Citizens in Tallahassee have made it clear: They don't think enough highly qualified people are running for local offices.

"Government in general is at the lowest opinion rating, across the board. Local, state, federal, nobody has a high opinion of elected officials," said Leon County Commissioner Bryan Desloge.

The poll question was actually Desloge's idea. He wasn't surprised by the factors people listed.

The main reason people gave for highly qualified people not running was so they wouldn't have to subject their families to scrutiny. Involvement with the rough and tumble of politics and not wanting to have to raise money were the second and third most popular answers.

A high profile ethics case for Tallahassee Mayor John Marks doesn't help matters. Desloge suggests people may be put off by the media's impact, but still thinks everyone would benefit if more people would step up and run for office.

"We just need more people to get in the game, and this is not a referendum on my existing commissioners, but I think there are people on the sidelines that with a little bit of nudging might take that last step," Desloge said.