Meet the women of the County Commission

County Commission Chair Karen Seel is the longest-serving woman on the Pinellas County Commission. She has served since 1999. She was a Clearwater city commissioner from 1996-1999, following a family tradition of public service. Her father, the late Don Williams, served as a Clearwater city commissioner from 1967-1975.

She currently serves as chair of the Economic Development Council and Tourist Development Council. She is a member of the Juvenile Welfare Board, Health and Human Services Leadership Board, Forward Pinellas and Tampa Bay Area Regional Transit Authority. Over the years, she has served on many other boards and task forces and has made safety on U.S. 19 a priority.

She has been married to Ron Seel for more than 30 years. They have two adult sons and one granddaughter.

Seel was asked what it is like to juggle her personal life against the responsibilities of being an elected official and community leader.

“I am so fortunate that my family has been there for every important moment,” she said. “My husband and I have raised two great sons who are very responsible and good citizens. They learned the importance of serving our community. My husband has been my best advocate — he jokes often about being ‘Mr. Karen Seel,’ and I’m thankful for his lack of ego and his support.”

Still, it has not been easy.

“Over the last 23 years of public service, my family has definitely been affected by my public service,” she said. “I have missed ‘back to school nights,’ and many other sports and family activities. However, I often spent three hours in the car, each day — making sure that I was there for both putting them on the bus for school, welcoming them after school and making sure homework was done, making dinner and then attending county events and then putting them to bed. After that, emails were done to around midnight to make sure that I did what was needed to serve our citizens,” she said.

But she says it is worth it.

“I’m so fortunate to have helped our citizens, raised two great sons, and now have a granddaughter who’s 17 months old,” Seel said.

She offers some advice to women who want to succeed at whatever they choose to do, “Patience works, never cry and never give up.”

Janet Long joined the County Commission in 2012, but her career in government really began in 1975 when she worked as a legislative aid. In 2002, she was elected to the Seminole City Council and served until 2006, when she was elected to the Florida House of Representatives where she served until 2010.

She currently serves as chair of PSTA and Tampa Bay Regional Resiliency Coalition subcommittee. She is a member of the executive committee for the Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council, Tampa Bay Area Regional Transit Authority, Forward Pinellas, Business Technology Services Board and others, including the Largo Medical Center Board of Trustees and Clearwater Central Catholic Advisory Board.

She has been married to Richard Long, a retired officer with the Seminole Fire Department, for 41 years.

They have three children and five grandchildren.

The same as Seel, Long says family support is what allows her to give so much time to public service. She says it is important to make time for her personal life.

“Ensuring that I have quality time with the members of my family is one of my biggest priorities,” she said. “My family, husband, children and five beautiful grandchildren are my very most important priority. It’s not always easy and citizens often don’t want to hear that you can’t attend some kind of an event because you have a family commitment. It requires a bit of commitment and tenacity to follow your heart.”

Long is proud of what she has accomplished as a leader and as a woman.

“There is no question, I’ve been very blessed and have been able to accomplish a great many things,” she said, adding that her family and “too many folks to count have enabled me to become who I am today by virtue of their support and prayers.”

“Watching my three children grow and evolve into the human beings that they are today” also is among her proudest moments.

Long’s message for women who want to become a success is, “Believe in your own abilities, be persistent and tenacious. If you keep moving forward, you will eventually be where you were meant to be. Keep saying your prayers and have faith.”

Vice-chair Pat Gerard was first elected to the commission in 2014. She served on the Largo City Commission from 2000-2014 and as mayor for eight of those years. She currently serves on the Career Source Pinellas Board, Youth Advisory Committee, Child Licensing Board, Value Adjustments Board, PSTA, Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative, Pinellas Park Water Management District and Public Safety Coordinating Committee.

In addition to her work for the county, she is a chief grants officer for Family Resources, a nonprofit agency that serves children and families in Pinellas. She has been an advocate in the fields of domestic violence, victim advocacy and mental health for many years.

Gerard has been married to a “wonderful husband” for 34 years, “who is supportive of whatever she does, and who makes her laugh when I need it most.”

Her answer to the question about juggling her personal life against her responsibilities of an elected official was a bit different from the others.

“Fortunately I like to stay busy and have a low threshold for boredom,” she said, adding that she has never been bored as a county commissioner. “I also have a great deal of flexibility in my personal life, not having children or elderly parents at home.”

Her proudest moment as a woman is seeing her daughter, age 34, “grow into an accomplished, confident, independent and compassionate human being.”

As a community leader, she is proud to be able to use her “personal and professional experiences and my knowledge to inform my decisions and when I can respect others’ knowledge and experience enough to learn from them.”

“Having a background in human services makes my acutely aware of how our decisions impact ordinary citizens, and if I forget, I have many constituents who will remind me!” Gerard said. “I love being able to work with people to solve problems, to encourage folks to get involved with their government and to be part of a dynamic team.

Her advice to women is “to decide what they want, go for it with everything they have and never give up. Appreciate help when it comes but never rely on someone else to do what is yours to do. It is your life, and you will always be the one that has the biggest stake in its outcome.”

Commissioner Kathleen Peters is the newest commissioner, winning her seat in 2018. A 35-year county resident, she is no stranger to public service. She served as commissioner and mayor of South Pasadena from 2008-2012. She served in the state House of Representatives from 2012-2018. She has worked with the Juvenile Welfare Board, YMCA and Clearwater Regional Chamber of Commerce.

She also has owned and operated a business in St. Pete Beach. She is a travel enthusiast and loves paddle boarding. She also loves spending time with her four sons, two daughters-in-law and four grandsons.

“It hasn’t always been easy meeting the demands of a public official — while having a day job, raising a family and prioritizing what’s important in life — but I’ve grown stronger from it,” she said. “Earning the privilege to impact changes as an elected official has its tradeoffs, and juggling a healthy work-life balance is certainly one of those.”

Peters is appreciative of the support she’s received from her family and friends.

“I’ve had wonderful family support as a public official and candidate,” she said. “We sometimes forget the toll that it takes on our families when we’re in the spotlight. My sons have seen quite a bit of negativity as a result of me being a politician. I’m forever humbled by the guidance, love and support that my family and friends have provided me along this journey.”

She’s “most proud of watching her four sons grow into the fine young men that they are,” and as a leader, she’s “very proud to have a cause for which I fight for every day.”

“When I was first elected as a state representative, our Pinellas sheriff and public defender introduced me to the dire need for mental health and addiction reform. We worked together to craft policy that impacts the daily lives of those suffering without a voice.”

Peters also shared some advice to women who are looking for success.

“I would encourage you to surround yourself with people who model your values and ambitions,” she said. “The strongest women I know are also some of the most resilient; they’ve overcome life’s many unpredictable challenges and are better for it. By choosing to keep your circle open to those who lift you up, dismissing negativity and never giving up, you’ll have the support system you need to get where you want to be.”

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