Fort Lauderdale native Cindi Hutchinson has given back to the city she loves her entire life.  Years of volunteer leadership in her community, decades of service to her church, and three terms on the City Commission have prepared Cindi to become Fort Lauderdale’s next mayor.  Cindi’s roots in our community are long and strong – she has what it takes to be a leader for ALL of Fort Lauderdale.

Cindi and her 86 year-old mother Virginia live in the house her father Lawrence built in 1954 in southwest Fort Lauderdale’s Edgewood neighborhood.  Virginia is a graduate of the old Fort Lauderdale High School on SE 3rd Ave., and worked for years at Southern Bell.  Lawrence was a supervisor in the garage for the Fort Lauderdale Police Department.  They were married in 1946, and were together until Lawrence succumbed to brain cancer in 1976.

As a child Cindi attended Croissant Park Elementary School and St. Jerome’s Catholic School.  She graduated from Stranahan High School in 1975, following in the footsteps of her sister Sharon, a 1966 graduate.  Immediately after her graduation Cindi took care of her ill father fulltime, and after his death held various jobs, including waiting tables and working at the Clerk of Courts.  Cindi and a partner purchased a sub shop, which she sold after a few years to open her own residential cleaning company, the Queen of Clean.

It was during this time that Cindi was elected president of the Edgewood Civic Association (ECA), a position she held for 11 years, until just before she was elected to the City Commission.  As president of the ECA Cindi spearheaded a coordinated grant process among four neighborhoods (Edgewood, Croissant Park, Poinciana Park, and River Oaks)  to upgrade and improve State Road 84 – a project which is underway today. 

During this time Cindi was also active in the Council of Fort Lauderdale Civic Associations, which led to her pledge on the City Commission to keep neighborhoods connected to City Hall.

After her election in 2000, in which she scored an upset win over a sitting Commissioner to represent the Fourth District, Cindi fulfilled her campaign promises to level the playing field in City Hall.  She voted for lobbyist registration, and for citywide campaign finance reform.  She also initiated the “Citizens Presentations” program, in which Fort Lauderdale residents are given time on the Commission agenda to present ideas and raise issues of concern.

After her second election victory in 2003, Cindi thrust herself into the midst of the largest fiscal crisis the city had ever experienced.  Faced with mounting evidence of fiscal mismanagement by the city’s staff, Cindi challenged the city manager’s budget presentation, exposing rampant waste, fraud and abuse.  She made the motion to fire the city manager, which was approved by a majority of the Commission, and began the first steps toward putting Fort Lauderdale on firm financial footing for the first time in years.

Now in her third term, Cindi continues her quest to push for smart growth for Fort Lauderdale, recognizing that the city is now an international business and tourist destination.  As the economic engine of Broward County, with responsibilities associated with Fort Lauderdale International Airport and Port Everglades, a thriving downtown core, and a growing beachfront community, Fort Lauderdale’s success impacts all of South Florida.

As a sign of her commitment to building a new, inclusive Fort Lauderdale, Cindi closed her cleaning company in 2006, and is serving fulltime as a Commissioner.  Always governing to the interests of the city as a whole, and not only District 4, Cindi’s commitment, knowledge and heart have given her the insight to see where Fort Lauderdale needs to go, and the experience and wisdom to find the best way to get there. 

Cindi still spends one day each week at St. Jerome’s Catholic Church, where, among other responsibilities, she oversees a portion of the church’s annual Fall Festival carnival – as she has every year since she was 13 years old.

Cindi Hutchinson has spent her lifetime serving Fort Lauderdale.  No one knows the city better.  And no one is better for the future of Fort Lauderdale.