Mayor Christine Hunschofsky. Courtesy City of Parkland.
From Mayor Christine Hunschofsky:
Writing this, my final column as Mayor of Parkland is bittersweet. Serving you, the residents of Parkland, as your Mayor, has been the honor of a lifetime.
My journey to serve our community has always been one that I had been passionate about but never planned. Back in 2012, our then-District 2 Commissioner Jared Moskowitz decided to run for State Rep. I had been active in our community serving on our Education Advisory Board for 7 years and covering the City Commission meetings for almost 10 years. When this opportunity presented itself, so many friends and neighbors thought I was very well prepared and encouraged me to run for the seat.
While I had been continually active in the community and followed the city government very closely, I had never in my life planned or anticipated running for office. With the encouragement of my family, I decided to enter the race…to step into the arena. I remember thinking I would have the opportunity to be an example of the kind of elected official. I always wanted my boys to see. The evening I filed to run, a sense of panic overcame me as I thought to myself, what have I done…what now…
Now, when I look back almost 8 years later, I could never have anticipated the experiences I had, the lessons I learned, the pain I witnessed, and the challenges I faced, in addition to the hope I was given, the care and compassion I saw, the joy I experienced and the wonderful people I met in our community.
I am proud of what we have accomplished over the years – from fighting against school boundaries that would have excluded our students from attending our neighborhood schools to effectively advocating for additional elementary school capacity. With your support, we secured land for future city needs and limited that development. We built fire stations, expanded the Parkland Library and Pine Trails Park, made improvements to infrastructure, many city amenities, and so much more; it has been a busy 7+ years.
We have also had our share of crises, from the flooding in June 2017, Hurricane Irma in September 2017, the current pandemic, and the devastating and horrific mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. Throughout it all, our community demonstrated what it means to show up for one another.
While there is so much division on social media, out in the real community, on the ground, there is so much more care and compassion. We had neighbors helping neighbors during the hurricane and in its aftermath and so many residents who reached out to help the Florida Keys, which were devastated during Hurricane Irma. We had multiple residents doing collections to help the Bahamas after Hurricane Dorian.
After the horrific shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas, our community stood up for one another, helping families, teachers, and students. While our community changed forever that day the heart of who we are, did not. We continued to be a community that cared for one another and showed up for each other. Even in the current pandemic, we had residents making masks for first responders and supplying food to those in need. We do have an incredible, compassionate, and resilient community, which is what makes our city such a special place to live.
Congratulations to our new City Commission! Thank you for your willingness to serve our wonderful community. I wish you much success as you continue the work of keeping Parkland the incredible community it is and the place we all call home.
To the residents of Parkland, THANK YOU for the honor of allowing me to serve as your Mayor. I look forward to continuing my service to you as the State Representative for District 96. And as always, please stay in touch and reach out to me at
Please contact Christine.Hunschofsky@myfloridahouse.gov with any questions you may have. You can also find me on FB, Twitter, and Instagram. I look forward to being your voice in our State Legislature.
Christine Hunschofsky
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