Stewart Cumming: Brusque as he wants to be
"Ask Stewart Cumming a question, and you're going to get a tough answer ..."
*** The following is the entire feature profile on Cumming, the ornery 6th Ward candidate who went borderline ballistic at an Editorial Board meeting at the Sun last week ... ***
He often repeats the last few words of the query.
Put a supposition into the question, try to lead him ever so slightly, and he'll buck his inquisitor off.
"Do you have a chance in this race?" a reporter asks Cumming at his Cimarron Ranch home in August.
Cumming fired back.
"A chance? Of course," he said. "The question doesn't make much sense. Isn't every candidate on equal footing?"
Cumming, a part-time vocational teacher who ran unsuccessfully for a City Council seat representing the 6th Ward in 1995 and 1999, is adamant that he's a viable candidate this time.
But his climb will be steep.
Cumming reported no campaign contributions on Sept. 27, and is running in one of the most diverse wards in the city.
Incumbent Rikke Van Johnson has strong backing from area churches and more than $14,000 in his campaign chest.
Challenger Betty Dean Anderson, has received the coveted police union endorsement and represented the 6th Ward for two terms before Johnson narrowly beat her in 2003.
Cumming, 49, has also bristled at suggestions that as a white man, he may have special challenges in gaining the votes of black and Latino voters in the 6th Ward.
Both of Cumming's opponents are black.
"Your race should not be a determining factor in predicting whether you are a convict or a councilperson," Cumming wrote in an opinion piece submitted to The Sun.
He is a fiercely prideful man, particularly with respect to his chances at winning the 6th Ward race and his own intelligence.
Cumming lists four colleges attended on his bio, but did not earn any degrees.
In answering a question about infrastructure, Cumming quoted Frontinus, a first-century Roman author, to underscore his own 21st-century focus on roads and other functional structures over less vital amenities like arts or "Idle Egyption Pyramids."
Cumming has other ideas of note.
He said the city needs a citizen- police commission for oversight of the Police Department.
"We have no body with effective powers to investigate citizens' complaints," Cumming said.
That sentiment could play well in the 6th Ward, particularly in the aftermath of the clash between residents and police during the streetside memorial for Marshall.
Cumming promises a platform focused on increasing the size of the Police Department, improving city services from street repair to animal control, and being beholden to the residents of the ward - not the powers that be at City Hall, or the media.
Back at his home, which he shares with his wife, Cumming leans back at his kitchen table and says he's the guy to bring the bacon to the people in the historically underserved Westside.
"Johnson's in the mayor's back pocket on everything he wants," Cumming said. "Where is the benefit to the residents of the ward? I can say that that's who I'll be working for."
Comments
What are the community groups Stuart has been actively working with toward bettering Ward Six since becoming a resident of Cimmaron Ranch, or even since his failed campaign of 1995?
I'd even settle for a list of his local community betterment activities conducted since his most recently defeated campaign of 1999, so, please at least post that.
I have not met Stuart at any Ward Six events since we relocated here from Orange County to buy our first home.
I have not even seen him at any of the San Bernardino Community Summit, Mayoral Breakfasts, or other citywide events.
I'd honestly like to know what he does with his time - when not working as a part-time vocational instructor.
Is there anyone that can list anything Stuart contributes, or has contributed toward the betterment of Ward Six?
I truly look forward to hearing back on this.
Your Friend & Neighbor Actively Supporting Local Community & Personal Betterment,
Susana Atanasova
Posted by: Susana Atanasova | September 30, 2007 1:03 AM
Nevermind, I saw the listing of both Stewart's opponents in SUN - right next to the listing of ZERO community groups - or any other for that matter, from Stewart.
Way to keep the information flowing in a timely manner SUN!
Almost felt intuitive!
Susana
Posted by: Susana Atanasova | October 1, 2007 9:11 AM
To whom it may concern and the gadfly known as Susana;
Mr Cumming has been invovled for quite some time in actively seeking to make our community and the 6th Ward a better place for all. While there is value in what is published in the Sun, there is just as much if not more value in the facts they choose not to publish oft times feigning ignorance.
Mr Cumming has served as a city Telecommunications Commissioner for the 6th Ward. As a certified master gardener he provided landscape designs for neighborhood beautification projects. He is presently serving his third elected term on the Northwest Redevelopment Project Area Committee. And he served 4 terms as president of the Cimarron Ranch Neighborhood Association which he also founded.
All of these accomplishments are public record, all are known to the SBSun.
Just goes to show that getting some of the facts all of the time is not as informative as being given all of the facts all of the time.
Krispyfish
Posted by: Krispyfish | October 1, 2007 10:50 PM
Krispyfish,
Gadfly? I’m no gadfly! Good gracious, no! Just a concerned citizen engaging in political discourse in this new venue afforded us this election season, the same as you. Well, not exactly the same as I sign my posts without hiding behind an alias ~ I use my real name. There is the option to hide behind an alias here ~ and that is valuable for the anonymity it affords insider employees that may otherwise forego the opportunity to share information here. Surely you agree your posts contain no sensitive information that would place your employment at risk, so why the alias?
As for the things you write. Where is your proof? Can you please take a moment to post links to sites verifying the statements you’ve made? Stewart and I engaged in a volley in another area of SBNow Blog and ZERO mention of ANYTHING similar was made by him. There is also ZERO mention of any of this under his candidate description. I am sure you can appreciate how imprudent it would be for a voter to disregard the candidate’s own words in another area of this blog, as well as his published description, in order to accept your unsubstantiated words.
Again, I hope you take a moment to post some proof for your statements about the candidate that do not follow his own here, or in the standardized entries in SUN.
Susana
Posted by: Susana Atanasova | October 3, 2007 1:29 AM