Posted by NY Times article on Sandra Cunningham on September 19, 2004 at 13:49:46:

For a City Hall Widow, Politics Can Wait, for Now
By JONATHAN MILLER

New York Times
Published: September 16, 2004

JERSEY CITY

THE voice on the answering machine is a familiar one: "Hi, this is Glenn," says the former mayor of Jersey City. "And this is Sandy Cunningham," adds his widow.

Though it has been nearly four months since the death of Glenn D. Cunningham, the city's first black mayor, his wife of six years can't bring herself to erase the tape. Not yet, at least. Even now, supporters still call just to hear his voice, and many of them would very much like her to take his place in the corner office in City Hall and at the head of their insurgent political faction.

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Will she or won't she? The question arose quickly after Mr. Cunningham, 60, died of a heart attack on May 25. So quickly that as his body lay in a coffin covered with a flag in the Jersey City Armory, politicians just a few yards away were discussing his wife's chances in a special election set for Nov. 2.

Sandra A. Bolden Cunningham, 50, was asked all summer about her intentions, and the answer finally came a few weeks ago: Not now, maybe later. "I don't think this is the time for me," she said as she sat at the Hard Grove Café here last week and sipped a café con leche. Instead, she endorsed her husband's former police chief, Ronald D. Buonocore, one of 14 candidates who filed papers to run by the deadline yesterday.

But it is clear that she has enjoyed the attention. A former actress in the influential Negro Ensemble Company, she counts Lady Macbeth as her favorite role. (" 'Out, damned spot! Out' - I like that.") At the mayor's funeral, Councilwoman Viola Richardson brought a roaring crowd of 5,000 to its feet when she proclaimed to his widow, "We will honor you and support you in any way possible in the fulfillment of his dreams."

"It was wonderful," Mrs. Cunningham recalled, and her eyes moistened.

She was dressed for the interview in a conservative brown pantsuit, a straw hat pulled far down on her head. A heart-shaped locket that she bought after her husband's death hung around her neck; it contains a lock of his hair. She spoke softly, measuring and drawing out her words, sometimes correcting herself and restarting in midsentence. She broke into a broad smile and let out an easy, deep laugh when talking about the crazy rough-and-tumble of Jersey City politics, and about how her acting career was derailed. "I cannot sing," she explained. "At all." Then she demonstrated, with an airy warble.

But she has a hard edge, too. Mrs. Cunningham forbade many of her husband's political rivals to attend his funeral. "I think they didn't give Glenn any respect while he was living," she said. "You can be an adversary of someone and have a difference of opinion, but you don't have to try to disrespect a person and destroy a person, and I think that's what their goal was."

She grew up in Newark, the daughter of a preacher, and graduated from West Side High School and Bloomfield College. When her stage career stalled, she moved on to jobs in Essex County, and in 1988 became the executive director of the Hudson County Bar Association. She met her future husband, a councilman and former Jersey City police officer, while interviewing him for a public-access television program. They dated for 10 years and married in 1998.

Three years later, she played a central role in his campaign for mayor, and later sat in on staff meetings and prepped an often-exhausted mayor before events. "Glenn and I always saw each other as partners," she said.

BUT the mayor had a long, bitter struggle with the City Council and the Democratic regulars led by Representative Robert Menendez. There was ugliness on both sides. Mrs. Cunningham said she often saw fliers comparing her husband to a pig; a weekly newspaper published by an adviser to Mr. Cunningham referred to their opponents as organized criminals. Mrs. Cunningham says she believes that the stress contributed to her husband's death.

Since his death, battles have erupted over everything from the city's removal of his name from a park plaque to the fierce campaign for mayor. Even the faction that supported Mr. Cunningham, the Hudson County Reform Democratic Organization, has splintered. "It's so crazy out there now," Mrs. Cunningham said of her decision not to run. "I have enough problems."

Still, she says that after her husband died, she was interested in the State Senate seat he had held since January. "If I had been offered his seat, I would have probably taken it," she said. The seat went to Joseph V. Doria, the mayor of Bayonne and a former state assemblyman.

Some of her husband's former staff members say they think she is preparing to run for mayor in May. Is that a possibility? She smiled. "Anything's possible," she said. Could she see herself running the city? "Oh, definitely,'' she replied. "I think I would be a good mayor." She keeps busy settling her husband's estate and working on the foundation they created to help C-average students in Jersey City go on to college. Though she supports Mr. Buonocore for mayor, she said she did not plan much campaigning. "Because if I wanted to get that involved," she said, "I'd run."

