David S. Cunningham being sworn in as Los Angeles City Councilman, Calif., 1973 (UCLA, Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library)

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]

SaveSaveSaveSave

Avatar photo

S.E. Williams

Stephanie Williams is executive editor of the IE Voice and Black Voice News. A longtime champion for civil rights and social justice in all its forms, she is also an advocate for government transparency and committed to ferreting out and exposing government corruption. Over the years Stephanie has reported for other publications in the inland region and Los Angeles and received awards from the California News Publishers Association for her investigative reporting and Ethnic Media Services for her weekly column, Keeping it Real. She also served as a Health Journalism Fellow with the USC Annenberg Center for Health Journalism. Contact Stephanie with tips, comments. or concerns at myopinion@ievoice.com.