Records Raise Questions About Anonymous Political Posts During City Employee’s Workday
At 8:32 a.m. on Aug. 9, 2022, an anonymous commenter using the name “NE Moderate” posted a comment on Tallahassee Reports.
Another comment appeared at 9:38 a.m.
Then 9:58 a.m.
Then 10:58 a.m., 11:02 a.m. and 11:50 a.m.
At 1:09 p.m., NE Moderate posted again.
Seven comments in less than five hours.
City of Tallahassee payroll records reviewed by Tallahassee Reports show Ryan Ray, an aide to City Commissioner Jeremy Matlow, clocked in at 8 a.m. that morning and clocked out at 5 p.m.
The seven-comment sequence is not an isolated occurrence. A months-long TR investigation into hundreds of comments posted under the NE Moderate screen name found a significant amount of the account’s activity occurred during weekday working hours through 2024.
TR has determined – through sources close to the progressive movement and IP address analysis – that Ray was the person posting comments under the NE Moderate name during the period examined. For years, many political insiders assumed Ray was commenting under the NE Moderate screen name. However, now those assumptions have been corroborated.For example, TR was able to match comments to out-of-town IP addresses at the same time Ray was in those out-of-town locations.
Ray currently serves as Matlow’s City Commission aide and is paid approximately $90,000 annually.
TR has asked for comment from Ray and Commissioner Matlow.
The investigation raises questions about how much time a taxpayer-funded City employee spent anonymously participating in Tallahassee’s political debate during hours he was being paid by the City.
And these questions are not just about Tallahassee Reports. Ray, who is the head of the Leon County Democratic Party, is responsible for social media accounts with thousands of posts over the last two years. Some of these posts occurred on the same days that comments were posted on TR when Ray was being paid by the City of Tallahassee. TR is currently analyzing those posts.
It also raises additional questions: What was NE Moderate saying? Did the anonymous account advocate for or against candidates for public office? Did Ray’s boss – Commissioner Jeremy Matlow – know about the activity? Were state laws and city policies related to political activities of employees violated. And were City equipment or other taxpayer-funded resources involved?
Those questions will be examined in subsequent installments of this series.
343 Comments Examined
TR reviewed 343 NE Moderate comments posted between December 2018 and June 2024 and analyzed the date and time associated with each comment. The results show a striking concentration during conventional working hours.
Of the 343 comments, 225 — 65.6% — were posted Monday through Friday between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Another 80, or 23.3%, were posted on weekdays outside those hours, while 38, or 11.1%, were posted on weekends.
The concentration increased during 2023, when NE Moderate was most active. Of 191 comments that year, 139 — 72.8% — were posted between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. on weekdays.
Those numbers alone, however, could not establish that Ray was actually working when the comments appeared. Employees take vacations, use leave, work different schedules and take lunch breaks. TR therefore sought Ray’s City time records.
Timecards Compared With Comments
TR identified 14 weeks with some of the heaviest NE Moderate comment activity and obtained Ray’s City timecards for those periods. The records generally show Ray working an 8 a.m.-to-5 p.m. schedule, with eight hours credited for a normal workday.
TR then compared the timestamps of NE Moderate comments with Ray’s actual time records. During those 14 weeks, NE Moderate posted 130 comments. Of those, 94 were posted Monday through Friday between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Three of the 94 occurred Jan. 18, 2024, when Ray’s timecard shows eight hours of personal leave rather than a normal workday.
That leaves 91 comments posted during the 8 a.m.-to-5 p.m. span on dates when Ray’s City timecard records him working. The City’s time records supplied to TR show the repeated 8 a.m.-5 p.m. work schedule during the periods examined.
There is an important qualification.
The timecards generally credit Ray with eight hours despite showing a nine-hour period between his 8 a.m. arrival and 5 p.m. departure. The records reviewed by TR do not identify the precise time of an unpaid meal period. For that reason, TR cannot establish that every one of the 91 comments was posted during compensated working time. But the frequency and timing of comments on several days make the activity difficult to attribute solely to a single lunch period.
Seven Comments in One Workday
Aug. 9, 2022, provides the clearest example.
Ray’s timecard records an 8 a.m.-to-5 p.m. workday.
NE Moderate posted at:
8:32 a.m.
9:38 a.m.
9:58 a.m.
10:58 a.m.
11:02 a.m.
11:50 a.m.
1:09 p.m.
The underlying comment records confirm the seven timestamps. The comments were spread across nearly five hours of Ray’s recorded workday. Other high-activity dates followed a similar pattern.
On Dec. 8, 2022, NE Moderate posted five comments between 8:57 a.m. and 3:12 p.m.
On Feb. 9, 2023, five comments appeared between 8:45 a.m. and 4:34 p.m.
On April 20, 2023, four comments were posted at 10:42 a.m., 10:45 a.m., 10:50 a.m. and 2:58 p.m.
On June 26, 2023, another four appeared at 9:43 a.m., 11:58 a.m., 2:09 p.m. and 2:32 p.m.
And on Sept. 21, 2023, NE Moderate posted at 8:58 a.m., 1:27 p.m. and 1:48 p.m.
The timecards reviewed by TR show Ray working his regular City schedule on those dates.
A Political Employee
Ray was not simply an anonymous City worker. He works directly for Commissioner Matlow and became chairman of the Leon County Democratic Executive Committee in December 2022. Contemporary reporting noted that Ray received support for the party position from the local progressive wing, including Matlow and Commissioner Jack Porter.
Ray’s political activities have generated controversy separate from the NE Moderate account. In 2024, City Commission candidate Rudy Ferguson filed a complaint with the Florida Democratic Party alleging that local party officials, including Ray, had taken sides in Ferguson’s race against Porter.
More recently, TR reported that Ray created the Florida New Signal website and that the site published material favorable to Matlow and other progressive candidates while criticizing their political opponents.
Those activities, standing alone, do not establish anything improper about the NE Moderate comments. Government employees retain political rights and can participate in politics on their own time.
The question raised by the newly obtained timecards is different.
What Was He Saying?
The data establish when NE Moderate was posting. They don’t answer what may be the more consequential question: What was a City Commission aide saying anonymously during those workday periods?
TR’s review found the account was not limited to debating taxes, crime, development or other public-policy questions. NE Moderate also commented on elected officials, political factions and candidates for office. In some instances, those comments appeared directly beneath stories about active election campaigns.
TR has identified workday comments praising certain City commissioners and criticizing others, including comments concerning candidates whose electoral success or defeat could alter the balance of power on the Tallahassee City Commission.
Those findings will be detailed in Part 2 of this investigation.
They also raise a separate question under Florida law.
State law protects the right of public employees to express political opinions and participate in political campaigns during their off-duty hours. But Florida law also contains a specific prohibition concerning government employees participating in campaigns while on duty.
Whether the NE Moderate activity crossed that line is a question TR will examine separately with the comments, time records and relevant Florida law.
There is another unanswered question.
What did Commissioner Jeremy Matlow know?
The records reviewed for this installment do not establish that Matlow knew Ray was operating the NE Moderate account, knew Ray was posting comments during his workday, or directed or encouraged any of the activity.
TR is seeking records and responses addressing those questions.
The distinction could be significant.
If Ray acted entirely on his own, the investigation presents one set of issues.
If City resources were used, or if others at City Hall knew about or participated in the activity, it could present another.
Coming in Part 2: What NE Moderate was saying — and which Tallahassee candidates the anonymous account supported and opposed.