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• Ms Vicky? Asbury Insider 10:59:56 09/20/04 (2)
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• Re: For a City Hall Widow, Politics Can Wait, for Now Shakespeare 08:08:04 09/20/04 (0)
• Sandy's 15 minutes of fame Chakotay 19:16:52 09/19/04 (2)
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    • Re: Get thee to a nunnery what a B 21:58:12 09/19/04 (0)

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: For a City Hall Widow, Politics Can Wait, for Now
: By JONATHAN MILLER

: New York Times
: Published: September 16, 2004

: JERSEY CITY

: THE voice on the answering machine is a familiar one: "Hi, this is Glenn," says the former mayor of Jersey City. "And this is Sandy Cunningham," adds his widow.

: Though it has been nearly four months since the death of Glenn D. Cunningham, the city's first black mayor, his wife of six years can't bring herself to erase the tape. Not yet, at least. Even now, supporters still call just to hear his voice, and many of them would very much like her to take his place in the corner office in City Hall and at the head of their insurgent political faction.

:  Advertisement
:  
:  
: Will she or won't she? The question arose quickly after Mr. Cunningham, 60, died of a heart attack on May 25. So quickly that as his body lay in a coffin covered with a flag in the Jersey City Armory, politicians just a few yards away were discussing his wife's chances in a special election set for Nov. 2. 

: Sandra A. Bolden Cunningham, 50, was asked all summer about her intentions, and the answer finally came a few weeks ago: Not now, maybe later. "I don't think this is the time for me," she said as she sat at the Hard Grove Café here last week and sipped a café con leche. Instead, she endorsed her husband's former police chief, Ronald D. Buonocore, one of 14 candidates who filed papers to run by the deadline yesterday.

: But it is clear that she has enjoyed the attention. A former actress in the influential Negro Ensemble Company, she counts Lady Macbeth as her favorite role. (" 'Out, damned spot! Out' - I like that.") At the mayor's funeral, Councilwoman Viola Richardson brought a roaring crowd of 5,000 to its feet when she proclaimed to his widow, "We will honor you and support you in any way possible in the fulfillment of his dreams."

: "It was wonderful," Mrs. Cunningham recalled, and her eyes moistened. 

: She was dressed for the interview in a conservative brown pantsuit, a straw hat pulled far down on her head. A heart-shaped locket that she bought after her husband's death hung around her neck; it contains a lock of his hair. She spoke softly, measuring and drawing out her words, sometimes correcting herself and restarting in midsentence. She broke into a broad smile and let out an easy, deep laugh when talking about the crazy rough-and-tumble of Jersey City politics, and about how her acting career was derailed. "I cannot sing," she explained. "At all." Then she demonstrated, with an airy warble.

: But she has a hard edge, too. Mrs. Cunningham forbade many of her husband's political rivals to attend his funeral. "I think they didn't give Glenn any respect while he was living," she said. "You can be an adversary of someone and have a difference of opinion, but you don't have to try to disrespect a person and destroy a person, and I think that's what their goal was."

: She grew up in Newark, the daughter of a preacher, and graduated from West Side High School and Bloomfield College. When her stage career stalled, she moved on to jobs in Essex County, and in 1988 became the executive director of the Hudson County Bar Association. She met her future husband, a councilman and former Jersey City police officer, while interviewing him for a public-access television program. They dated for 10 years and married in 1998.

: Three years later, she played a central role in his campaign for mayor, and later sat in on staff meetings and prepped an often-exhausted mayor before events. "Glenn and I always saw each other as partners," she said.

: BUT the mayor had a long, bitter struggle with the City Council and the Democratic regulars led by Representative Robert Menendez. There was ugliness on both sides. Mrs. Cunningham said she often saw fliers comparing her husband to a pig; a weekly newspaper published by an adviser to Mr. Cunningham referred to their opponents as organized criminals. Mrs. Cunningham says she believes that the stress contributed to her husband's death.

: Since his death, battles have erupted over everything from the city's removal of his name from a park plaque to the fierce campaign for mayor. Even the faction that supported Mr. Cunningham, the Hudson County Reform Democratic Organization, has splintered. "It's so crazy out there now," Mrs. Cunningham said of her decision not to run. "I have enough problems."

: Still, she says that after her husband died, she was interested in the State Senate seat he had held since January. "If I had been offered his seat, I would have probably taken it," she said. The seat went to Joseph V. Doria, the mayor of Bayonne and a former state assemblyman.

: Some of her husband's former staff members say they think she is preparing to run for mayor in May. Is that a possibility? She smiled. "Anything's possible," she said. Could she see herself running the city? "Oh, definitely,'' she replied. "I think I would be a good mayor." She keeps busy settling her husband's estate and working on the foundation they created to help C-average students in Jersey City go on to college. Though she supports Mr. Buonocore for mayor, she said she did not plan much campaigning. "Because if I wanted to get that involved," she said, "I'd run."


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