Drew Wilson
Lobbyist, Florida State University alumnus and longtime Tallahassee resident Gus Corbella has applied to fill the City Commission seat vacated by Scott Maddox’ suspension from office.
“The entirety of my career and civic life has been devoted to public service and advocacy,” Corbella said in a letter to the commission.
“From my formal education at New York University and Florida State, to my decade of service in the Florida Legislature, to the numerous state and local organizations I have been privileged to serve on and lead, I believe my qualifications would provide the Commission with an able and experienced partner in managing the affairs of our great city, and in collegially working with you all in setting a vision for where were are destined to go next.”
Corbella, the senior director of government law and policy for Greenberg Traurig, also put in the application for personal reasons — Tallahassee is his home.
“I have spent over half of my life building a career, raising a family and serving my community in a variety of ways,” he said in the letter. “I am excited about this potential opportunity to continue to serve my community and fellow Tallahasseeans in a meaningful and dedicated manner.”
Corbella’s CV includes numerous positions in state government, from his beginnings as a legislate analyst in the state House, to serving as senior adviser to former Arizona U.S. Sen. John McCain’s presidential campaign. His current position is focused on legislative and executive branch lobbying as well as public policy advocacy.
Corbella is the first to publicly announce he intends to seek an appointment to Maddox’ seat on the commission. Maddox and Downtown Improvement Authority Executive Director Paige Carter-Smith were indicted by a federal jury for public corruption Wednesday morning.
That indictment, according to the Northern District, is “for conspiring to operate a racketeering enterprise that engaged in acts of bank fraud, extortion, honest services fraud, and bribery. Some of the charges in the 44-count indictment carry prison sentences of up to 30 years.
Maddox and Carter-Smith pleaded not guilty to the charges Wednesday, though Gov. Rick Scott later signed an executive order indefinitely suspending Maddox from office without pay, saying it was “in the best interests of the residents of the city of Tallahassee.”
