Last Updated on May 2, 2017, 7:32 AM | Published: May 1, 2017
Cathy Cummings, well-known north metro restaurateur and activist, was sworn in and took her seat on The Village city council Monday night.
Decisive win
She won a decisive victory against the Ward 4 long-term incumbent Chris Bernardy in the April 4 city council elections.
Cummings received 700 votes to Bernardy’s 191.
She estimates that she knocked about 900 doors in the campaign with her volunteers knocking about 600 more.
“I’m just excited to sit down with my fellow councilmen and get to work on some of the ideas and concerns I heard when knocking doors,” Cummings told Free Press on election night.
She said that her long-term goal in serving on the council was to further economic development for the city.
Bubba Symes returned to his seat on the council after winning against a challenger.
Both Hutch Hibbard and David Bennett also took their seats after being unopposed in the election.
Hibbard was mayor and now Bennett is the new mayor. Under the city’s charter, the mayor is chosen by a council vote from among the sitting members.
Work begins
Just before the meeting, City Manager Bruce Stone talked with Free Press about the addition to the city council.
“It’s always exciting to have a new member of the council come on board with new ideas and energy,” said Stone. “It kind of helps revitalize things to have new member of the council.”
Her run for the hyperlocal political position in a city of approximately 4 square miles and a population of 8,900 is a dramatic change from her unsuccessful statewide run for Lieutenant Governor in 2014.
Perhaps as a sign of things to come, Cummings called on John Pettyjohn, retired from the U.S. Marine Corps, who works as a veterans’ advocate.
She presented him to the council and got an agreement to start a veterans’ committee in The Village to determine what can be done to support veterans who live in The Village.
“I’ve known a lot of council people and Cathy was the first one that got on the idea for a veterans committee enthusiastically,” said Pettyjohn.
The City of The Village is one of the metro’s cities contained within the larger city limits of Oklahoma City. It shares its southern border with The City of Nichols Hills and lies just to the east of Lake Hefner.
Cummings co-owns and operates two popular restaurants with her husband, Sean Cummings, also a well-known activist on the political Left.
Founder, publisher, and editor of Oklahoma City Free Press. Brett continues to contribute reports and photography to this site as he runs the business.
