Paul Cunningham's Bio

Paul Cunningham is a native Arizonan and longtime community activist with 30 years of professional and volunteer public service. He is the son of former State Senator George Cunningham and lifelong Tucson advocate Margie Cunningham.

Cunningham started his public service career at the Ott Family YMCA located in Ward 2. He is a 12-year veteran of the Pima County Juvenile Probation Department and served in the Army Reserve and National Guard from 1993-2001. He has been teaching in Tucson public schools for ten years.

A 1992 graduate of Rincon High School, Paul has a B.A. in History from the University of Arizona and a master's degree from ASU. Councilmember Cunningham served on the Arizona Juvenile Justice Commission, the Correction Officer Retirement Local Board, and has been active in volunteering with Youth on their Own, Our Family, the Pima County Probation Officers Association, National Youth Sports, the YMCA, Friends of the Library, and the Community Prevention Coalition. He co-founded “TEAM Tucson” (Teen Empowerment and Advocacy Movement) in 2005. He also authored a youth empowerment program, known as the “Hoop Dreams: Control Your Destiny” curriculum. He is the former president of the EL GHEKO neighborhood association.

Councilmember Cunningham is committed to safeguarding Tucson’s greatest asset – our water supply. He championed our current water service area policy and advocated for rainwater harvesting rebates. He firmly believes that policies like these are the only way to ensure the long-term viability of both our community and the precious desert we live in. He also has been an advocate for persons with a disability and the office hosts Tucson’s annual Disability Pride celebration, one of the few in the country.

Paul was sworn in as a councilmember by his grandmother, retired Superior Court Judge Lillian Fisher, on May 11, 2010. He was elected to a full term in 2011, and was reelected in 2015, 2019 and 2023.

Paul is married to Alisa and has three sons. He currently teaches at Gridley Middle School in the Tucson Unified School District.