The City of Troy, New York, "Where Henry Hudson Turned Around."

Sunday, October 04, 2015

SUNDAY PROFILES ON PARADE

In the first of a continuing series (but probably not) we profile one of those brave enough to expose themselves to the Troy voter.



Today...ANASHA CUMMINGS.

New to running for public office, Anasha Cummings is not new to getting involved. In fact, for someone who actually wants to be on the City Council, this guy is actually impressive. And hard to miss.



Sure, his name sounds like something one might shout while climaxing (say it three times fast), but Cummings is in Troy by choice, not because he can't sell his house. Born and raised in Santa Fe, New Mexico, Cummings attended RPI, graduated in 2012, and stayed in the Collar City.

In 2012, Cummings was named RPI's Person of the Year. That's impressive and not just because he's not Asian. We grew exhausted just reading the list of Cummings activities. According to The Record:

Cummings was born in Santa Fe, N.M., and moved to Troy to study Design, Innovation and Society* at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. It was during that time he became involved with bridging the gap between college students and the rest of the city.

He has worked as an intern for U.S. Rep. Paul Tonko, a VISTA sustainability coordinator for Troy Rehabilitation and Improvement Program (TRIP), and as a project coordinator with Empire Solar. He is also an organizer for Transition Troy.

Cummings snagged the Working Families Party and Green Party  endorsement for an At-Large seat on the Troy City Council. He also ran for the Democratic line but lost. Currently, he is deciding whether to actively campaign or withdraw from the race. To that end, Cummings has created The People's Primary, an on-line petition that will decide the political future. At least for 2015. Cummings will let the people decide whether he continues his campaign. If Cummings receives 1,000 votes by October 9, 2015, he will remain in the race.

You see, Cummings doesn't want to be a spoiler and will only run if he believes he has an actual shot at winning. He doesn't want his supporters throwing away their vote.

For those Republicans in the audience, to vote you have to leave your name and contact information to vote. So, don't bother trying to thwart the purpose of the petition.

This guy cares about Troy and has the energy to help guide Troy in to the future. He is a great example of the Creative Economy on the rise in Troy. We hope he runs again. As a Democrat. And wins.

We hope to be able to post an interview with Cummings in the near future

* Yes, yes, he minored in Care of Magical Creatures. We get it.

20 comments:

Anonymous said...

Nice kid. Bad company. Worse advice.

Ravenclaw said...

Agree with 9:09. Anasha would be a good addition to the City Council. I voted for him in the Primary. My only hesitation is that he is drinking Rodney's kool-aid. I wish he would step away from Rod and "Team Troy". He never said a word about the sleazy puppet mailer that his party sent to voters. I know he thought it was a crappy move on the part of the WFP, wish he had said so.

Helen Vaughn said...

Great guy. Smart and not to sound shallow, but very different than what you may expect when meeting him. I knew I thought, flakey far left progressive. Instead, he had great ideas for growing small businesses.

Anonymous said...

100% agree. Nice guy, smart, great attitude. But a very bad move to get involved with Rodney.

Anonymous said...

It's all good. I went to that teamspunk festival this weekend and Queen Moab said she had some special enchanted fairy dust to make the tax increase not feel so bad.
Either way I'm going to get some use of that $1,500,000 sprinkler system Lou and Pete installed on the golf course.
Enchant that mofo's!

Phana24JG said...

One of the few radical lefties I actually like. While I would hate a Council dominated by people like him, I agree he would make an excellent councilman. One thing you have to admire is that he is honest about his views, does not babble on in double-talk, political jargon, and sound-bite speak. I hope he stays involved.

Anonymous said...

Have to agree with everyone else. I've met Anasha, and he's smart and has great ideas. Unfortunately the taint of Rodney and Anastasia will probably cost him this election. Hopefully he will try again and align himself better next time.

Troy Business Owner said...

Radical lefties. Phana, you kill me with that 90's talk. Anyway, he's a good guy and I wish him the best. I applaud him for adopting Troy as his home. We need more like him that Truly love the city.

Anonymous said...

He would be great for the city council. He looks homeless and if we have another term of democrats the city will be full of homeless people. When will you be endorsing Troy's own Bruce Jenner the "Dart Lady"? Love the lets show our edginess and throw a non conventionally candidate a bone. Your all f-ing trendsetters. Back to mowing Tom Wades lawn. HG4YN

Anonymous said...

When you put a bio about Rodney's team Troy main campaigner Bob Cox?

Anonymous said...

I can only hope and pray that the dynamic duo of Cox and Cooper are hanging close this week.

Gordon 911 Tape said...

Let it Go, Let it Go, Can't Hold it Back Anymore

Anonymous said...

Nice guy. He'll be eaten alive if he gets elected.

Phana24JG said...

TBO, how would you describe him? Would "very progressive with a Pickettian macroeconomic outlook juxtaposed with a surprisingly translucent platform for our small business sector" have been better? Like Helen, I thought he was simply some dude from New Paltz or Woodstock who got lost.

Anonymous said...

I agree that Mr. Cummmings would do well to divorce himself from the faux progressivism of Rodney Wiltshire. And thereby stay true to himself.

Troy Business Owner said...

Phana, that exactly what I was thinking. Just kidding. I guess my only point was that many jobs are being created in fields once considered to hippyish and that we shouldn't judge a book by its cover. Maybe I'm the only one guilty of that. It's a reflex. Like when I see a frat boy. I assume he to the right of Attila.

Phana24JG said...

To be more specific, I do not believe in the sustainable, zero carbon footprint, let's walk and bike everywhere, and socialism drivel, but the guy has some great insight into some local ideas. Anasha did more to present the budget, budget process, and foreclosures for sale on-line than the paid people. Compare his website to that of any other candidate. The business promotion stuff might be a tad simplistic, but the attitude is what matters, and as TBO notes, he may well be more in touch with marketing what we need than those of us more conventionally oriented. I have only spoken to him briefly, but he is not obnoxious like so many Social Justice Warriors(Collins, Brucato, Clarke), very approachable, and I think he would work with anyone on mutually beneficial projects.

Anonymous said...

You miss them ?

Anonymous said...

The Golf course makes money for the city, and it needed the sprinklers. Stop being so petty. I suppose the could have used some of the $1.5 million to give made up jobs to the rest of Harry's family! Grow the fuck up!

Larry Johnson said...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7fqCS7Y_kME