Candidate Profile: Charles Smith: Mayor of Palmetto

Charles Smith is seeking to become Mayor of Palmetto, a seat that will be vacated by Shirley Groover Bryant, who is retiring. In November, his opponent will be agriculture executive Dan West.

Mr. Smith has lived in Manatee County since childhood. He is the co-founder and CEO of Manatee Harvesting Co, Inc., a business he has run with his family for over 40 years.

Smith has several years of experience in local government. In 1990, he became the first African American to be elected to the Palmetto City Commission. He ultimately served five terms before being removed from office after pleading no contest to a felony embezzlement charge involving his bail bonds business.

Smith was reappointed in 2011 after the late Mary Lancaster retired. In 2014, he was elected to the Manatee Board of County Commissioners, becoming the first African American to hold that seat. During his tenure, he served as chairman of several committees.

In addition to his victories, Smith is no stranger to defeat in past elections. He had unsuccessful campaigns for Palmetto City Commissioner in 2008, 2010, and 2012, and he most recently ran for Palmetto mayor in 2020, earning 24 percent of the vote. He was defeated in his reelection campaign for Manatee County Commissioner in 2018, losing to Reggie Bellamy. He also ran for the seat again in 2022 and lost.

Smith’s political career highlights include establishing the first housing authority in Palmetto, advocating for a pool at Lincoln Park, and serving on the Palmetto Community Redevelopment Authority (CRA) board. He has also served the Manatee and Sarasota chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) and the Florida Black Caucus of Local Elected Officials (FBC-LEO).

Smith reports being “fully trained and state-certified in all aspects of government,” completing an 18-month course in urban redevelopment in 2017. He holds a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice and a doctorate of divinity.

Smith’s stated goals as mayor include expanding the police force, improving housing conditions, and encouraging smart growth that benefits all residents.

Smith is no stranger to controversy. In addition to his aforementioned removal from the Palmetto City Commission, he used his position as Manatee County Commissioner to publicly call for Reggie Bellamy's resignation from the Palmetto Youth Center after he accused Bellamy of not putting enough effort into the job.

Smith's loss to Bellamy for the District 2 seat in 2018 reignited bad blood between the two, which Smith chose to air publicly by accusing Bellamy of improperly running the Youth Center. Smith also made incendiary comments to fellow commissioners from the dais, telling one to “stay out of my district” after learning that they had visited the Youth Center. However, his willingness to speak out proved useful when he raised concerns about a now-former CRA director who was found to have improperly used city funds.

The Palmetto Mayoral race is non-partisan.