He received an associate degree from Stowe Teachers College in St. Louis, Missouri, and was in the U.S. Air Force as a cartographer until 1960.

He earned a bachelor's degree in political science and economics from the University of California, Riverside, in 1962; the following year he did an internship with the Coro Foundation internship program in Public Affairs after which he served as Administrative Aide to Assemblyman Charles Warren while attending Loyola Law School in Los Angeles.

[citation needed] He was vice president of Cunningham, Short, Berryman and Associates, a consulting firm specializing in governmental and economic problems before his election to the City Council.

He was survived by one brother, Ronald, his wife, Sylvia; three sons, David Surmier III, Sean Kingsley, and Brian Alexander, three daughters, Leslie June, Robyn Elaine, and Amber Brittany.

[citation needed] In 1973, Cunningham, 38, was endorsed by Mayor Bradley for the latter's old seat on the City Council in a special election held on September 18, 1973, his chief opponents being Herbert Carter, 40, former executive secretary of the Los Angeles County Commission on Human Relations and actor George Takei, 36, "familiar to many voters through his role of Sulu on television's 'Star Trek'" series.

He got "consistently high marks from clean-air groups, and he has publicly battled for fluoridated water and a ban on oil drilling in Santa Monica Bay.

[11] In 1978, Cunningham ran for the "hotly contested" 28th Congressional District seat against Assemblyman Julian C. Dixon and State Senator Nate Holden.

He lost the Democratic primary to Dixon, who had 42,350 votes; Holden, 29,588; Mayor Merle Hergell of Inglewood, 6,457; and Cunningham, 5,255.

[14] In September 1976, Cunningham withdrew a proposal he had submitted that his press relations and public affairs be handled by a new firm whose members included a former aide of his and two other ex-city employees.

He called Nowell "the greatest racist in the world" and told the San Fernando Valley councilman, who was campaigning to become city controller, that "I'll give you all the trouble you can take if you do get elected.

"[21] Cunningham resigned from the City Council on September 30, 1986, and went to work for Cranston Securities Company as a vice president on October 15.