Cunningham Resignation Rumor Roils the Waters

Los Angeles City Councilman Dave Cunningham told his staff on Monday that he “would not dignify rumors” of his pending resignation, but politicians and community activists continued to take them seriously.

Black leaders, worried over territorial losses from a fierce redistricting battle now going on, warned against any attempts to tamper with Cunningham’s 10th District if he should resign from office.

Cunningham is black. Under a 1982 redistricting plan, blacks comprised 38% of the district’s population. Their representation increased to 43% when the council realigned district boundaries July 31 and will rise to 44% if a new proposal given preliminary approval last week is adopted.

Despite the mixed signals Monday about Cunningham’s intentions, some political hopefuls were quietly trying to line up support to succeed him.

The uncertainty increased when council President Pat Russell said she was unaware of any plans for Cunningham to resign.

“I have every idea that if and when (it happens), he would officially inform me about the resignation, and I have heard nothing,” Russell said adding, however, that “over the last months or year, I have known he was restless.”

City Hall sources over the weekend had said that the 51-year-old Cunningham, who has been on the council since 1973, will step down and join Cranston Securities, an Ohio-based investment banking firm with municipal bond business in Los Angeles and other cities.

On Monday, a top executive of Cranston Securities denied the reports.

“I will tell you absolutely and unequivocally that there was no discussion and no deal,” said Danny Bakewell, the firm’s president and chief operating officer.

Bakewell, the former head of the black philanthropic organization Los Angeles Brotherhood Crusade, said he would gladly talk to Cunningham about a job if the councilman left office but added that “absolutely no deal has been struck at this point.”

Cunningham could not be reached for comment. But the councilman, according to his press secretary, Cheryle Grace, told members of his staff Monday that he “would not dignify rumors” that he was about to resign.

“He didn’t give us any indication that he was going to resign or has those plans,” Grace said.

But earlier, Councilman Robert Farrell said he had been approached by candidates seeking to run for the 10th District seat. And other political hopefuls have been quietly trying to line up support or have been urged to consider such a race.

Sources at City Hall and in the Southwest Los Angeles 10th District said that a search for a possible Cunningham successor, who could win the backing of Bradley in an election campaign, is already under way.

Last Saturday, Bradley confirmed that he did speak with one prospective candidate for the 10th District job, but the mayor said that he was approached for his political support in the event that Cunningham did not run. Bradley said he had not spoken to Cunningham.

On Monday, Bradley again discounted Cunningham resignation reports as speculation. “I’ve heard that rumor from everybody but Dave Cunningham,” he said.

The 15-member City Council already has one vacancy following the death last month of Councilman Howard Finn, and the possibility of a Cunningham resignation has raised concerns among black leaders and constituents who fear that the district could be carved up in the council’s ongoing battle over redistricting.

Raymond L. Johnson Jr., the president of the NAACP in Los Angeles, said that the council would risk the wrath of his organization and the black community if it tried to reconfigure the district over reports that Cunningham is leaving. Such a move “would clearly be a statement against blacks in the city,” Johnson said.

John Mack, president of the Los Angeles Urban League and a 10th District resident, said he was worried about political fallout from such a resignation and promised to oppose any efforts to change the district lines.

But Councilman Richard Alatorre, chairman of the Charter and Elections Committee, said Monday that the council would be reluctant to tamper with a district and its large black population that is a protected class under the federal Voting Rights Act.

“I think the City Council would be foolish to begin to entertain anything that would have that kind of impact,” Alatorre said.