Charles Bare first set foot in Pensacola in August of 1988. As a young student at the University of West Florida, he got involved in many activities, joined Army ROTC, and finished his senior year as President of the Student Government. After earning his commission in the U.S. Army Reserve, he returned to UWF and earned his Master of Public Administration. Following graduation, he worked for the U.S. Department of Education first as a program reviewer and then as a criminal investigator. 

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Charles met his wife in the Atlanta area and returned with her to start a family after being hired as the Assistant Director of Governmental Relations at UWF. He rose to the rank of Executive Assistant to the President and transferred into the Information Technology Services department after the birth of their first son.

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In 2003, Charles was deployed to Southwest Asia. He spent nearly a year in Kuwait and Iraq. During his deployment, his second son was born. After returning from deployment, he started a consulting business and his wife gave birth to their third son in December. He later joined Congressman Jeff Miller's staff as his district representative. In 2007, he started The Charles Bare Company. His company focuses on both technology and management consulting. 

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In 2012, Charles was elected to the Pensacola City Council as an at-large member. The at-large seats were eliminated during his term of office. Charles spent the final year of his term as the Council President. During his time on Council, he also served as the Chairman of the Florida-Alabama Transportation Planning Organization, a body comprised of both city and county elected officials from Florida and southeastern Alabama. He also served on committees within the Florida League of Cities. 

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In November 2022, Charles was elected to the 2nd District of the Pensacola City Council. In March 2023, he took over as the Chief Executive Officer of Keep Pensacola Beautiful. Charles focused much of his volunteer efforts on disaster relief with organizations including Team Rubicon. He also served as the director of the Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities program in Pensacola from 2017 through 2020. Charles is married to JoEllen. They have three children, Jackson, Conner, and Davis.