Glenn Cunningham was a Jersey City kid who had done well: U.S. Marine, Jersey City police officer, Hudson County freeholder, two-term City Council member, U.S. Marshal, the city’s first African-American mayor, and a state senator.
And this month he will be remembered for all those things and much more. Sept. 16, he would have turned 66. But he is not around to blow out candles and celebrate with family and friends, since he passed away on May 26, 2004 as the result of a massive heart attack.
However, there will be a celebration of Cunningham at the library named in his honor located on Martin Luther King Drive on Wednesday, Sept. 30.
“He always tried to bring out the best in everyone that worked around him.” – Greg Malave
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Sandra’s thoughts on Glenn
Sandra Cunningham, now occupying her late husband’s post as state senator for New Jersey’s 31st District, told the Jersey City Reporter last week that she still thinks about him every day and visits his gravesite every Sunday. But every year around the time of his birthday, it still troubles her that he is not present.
“Reliving the good times we had and when he passed away, particularly around his birthday, has brought some of the pain back,” Cunningham said. “But I am close to his family and a close group of our personal friends that helps me.”
She also said her husband would have been “proud” of the development that continued to flourish in Jersey City until the recent downturn in the economy, and of Jersey City as a marquee destination, attracting such events as the recent Barclays golf tournament.
What about July’s corruption arrests, which included a number of Jersey City-based politicos including longtime ally Joseph Cardwell?
Sandra Cunningham said he would have “not passed judgment” and “really believed in due process.”
If he was alive now, Cunningham said, Glenn would have been writing books. He was near completion of a book on African-American history in Jersey City, and had started working on a mystery novel at the time of his death. And he would have been teaching on the college level, being an influence on young people.
“I think the students would have found someone who was a person who truly cared, and a wonderful role model,” Cunningham said.
His impact on others
City Councilwoman Viola Richardson is now serving a third term as Ward F councilwoman, having won her ward seat as a candidate running on Cunningham’s mayoral ticket in 2001.
She said she is not one to “dig people up” and dwell too much of those close to her who have passed away.
But Richardson looks back with fondness at not just the “jokester” but also the man who had encouraged her to join the Jersey City Police Department in 1979 and changed her worldview.
“When I was a police officer, he would encourage me not to simply do my job and make arrests, but also make a friend and be more involved in the community,” Richardson said.
Greg Malave, currently an employee in the Mayor’s Action Bureau, served under Cunningham as a special aide and project coordinator. Working with Cunningham regularly allowed Malave to see someone who could be larger-than-life, leading Malave to use Cunningham as a model for a comic book character called “Mayor-Man.”
“He always tried to bring out the best in everyone that worked around him,” Malave said. “I’ll miss him for the opportunities he gave me and what he meant to me.”
Jersey City fireman Tom Murphy worked on Cunningham’s political campaigns and became friendly with him over time. What Murphy remembered was a man who felt comfortable meeting with the people and had boundless energy.
“I learned from him on just how he conducted himself as a human being, and he had a real impact upon my life,” Murphy said.
Ricardo Kaulessar can be reached at rkaulessar@hudsonreporter.com.