Donald Cunningham Jr. (born December 13, 1965) is an American politician who is president and CEO of the Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corporation (LVEDC).

During his time at Freedom he played football, ran track, worked on the student newspaper, and was the front man for a teenage rock band.

[8] In January 1997, during his first council term, Cunningham announced his intention to run for mayor,[8] a post held since 1988 by Ken Smith.

[8] Cunningham defeated Marakovits in the Democratic primary by a vote count of 3,384 to 2,916, and went on to face Republican Councilman Otto Ehrsam in the general election.

[14] In addition to his secretary position, Cunningham served on the State Public School Building Authority, the Pennsylvania Higher Educational Facilities Authority, the Governor's Homeland Security Advisory Council, the PENNVEST board, the Capitol Preservation Committee, and the Agricultural Land Preservation Interagency Committee during his time in Rendell's administration.

He ran with no opposition in the Democratic primary,[18] clearing the way for a challenge against Republican Executive Jane R. Ervin, who was seeking a second four-year term.

[15] During his campaign, Cunningham criticized Ervin for a 69 percent county tax increase in 2003, calling it "unconscionable" and declaring that a change in leadership was necessary.

[18] Ervin responded aggressively to Cunningham's campaign, raising questions about his record in Bethlehem and Rendell's administration and defending her tax increase as the right thing to do for the county.

[25] Cunningham also funded open space preservation,[26] negotiated contracts to stem rising health care costs,[27] and helped municipalities with higher crime rates hire more police officers.

In April 2008, Cunningham was the top vote-getter in the 15th congressional district to serve as a delegate Hillary Clinton to the 2008 Democratic National Convention.

[32] In 2009, Cunningham was challenged in his re-election campaign by Scott Ott,[26] a Republican political newcomer associated with the conservative Tea Party movement.

[35] In 2010, a 16.1 percent tax increase was proposed as part of the county budget, with Cunningham said was necessary due to difficult financial times, but would avoid the need to sell assets, deplete savings, impose massive layoffs, or reduce government services to the point that the problem would grow worse in subsequent years.

Cunningham unsuccessfully attempted to veto a county-wide reassessment that commissioners approved, arguing it should have been delayed at least a year to allow time for the market to become less volatile.