
Reported fundraising: $121,869 (county campaign-finance filings).
Campaign site →
Talethia Edwards
Nonpartisan
Talethia Edwards is an urban planner and executive director of Good News Outreach who, as Greater Bond Neighborhood Association president, led the neighborhood's first plan and secured a $6.4 million investment, per her campaign site.
2026 priorities
- Affordable housing solutions like accessory dwelling units, per her campaign site
- Stronger neighborhoods and community-led planning, per her campaign site
- Equitable economic development, per Tallahassee Reports' forum coverage
Source: candidate campaign site, roster verified 2026-08-19.
Reported fundraising: $88,359 (county campaign-finance filings).
Campaign site →
PJ Perez is a public school teacher of more than 15 years, including SAIL High School and Tallahassee Collegiate Academy, per WFSU.
2026 priorities
- Urban infill over outward expansion and Blueprint reform, per his WFSU Candidate Convos interview
- Smart growth that protects neighborhoods, per WFSU
- Transparency and accountability at City Hall, per WFSU
Reported fundraising: $73,733 (county campaign-finance filings).
