Candidate: Charles B Smith

Commissioner Smith was born in Batavia, New York. He grew up in the Lincoln area of Palmetto and is a graduate of Palmetto High School. He became the first African American elected to the Palmetto City Council, (now Commission).

While on the City Commission, the Palmetto CRA grew into an Agency with a $2 million budget. Through tax incentives it attracted new employers adding about 100 jobs and the new Martin Luther King, Jr. Park. He was also influential in establishing the fledgling Palmetto Housing Authority. The Smith family has owned and operated the Manatee Harvesting Company, Inc. for the past 54 years, and owns several other businesses as well. Commissioner Smith was Vice President of the NAACP Manatee Branch and is currently Vice Chair of Operation People for Peace, Inc. which is an organization who has a partnership with Legend, Earving "Magic". He is also a recipient of the Senator Edgar H. Price Humanitarian Award and the Church of God Community Service Award.