Council Member Raymond Christman
Council Member Raymond Christman
Ray Christman was elected to Naples City Council in a special election in April 2019 and re-elected to a full term in February 2022. He brings to his work on Council decades of relevant professional experience and a passion for building a better community and protecting Naples’ environment.
Ray graduated from Florida State University with a degree in Business and has a Masters Degree in City Planning from the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs at the University of Pittsburgh. His work in his hometown of Pittsburgh included heading up the city’s Urban Redevelopment Authority and the Pittsburgh Technology Council, an organization that spearheaded Pittsburgh’s transition to a new high tech economy.
During his career, Ray also served as Pennsylvania Secretary of Commerce under Governor Robert P. Casey, and headed both the Pittsburgh and Atlanta Federal Home Loan Banks.
In his service on City Council, Ray has particularly focused on environmental challenges facing Naples and Collier County. These particularly include water quality issues and managing growth and development in a balanced way. He serves as City Council’s representative on the Collier County Coastal Advisory Committee.
Prior to his election to City Council, Ray served as Executive Director of Ethics Naples, a non-profit that led a successful referendum initiative to create a new ethics code and independent Ethics Commission for the City of Naples
Ray and his wife, Eileen, have been married for 42 years. In 2003, they purchased the home in Naples where they still reside. They have three adult children and one grandchild.
