From St. Augustine Record:
Cynthia Garris will be St. Augustine's next mayor, winning unopposed
Cynthia Garris will be the next St. Augustine mayor after no other candidates qualified for the seat at the end of the qualifying period on June 12.
Currently serving as a city commissioner for District 4, Garris was the city's first staff member to win a seat on the commission and the first Black woman to do so. The 67-year-old resident of St. Augustine will also be the first Black woman to serve as mayor.
Garris filed for the seat after Mayor Nancy Sikes-Kline said she would not seek another term. Vice Mayor Barbara Blonder had also filed for the seat, but eventually withdrew.
Garris told the St. Augustine Record that in her new role as mayor, she will seek to empower others by leading by example, offering transparency and having her door open to everyone.
"People will know that they can talk to me about their concerns before they show up to a meeting that will give them three minutes to speak," she said. "We will have an open-door policy. City hall will be a friendly place."
Having spent 47 years in the workforce, Garris' career includes creating the Women's Support Group at the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center and its Feed a Friend program, serving as first and second vice president with American Legion Auxiliary Alton Green Unit 194, serving on the board of the Betty Griffin Center, working for over a decade on the city's special events committee, and serving with the New Mt. Moriah Christian Ministry.
Garris received her bachelor's degree in business and marketing and her master's in organizational management, both from the University of Phoenix.
No comments:
Post a Comment