A Florida State University political science professor since 1974, The Honorable Charles Edward Billings, Ph.D. was elected to the Tallahassee City Commission in 1998. “Charles was a bridge builder—not only between the races but between the local governments,” said former County Commissioner Cliff Thaell. Billings was the city’s lead commissioner on issues of economic development and water quality. He was the founding force behind a sister-city program with the Caribbean island nation of St. Maarten, worked with the NAACP to formulate a city committee aimed at preventing turmoil during major civic events, and founded the Greater Gaither Golf Games Gathering golf tournament, which was meant to unite Tallahassee citizens across race and economic strata. “He was a very thoughtful man who was well-educated and had vast interests,” late Tallahassee City Commissioner Steve Meisburg said. He also joined with late NAACP President Anita Davis in 2001 to bring attention to lost slave gravesites at the Capital City Country Club. Billings received a bachelor’s, master’s and Ph.D. from the University of Michigan. In 1977, he published “Racism and Prejudice,” which became a heavily used college textbook. He was a popular instructor at FSU who specialized in urban and minority politics, voting rights and political socialization.