Providence City Council has new spokeswoman

MICHAELA ANTUNES is the Providence City Council's new spokeswoman. / COURTESY MICHAELA ANTUNES
MICHAELA ANTUNES is the Providence City Council's new spokeswoman. / COURTESY MICHAELA ANTUNES

(Updated 3:14 p.m.)
PROVIDENCE – The City Council will have a dedicated spokeswoman, a new position that will increase awareness of council activities and economic development opportunities in the city, Council President Luis A. Aponte announced recently.
Michaela Antunes will take on the role in January. She will earn $55,000 annually, according to Cyd McKenna, chief of staff for the 15-member council.
Prior to the appointment, Antunes managed communications and member relations at the Hope Club, a private social club on the city’s East Side. Previously she was community liaison officer for the U.S. Embassy in Bogota, Colombia. She speaks conversational Spanish, according to McKenna.
The new city position is designed to bolster awareness of council initiatives and develop new opportunities for interaction between the council and public, according to a news release. Antunes will advise the council on communications, expand its social media presence to reach residents and increase engagement, according to Aponte.
“Engaging and informing the public with improved communications is vital to responsive, transparent government” he said, in the release.
McKenna, who was appointed in November as the City Council’s chief of staff, will lead the council’s staff, oversee community outreach strategy and direct research projects. She will earn $93,000 annually.
The City Council members make $18,765 annually, according to information from the mayor’s office.

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