Last Updated on November 21, 2017 by bvnadmin
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Los Angeles – Final arrangements were announced for former Los Angeles City Councilmember David S. Cunningham Jr. who passed away last week at the age of 82. His services were held Monday, November 20 at the First African Methodist Episcopal (FAME), Church, 3875 Crenshaw Boulevard, Los Angeles.
A graduate of the University of California Riverside, Cunningham went on to attend Loyola Law School in Los Angeles and he eventually earned a Master’s Degree in Urban Studies from Occidental College.
Cunningham, the former vice-president of Cunningham, Short, Berryman and Associates, a consulting firm specializing in governmental and economic problems, was a successful business executive in 1973, before he was elected to the Los Angeles City Council and filled the seat formerly held by then Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley.
As a councilmember, Cunningham earned a reputation for his liberal views and positions. He advocated for clean air, fluorinated water and stood against oil drilling in the Santa Monica Bay. Cunningham’s commitment to school desegregation placed him at unapologetic odds with some fellow council members who opposed the issue. He was also an aggressive supporter of desegregation of Los Angeles schools and he strongly advocated for locating half-way houses within local communities for drug addicts and ex-felons.
During his tenure as a city councilmember, Cunningham gained more and more political clout, however he resigned his post in 1986 after a brief controversy and returned to his earlier passion, the business of consulting. He owned Dave Cunningham and Associates, a political-consulting and lobbying firm.
Cunningham passed away on November 15, 2017.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”68598″ img_size=”large” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_separator][vc_column_text el_class=”small”]Feature photo: David S. Cunningham being sworn in as Los Angeles City Councilman, Calif., 1973 (UCLA, Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library)[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
