About Chris

Chris is an ethical, rank and file civic representative who has served in local government for five years. His qualifications include:

• Chair, Tree and Land Preservation Board of The City of Bradenton

• B.A. in American History-Environmental History

• Endorsed by The Manatee Democratic Environmental Caucus

Chris is a resident of Bradenton, Florida in Manatee County. Originally from Louisville, Kentucky, Chris earned a B.A. in American Studies from Eckerd College in 1997 with a concentration in Environmental History; his academic advisor was Pulitzer Prize winner Jack Davis, author of ‘The Gulf: The Making of an American Sea’.

Chris has worked in a variety of corporate environments, including: Banking as a teller for SunTrust, in Public Relations, Communications, and Human Resources for Seagram-Tropicana (Bradenton), and in editing corporate publications for United Parcel Service (Louisville). In addition to his Bachelor’s Degree, Chris participated in an Honors Accounting program at the University of Louisville, and is near completion of the education required to sit for the standard Certified Financial Planner exam.

In 2015, Chris was appointed to The City of Bradenton’s Tree and Land Preservation Board, a citizens advisory board that was tasked with promoting awareness of the city-wide tree canopy and tree education programs, and open space and parklands preservation initiatives. Chris was twice elected Chair of the tree board by his fellow board members. While Chair, Chris created the tree board’s Extraordinary Service Award to recognize contributions to the board’s mission, partnered with grade-school students to co-produce an Arbor Day celebration, recruited members, ensured citizen input was heard, and launched the board’s first partnership with the local arts community to educate citizens about trees through art workshops.

Throughout his paid employment and volunteer work, Chris has developed a firm commitment to accountability and transparency. No working person can reach midlife without witnessing the short-cuts and ethical compromises that sometimes degrade the functionality of the private sector, and the trust citizens have in the public sector. Therefore, one important commitment Chris has made is that he accepts campaign contributions from individuals, only, because it is they who Chris really represents.

To summarize, Chris is a widely-educated person with a strong belief that the government can and should add as much value to people’s lives as possible, and that elected representatives must be accessible and kind to constituents. There really is no other way forward.