Charles came to California from Texas and shortly thereafter enlisted in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War.  Charles was given an Honorable Discharge in 1968, and with the help of the G.I. Bill he enrolled at Los Angeles Trade-Technical College.  After graduation from L.A. Trade-Tech, Charles attended California State University at Los Angeles where he earned a degree in Political Science.

After a brief stint working for the County of Los Angeles as a Real Property Agent, Charles went to work for the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California as a Government Affairs Representative, representing the District and its 27 member agencies both locally and in Sacramento. Charles worked closely with the Chairmen of both the Senate and Assembly water committees to bring about legislation that increased the efficiency of the State Water Project system and insured that Southern Californians would continue to have an adequate and reliable supply of low cost, high quality water.  His work earned him recognition from the State Senate and Assembly for increasing awareness of crucial water issues and improving the quality of life for all Californians.

An active community leader, Charles' concern with educating our young people lead him to pursue a teaching credential from U.C.L.A. and a Masters in School Management from San Diego's Point Loma Nazarene University. He went on to work for the Los Angeles Unified School District as a teacher and administrator until 2002.

Charles was elected to the Central Basin Municipal Water District Board of Directors in 1994, where he worked to make the District more responsive to the needs of its constituents. He fought to ensure that the District's budget was balanced without increasing user fees or taxes. He worked closely with business and community leaders to encourage water conservation; and through the use of community education fairs, encouraged the use of recycled water to ensure that the costs of imported water were kept low.

During his tenure at Central Basin, Charles served as President of the Board for two years and was also appointed as the Central Basin representative to the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California Board of Directors. Charles served on several key committees at Metropolitan, including the Water Policy and Planning Committee and the Engineering and Operations Committee, where he oversaw the building of the massive Diamond Valley Lake Reservoir, a $2-billion project that doubled Southern California's storage capacity, and which was completed on time and under budget. Charles was also instrumental at Metropolitan in bringing about a multi-million dollar refund of surplus funds that was returned to the member agencies who in turn passed it on to their constituents. 

Charles is a member of AFSCME Local 1001 and has always worked closely with organized labor to put in place Project Labor Agreements to ensure that contractors pay their employees fair and decent wages.

In 2002, after being elected to a third term at Central Basin, Charles accepted an opportunity to return to the Metropolitan Water District to work in the External Affairs Education Unit.  In order to devote himself more fully to this new challenge, Charles resigned his Directorship at Central Basin. He currently works for Metropolitan as a Principal Public Affairs Representative.

In 2008, Charles returned to the political arena, defeating a 20-year incumbent and a crowded field of candidates, winning election to the Upper San Gabriel Valley Municipal Water District Board of Directors.  Charles currently serves as the Upper District Vice-President, and was appointed to the Water Policy Committee, the Legislative and Communication Committee, and is the Upper District representative on the San Gabriel Valley Council of Governments. 
 
Charles lives in South Pasadena with his wife of 24-years, Carmen Trevino.