TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) - Tallahassee voters will have another name to choose from when picking a new mayor in November: Mayor Gillum's former Chief of Staff Dustin Daniels.
"When you love a place, you ought to try to leave it better than when you found it, and I think the question always for me was how best I feel like I can serve," said Daniels.
On the same day Dustin Daniels' resignation as the mayor's chief of staff was official, he wasted no time making his next move.
"When I ended up looking at what I felt like I could best bring to city government, the office of the mayor is the best place that I feel most comfortable where I can make an impact," said Daniels.
He says his experience working alongside the mayor put him in a strong position to lead the city.
"We have achieved some remarkable things as a community these last couple of years, but we have a whole lot of work to do," said Daniels.
Last week, WTXL political contributor Dr. Richard Murgo predicted Daniels would be a frontrunner if he ended up running.
"Daniels certainly coming in with the mayor's experience and things of that nature. John has very good name-recognition and a good reputation in Tallahassee, so it'll be a tough race between the two of them," said Murgo.
"Ultimately, this election is going to be very much about competing visions for our city," said Daniels. "It's going to be about a competition of ideas, and I look forward to that."
Daniels said the city is at a breaking point and can go in several different directions come November. He said his time here at City Hall will help him move the community forward.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) - Dustin Daniels is running to become Tallahassee mayor.
Daniels' resignation as chief of staff to Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum becomes effective today, April 13.
Gillum is seeking the Democratic nomination for governor.
Daniels filed paperwork to run for mayor at the Leon County Supervisor of Elections office at 9 a.m. Friday.
He recently posted a campaign ad saying his experience at City Hall has led him to consider running for office.
"When you feel you lead, then you should probably step up and try to, and I think no better time than now," Daniels said.
Already in the mayoral race are County Commissioner John Dailey and military veterans Erik David and Joe West.
A WTXL political contributor, Dr. Richard Murgo, recently commented on the mayoral race, predicting the November vote will likely come down to Dailey and Daniels.
"If Daniels comes in, obviously this is going to be a race between the two of them, and it's probably going to be a hard-fought race," Murgo said.
