Charter Review Board — District 2: Karen Collins-Fleming

Age: 69

Occupation: Retired after 25 years in public service for Manatee County. That time included eight years in planning and 17 years directing environmental management functions.

Previous political offices: None

About: Karen Collins-Fleming bachelor of arts degrees in English and psychology and a master of arts in urban and regional planning. She spent five years in Washington D.C. as an environmental policy analyst, which included serving as a consultant to the Environmental Protection Agency on Clean Water Act implementation. Further she served as a consultant to the Bureau of Land Management regarding offshore oil and gas exploration and development.

If elected, what will be your top three priorities during your term?

Raising the visibility of the elected Charter Review Board to facilitate public input into the process of county governance.

Amending to charter to allow election of county commissioners and Charter Review Board members via single-member districts.

Looking at county’s current ethics review program and perhaps amending the charter to establish a special, independent ethics review board.