by Bailey White
Staff Writer
Having one boss is difficult enough, but Cindy Warner, the new City Council chief of public information, has to answer to 20. Her supervisor is Council secretary and director Cheryl Brown and she works with each Council member, making sure she is aware of his or her issues so she’ll be able to keep the public informed.
“It’s an exciting challenge,” said Warner, who started the job Dec. 11. “I’m working for these 20 people and I love being able to show the community their hard work. They put in a lot of hours, for it just being a part-time job.”
According to Warner, working in a positive atmosphere helps make the job a little easier.
“There is a lot of camaraderie here,” she said. “Everyone here is so good-hearted and professional.”
Warner’s position at City Hall involves “public relations work, and then some.” She handles media contacts, sends press releases, produces brochures and other material that comes from the Council and oversees audio/visual aspects of Council and committee meetings.
It’s a job that her experiences and education have prepared her for.
Warner has done public relations work for Episcopal High School and has worked at St. John & Partners advertising firm. When U.S. Sen. Bob Graham made his first run at the governor’s mansion, Warner worked at his Jacksonville campaign headquarters, acting as a liaison between him and five First Coast counties.
“I like public relations work because I’m using a lot of my talents and it allows me to express myself,” she said. “And each day brings a new challenge.”
A visual arts major, Warner also enjoys the creative opportunities her job presents, whether it’s designing a brochure or writing speeches, newsletters or an in-house publication.
“I really enjoy being creative,” she said. “To me, it hardly seems like work.”
Before becoming public information officer, Warner served as executive assistant for Council member Elaine Brown, where she learned the inner workings of Council, which helps her now as she tries to stay abreast of current issues.
“It was great to come with that information,” she said. “It really helps with the learning curve to understand not only how the legislators work, but other aspects of the city as well.”
In working with Brown, Warner discovered another aspect of the job that she treasures.
“When you’re working for the City Council, you’re in a position where you can impact the quality of someone’s life,” she said. “Even if you’re just helping them with a little problem, it’s exciting.
“This job is bringing together my experiences and education and also my loves, one of which is being around people.”
When she has time to relax, Warner enjoys painting or drawing at her home in the Old Murray Hill neighborhood.
“I’m at a more relaxed point in my life right now,” she said. “I like watching a good movie or taking a long walk.”
Recently, she took a woodshop class and built an armoire, which, she says, is still a thrill.
“I wake up every morning and think, ‘I made that,’ ” she said.
Warner also tries to make time for travel, a love she developed in junior high school when she took her first tour of Europe.
“It was such a wonderful exposure to the history and the art and culture,” she said. “I realized what a huge world it was, and I couldn’t believe that I could be in someone else’s country and they would be speaking my language.”
Warner counts San Francisco and Paris among her favorite cities.
“I find the people of both places to be very charming and open,” she said. “I think traveling is a wonderful way to spend time and money.”
When she turned 40, Warner gassed up her car for a 10-day trip to some of her favorite places — Asheville, N.C. and Charleston, S.C. — among them.
“I was free spirited and it was very empowering,” she said.