Cunningham May Leave Council, Take Private Job

Following the recent death of one veteran member and the resignation a year ago of another, the Los Angeles City Council may soon have one more unexpected vacancy to fill.

City Hall sources said Saturday that Councilman Dave Cunningham, a close ally of Mayor Tom Bradley, intends to step down from his $53,266-a-year job to take a post with Ohio-based Cranston Securities, a firm whose business includes the sale and underwriting of municipal bonds in Los Angeles and other cities.

Cunningham, who faces an election next April to retain his 10th District seat, has taken steps to resign by the end of the month, the sources said.

Cunningham’s departure would mean two vacancies and more turmoil for the 15-seat council. Controversy remains over how to replace Councilman Howard Finn, who was stricken in chambers Aug. 12 and died hours later of a ruptured aorta. Council members are divided over whether to appoint a temporary replacement for Finn or call a special election.

And last October, a similar vacancy had to be filled after Councilman Arthur K. Snyder stunned colleagues with his decision to resign after 18 years in office.

Cunningham, who has been on the City Council since 1973, could not be reached Saturday. At their Crenshaw-area home, Cunningham’s wife, Sylvia, declined comment when asked about her husband’s reported decision to step down.

Bradley said Cunningham had not informed him of his plans to resign. Until the councilman contacts him directly, Bradley said he would consider the report a rumor.

Cheryle Grace, Cunningham’s press deputy, told The Times on Saturday that she was unaware of any pending resignation. “Councilman Cunningham has not advised his staff that he is resigning or that he has any intentions of resigning,” she said.

Several sources, however, in City Hall and in the 10th District--which stretches southwest of the downtown area--said that the 51-year-old lawmaker has alerted Bradley and Council President Pat Russell as well as close friends that he will resign to join the securities firm. Russell was not available for comment.

Should Cunningham resign, Bradley, who as a councilman once represented the mostly black, middle-class district, could be expected to be influential in choosing a successor. After he was elected mayor in 1973, Bradley endorsed Cunningham, who ran for the seat and won.

Since taking office, Cunningham has emerged as a close political ally of Russell, a Bradley loyalist and a power in his own right as chairman of the Grants, Housing and Community Development Committee.

If he joins Cranston Securities, Cunningham would be allied with a firm that has won municipal bond business or financial underwriting contracts with the city and whose employees have been generous donors to the political campaign committees of various council members, including Cunningham.

Among its executives are Louis F. Moret, a former public works board member, and Danny Bakewell, who headed a black philanthropic organization known as the Los Angeles Brotherhood Crusade.

Although reports around City Hall of Cunningham’s possible departure have been increasing, the reasons behind such a move remain unclear.

Cunningham’s name had surfaced during an investigation into fireworks magnate W. Patrick Moriarty, who was convicted of political corruption charges involving bribery and kickbacks. Cunningham was tied to the fireworks manufacturer by two Moriarty aides who accused the councilman of accepting the services of prostitutes supplied by Moriarty.

Cunningham denied the charge, calling it “ridiculous.”

If he does depart, Cunningham’s resignation would come amid a lingering political fight over redrawing the boundaries for council districts. But it was unclear what impact the redistricting battle would have on the 10th District if Cunningham steps down.