Rodney J. Woods was a commissioner

Commissioner

Commissioner is in principle the title given to a member of a commission or to an individual who has been given a commission ....

 for the city of Largo, Florida

Largo, Florida

Largo is the third largest city in Pinellas County, Florida, USA and is part of the Tampa Bay Area. Centrally located, it is the crossroads of the county. As of the 2000 census, the City had a total population of 69,371. As of 2004, the population estimated by the U.S. Census Bureau was...

. He is the first African American

African American

African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...

person to hold this position.
Woods has one child, daughter Tara L. Woods.

On November 3, 2009, former Commissioner Woods lost his seat to Curtis A. Holmes for Largo's City Commission Seat 3. Holmes had locked horns with Woods as well as other members of the commission in the past on nearly every issue in front of it. Perhaps the most notable is that of then City Manager Steven Stanton's ouster when it was discovered that Stanton wished to become female. Holmes controversially called for Stanton to be fired after 14 years on the job. Only Commissioner Woods and Mayor Pat Gerard stood in defense of Stanton who is now Susan Stanton, City Manager of Lake Worth, Florida.

Holmes won with 51 percent of the vote in a close victory.