LeAnna Cumber

LeAnna Maria Gutierrez Cumber (born February 3, 1973) is an American politician, lawyer and former teacher who served as a member of the Jacksonville City Council in Florida. Cumber previously served as a legislative counselor for the Office of Inspector General for the Department of Transportation during the Presidency of George W. Bush.

Early life and education Cumber was raised in Ann Arbor, Michigan. While still in high school, she focused on issues involving rape and domestic violence.

She attended the University of Texas at Austin where she earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in government, moved to Nacogdoches, Texas and worked at a shelter for battered women. She later procured a position with the Nacogdoches Independent School District as a third-grade bilingual teacher. She also taught school for two years in rural east Texas, and then moved to Los Angeles and procured a position with the Los Angeles Unified School District as a fifth-grade bilingual teacher.

Since 2010, Cumber has been the CEO of LeAnna Cumber & Associates, a transportation-consulting firm that provides assistance to private transportation companies and state and local governments in securing public grants and financing.

City legislation LeAnna was elected to the Jacksonville City Council, representing District 5, in January 2019 with no opposition and assumed office on July 1, 2019. Her term ended June 30, 2023. She served on the Finance, Transportation, Energy & Utilities Committees, and Neighborhoods, Community Services, Public Health, and Safety Committees.

Cumber sponsored a city ordinance to prevent human trafficking in Jacksonville. City leaders believe their city is a center for human trafficking as a result of its location. The ordinance requires all adult entertainment performers to be at least 21 years old and have a specific Performer Work ID. It also strongly encourages hotels and motels to post Human Trafficking Awareness information in every room. It created a sex trafficking survivors commission to advise the city on ways to eradicate sex trafficking in Jacksonville.

In September 2019, in response to rising levels of crime in and around the City’s internet cafes, Cumber presented legislation calling for all simulated gambling devices to be declared illegal immediately. The bill passed in October 2019. Protestors took to the streets in San Marco carrying signs and calling for then Mayor Lenny Curry "to reverse his decision on adult arcade closures". They also demanded the resignation of Councilwoman Cumber. One protestor called it "political corruption with special interests" and that it was "a direct attack on minority workers."

Cumber also sponsored a bill to create a pilot program establishing a permitting process for dockless mobility vehicles, such as electric bicycles and scooters.

Cumber also wrote and passed the legislation to create Jacksonville's Public Nuisance Abatement Board.

2023 Mayoral campaign

In March 2022, Cumber announced a formal run for Mayor of Jacksonville. She lost the election in March 2023. In August 2023, Cumber was appointed by Florida House Speaker Paul Renner to the Board of Governors of the Citizens Property Insurance Corporation.