Drop out, Max.

If something on this page is inaccurate, or if you have a record you want added or removed, write to tlhresident@gmail.com.

From Direct Messages

Below are screenshots of messages sent to us detailing first- or second-hand interactions with Max Herrle. Only personally-identifying information has been redacted to preserve anonymity.

Redacted direct message about Max Herrle

From Community Leaders

Author Jeff VanderMeer describing his own dealings with Max Herrle and why he opposes his candidacy:

Joint Statement from the Leon County Progressive Caucus and partners about Max Herrle's silence in the face of multiple serious accusations.

Max's History of Electioneering

Max Herrle has spent years in Tallahassee’s political scene, gaining proximity to powerful politicians and cover to evade accountability.

Prior to his run for Tallahassee City Commission, Max was a lobbyist and political operative. Below are snippets from articles detailing some of his electioneering work in Tallahassee:

12/12/21 · Tallahassee Democrat

“Our Tallahassee says it is an example of “citizen journalism,” but critics see something more akin to electioneering.”

05/26/22 · Tallahassee Democrat

“Our Tallahassee, run by PR man Bob Lotane and campaign operative and former lobbyist Max Herrle, bills itself as a “multi-platform media outlet” offering a “progressive perspective” on news.”

07/18/22 · Tallahassee Democrat

“Herrle said that this cycle, he is giving unpaid advice to only one candidate, Adner Marcelin, who’s challenging City Commissioner Dianne Williams-Cox for Seat 5. However, he’s involved in a broader effort to help candidates who opposed a controversial $27 million appropriation by the Blueprint sales-tax board to fund Doak Campbell Stadium improvements.”

10/07/22 · Tallahassee Democrat

“Initially, the site launched in secrecy, not listing any staffers or bylines. But Lotane wrote a column introducing the website, its philosophy and other contributors including Herrle and author Jeff VanderMeer, who later parted ways with Our Tallahassee but continued to promote it.”

12/23/22 · Tristan Wood, journalist

“… former Our Tallahassee publisher Bob Lotane is suing Max Herrle for over $5k, accusing him of making purchases unauthorized by the organization.”

01/09/23 · Tallahassee Democrat

“Bob Lotane, the former publisher of Our Tallahassee, filed a small claims action Dec. 20 against Max Herrle, who was the site’s sole paid staffer. Lotane’s statement of claim says the board of Our Tallahassee and the North Florida Action Fund, the nonprofit that took in contributions for the website, “severed all relations” with Herrle on Oct. 2.”

11/01/24 · Tallahassee Democrat

“OT ran its last major story in April when it sought to upend a DUI case, accusing a Tallahassee police officer of planting evidence in an edited body-cam video that went viral. The jury went on to convict the driver.”