About Tim
Tim Hughes is a Clearwater resident, conservation advocate, and candidate for Pinellas County Commissioner District 2. He brings decades of professional experience in watershed management, floodplain protection, and stormwater policy — and a deep commitment to the communities and coastlines he calls home.
His story
While living healthy and retired in Pinellas County — and visiting its beautiful coastlines along the Gulf, the Bay, and inner coastal shores — Tim soon realized how vulnerable its nearly one million residents are in this most densely populated county in Florida. With more than 50% of residents living in a floodplain — and the threat of hurricanes, storm surges, and sea level rise — he realized that his many years of professional experience in watershed management, floodplain management, and best stormwater management practices are needed in a County Commissioner. That's why he decided to run.
District 2
Tim lives in the Skycrest neighborhood of the City of Clearwater near the center of District 2. He loves District 2 for its beautiful inner coastal and Gulf coast beaches stretching from Tarpon Springs down to Indian Rocks Beach. As Conservation Chairman for the Suncoast Sierra Club, he has grown to love the Pinellas County Aquatic Preserve and coastal aquatic preserves that circle the county, and especially the natural preserves of Honeymoon Island and Caladesi Island state parks.
Community
In 2024, Tim completed many home projects such as rooftop solar for electricity, solar for the pool, rain barrels on his downspouts, and planted a variety of tropical fruit trees like papaya, mango, avocado, orange, and olive trees. In 2025, he volunteered much time with the Suncoast Sierra Club and became the Conservation Chairman, collaborating with many local groups and organizations. He was selected to serve on Clearwater's Environmental Advisory Board, which is now the Community Resiliency and Leisure Services Board. Tim enjoys applying his career experience through volunteer work and community outreach.
Background
Tim's passion for environmental conservation began as a high school student in the '70s, whereupon he obtained an A.S. in Environmental Studies two years out of high school. He then began pursuing an engineering degree while working in the computer field and then the automotive industry, when he regained his love for environmental conservation. While raising a family and working by day, he attended a university in the evenings and completed a B.A. focused on Environmental Health and Safety. His education and work experience taught him that effective policies matter — and how we implement policies matters even more.
Public service
Tim applies decades of hands-on environmental policy experience in roles that shape local decisions on parks, shorelines, stormwater, and community resiliency.
Suncoast Sierra Club (Sierra Club Florida)
Leads conservation policy for the Suncoast Group — authoring and advancing model ordinances, shoreline protection, parkland stewardship, and aquatic preserve advocacy across Pinellas County.
Clearwater Community Resiliency & Leisure Services Board
Appointed to advise the City of Clearwater on resiliency, parks, and leisure services. Formerly Clearwater’s Environmental Advisory Board — bringing professional watershed and floodplain expertise to municipal decision-making.
County Public Works — Environmental Management
Twenty years of professional experience in the Watershed Management Branch of an Environmental Management Division, specializing in watershed protection, floodplain management, and stormwater best practices.
Policy leadership
As Conservation Chairman of the Suncoast Sierra Club, Tim has authored and advanced detailed policy work on trees, shorelines, parkland, and aquatic preserves. Read the summaries below, then download the full papers.
A countywide model for planting, cultivating, and preserving native trees to grow urban canopy across Pinellas County. The policy sets standards for site-plan arborist review, ending clear-cutting of healthy trees, 50% canopy goals on public land, parking-lot and sidewalk treescapes, riparian and mangrove buffers, and progressive ten-year canopy targets — treating tree canopy as a cost-effective climate-resiliency strategy.
Read full paper (PDF) →A policy memo to Dunedin leadership recommending that the south shoreline of the Dunedin Causeway remain a non-motorized launch zone. Tim and the Conservation Committee show how the post-hurricane motorized-launch prohibition has helped restore seagrass, reduce manatee strike risk, protect beach renourishment investments, and improve public safety — and urge a living shoreline plan with Pinellas County Public Works.
Read full paper (PDF) →A formal review of Sunshine LLC’s proposed sports, recreation, and entertainment complex on Clearwater’s municipally owned Landings parkland. The letter finds the plan inconsistent with the City Charter and Clearwater Comprehensive Plan 2045 — citing loss of rare open space, stormwater and watershed risks at the headwaters of Stevenson, Alligator, and Allens Creeks, missing environmental and hazard assessments, and recommending rejection plus a citizen ad hoc review committee.
Read full paper (PDF) →A memorandum supporting efforts to close the “public interest donation loophole” in Florida Statute 373.414 that allows developers to bypass Aquatic Preserve Act protections through mitigation payments. Using the Stevenson Creek case — where a $24,300 donation enabled commercial docks without on-site mitigation — Tim calls for statewide Sierra Club support, legal guidance, and legislative partnership to restore the original intent of Florida’s Aquatic Preserve Act of 1975.
Read full paper (PDF) →Recognition
Selected to lead conservation policy for the Suncoast Sierra Club, coordinating with local governments, nonprofits, and community partners across Pinellas County.
Appointed to Clearwater's Community Resiliency & Leisure Services Board (formerly the Environmental Advisory Board), advising the city on resiliency and quality-of-life investments.
Additional awards and formal recognitions will be listed here as they are received.
Support
Environmental leaders across Pinellas County are standing with Tim for County Commissioner District 2.
Suncoast Sierra Club
Endorsed for Pinellas County Commission — At-Large District 2
“As Conservation Chair for the Suncoast Group of Sierra Club, we have seen firsthand his passion, leadership, and commitment to protecting Pinellas County's natural resources. With a proven record of environmental leadership and public service, Tim Hughes is prepared to help build a healthier, more resilient, and more sustainable Pinellas County for generations to come.”
Additional endorsements will be posted here as they are announced. Have an endorsement to share? Get in touch.
Support a candidate who has already done the policy work — for trees, shorelines, parks, and aquatic preserves.
