The Rye City Republican Committee has announced its candidate for the November 2 City Council Election. Keith Cunningham will vie for one of three open seats. The Rye Democrats earlier announced their slate: Jamie Jensen and incumbents Lori Fontanes and Josh Nathan.
Rye GOP Co-Chair Jana Seitz stated, “Keith will offer what Rye deserves: strong, good, competent government.”
In accepting the nomination, Cunningham said, “I pledge my commitment to honest and ethical government, bi-partisanship, open discussion, and civil discourse.”
He is a former partner and managing director of GMP Securities. The firm is one of largest independent investment banks focusing on distressed debt and bankruptcies. Over his long career, he advised many hedge funds, mutual funds, and insurance companies on complex valuations, debt restructurings, and trading strategies.
He received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Providence College, where he majored in Economics and Mathematics, and an MBA in International Business and Finance from New York University Stern School of Business.
He has been an active volunteer at NYU Langone Medical Center, utilizing his extended experience as a patient. Since 2015, he has been on the Family Patient Advisory Council, consulting on all patient experience aspects of the planning and development of the new Kimmel Pavilion, a 21-story hospital building considered the most technologically integrated, digitally sophisticated hospitals in the country.
Keith and his wife Nicole moved to Rye in 2012, after a search for the perfect town in the Sound Shore. “I want to keep Rye that special, unique place,” he said. “The issues that confront the residents of Rye and the City Council are not partisan, they are local. We all need to work together in solving them to make Rye an even better place.”