Mark Cummings

Mark Cummings

Democratic Party

Candidate, Mayor of Greensboro

Prior offices

North Carolina 18th Judicial District

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Report an officeholder change

Elections and appointments

Next election

October 7, 2025

Education

High school

James B. Dudley High School

Bachelor's

University of the South, Sewanee, 2003

Law

Campbell University, 2007

Personal

Birthplace

North Carolina

Religion

Christian

Profession

Attorney & business owner

Contact

Campaign website

Personal LinkedIn

Mark Cummings is running for election for Mayor of Greensboro in North Carolina. He is on the ballot in the primary on October 7, 2025.^[source]

Cummings (Democratic Party) was a judge of the North Carolina 18th Judicial District. He left office on December 20, 2019.

Cummings completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. Click here to read the survey answers.

In March 2019, Chief Justice Cheri Beasley suspended Cummings. Cummings told the Greensboro News & Record that he was under investigation for allegations of professional misconduct. He resigned from the court on December 20, 2019. Click here for more information.

Biography

Mark Cummings was born in North Carolina. He earned a bachelor's degree from the University of the South, Sewanee in 2003 and a law degree from Campbell University in 2007. His career experience includes working as an attorney and business owner.

Elections

2025

See also: Mayoral election in Greensboro, North Carolina (2025)

General election

The primary will occur on October 7, 2025. The general election will occur on November 4, 2025. General election candidates will be added here following the primary.

Nonpartisan primary election

Nonpartisan primary for Mayor of Greensboro

Marikay Abuzuaiter, Mark Cummings, Akir Khan, and Robbie Perkins are running in the primary for Mayor of Greensboro on October 7, 2025.

		Candidate
		Marikay Abuzuaiter (Nonpartisan)
		Mark Cummings (Nonpartisan)
		Akir Khan (Nonpartisan)
	Submit photo	Robbie Perkins (Nonpartisan)

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	There are no incumbents in this race.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Endorsements

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2022

See also: Mayoral election in Greensboro, North Carolina (2022)

General election

General election for Mayor of Greensboro

Incumbent Nancy Vaughan defeated Justin Outling and Chris Meadows in the general election for Mayor of Greensboro on July 26, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Nancy Vaughan (Nonpartisan)	43.1	13,977
		Justin Outling (Nonpartisan)	41.7	13,542
		Chris Meadows (Nonpartisan) (Write-in)	14.3	4,650
		Other/Write-in votes	0.9	280

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 32,449
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Nonpartisan primary election

Nonpartisan primary for Mayor of Greensboro

Incumbent Nancy Vaughan and Justin Outling defeated Mark Cummings and Eric Robert in the primary for Mayor of Greensboro on May 17, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Nancy Vaughan (Nonpartisan)	45.0	18,088
✔		Justin Outling (Nonpartisan)	35.2	14,172
		Mark Cummings (Nonpartisan)	10.2	4,117
	Submit photo	Eric Robert (Nonpartisan)	9.5	3,833

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 40,210
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

2018

See also: Municipal elections in Guilford County, North Carolina (2018)

General election

General election for North Carolina 5th Superior Court Division Judicial District 18

Incumbent Lora Cubbage defeated Mark Cummings in the general election for North Carolina 5th Superior Court Division Judicial District 18 on November 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Lora Cubbage (D)	69.0	12,969
		Mark Cummings (D)	31.0	5,835

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 18,804 (100.00% precincts reporting)
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

2016

See also: North Carolina local trial court judicial elections, 2016

North Carolina held general elections for local judicial offices on November 8, 2016. A primary election took place on March 15, 2016. Mark Cummings defeated Marc Tyrey in the North Carolina Judicial District 18 general election for the Samet seat.

North Carolina Judicial District 18 (Samet Seat), General Election, 2016
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Mark Cummings	63.32%	112,334
Marc Tyrey	36.68%	65,070
Total Votes		177,404
Source: North Carolina State Board of Elections, "Unofficial election results," accessed November 8, 2016

Selection method

See also: Partisan election of judges

The North Carolina District Courts utilize partisan elections in the selection of judges. District judges serve four-year terms, after which they must run for re-election if they wish to continue serving. From 2002 through 2016, elections for district court judges were nonpartisan; however, on March 23, 2017, the North Carolina legislature changed the method of election to partisan elections by overriding Gov. Roy Cooper's veto of HB 100. This change was effective with the 2018 district court elections.

Qualifications
To serve on this court, a judge must be:

• licensed to practice law in the state;
• a district resident; and
• under the age of 72 (retirement at 72 is mandatory).

Campaign themes

2025

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Mark Cummings completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Cummings' responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I am the fighter that you have been waiting for. My name is Mark Cummings and I am running for Mayor of Greensboro. I know many of you have been bombarded with misinformation about me, even here on Ballotpedia. You have heard the worst; now hear the truth. As the youngest African-American male to be elected to the Judiciary in Guilford County, the youngest President of the Guilford County Black Lawyer's Association, the youngest General Counsel (and only African-American) of the Greensboro Jaycees, and one of the youngest law partners in a Greensboro law firm, I understand why the Establishment, the News & Record , the special-interests and they politicians they employ fear me and mislead you. They know that I built my career fighting to keep government for the people, of the people and by the people. I care about you; I fight for you. I am unafraid to take on the powerful in pursuant of equal justice, affordable living, economic opportunity, better schools and safer communities. My story is similar to yours; one of faith, hard work, perseverance, and overcoming adversity. With so much at stake in this election, now is the time to turn the page from the tired old retreads asking you for four more years to do the things they promised you they would do 4 years ago. Greensboro needs more than a bold new vision. It needs bold action. Let me earn your support, not just for this election, but as we govern, together. Let's make history. Mayor Mark?

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• What will we do without Freedom? I will fight everyday for this Democracy and our way of life. What happens in Washington doesn't just stay in Washington anymore. None of my opponents will stand up to the Federal Government when it sends troops into our neighborhoods. I will. I will protect all of our sons and daughters from being disappeared. A Mayor Mark Administration will keep our communities and our schools safe.
• What will we do without food, health care and affordable living? Prices are too high. Special interests and government corruption has made it impossible to afford a decent standard of living for most of us. A Mayor Mark Administration will fight to bring prices down, work with state legislatures to increase the State minimum wage to $20.00 an hour, and create bold new local initiatives that help ensure we all have access to health care and affordable housing. We won't wait on Washington or Raleigh to give us what God promised us. And we wont be bought by special interest like our opponents.
• What will we do without each other? I know you are tired of them keeping us divided so that they can continue to profit off our fear. God teaches us to love our neighbor, not to turn our backs on them. A Mayor Mark Administration will end the fear that has paralyzed us for far too long. We will make government more transparent, more responsive and more efficient. My opponents had years to make Greensboro better for all of us. We can't give them 4 more to make it worse.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Affordability, Economic Opportunity, Safe Communities and Schools, Government and Special Interest Corruption

Is there a book, essay, film, or something else you would recommend to someone who wants to understand your political philosophy?

Good Trouble by John Lewis

On Tyranny by Timothy Snyder
Why Nations Fail by Daron Acemoglu

Poverty for Profit by Anne Kim

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

Faith, Honesty, Transparency, A Determined Work-Ethic, Optimism, Democratic

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

Protecting our sons and daughters

Ensuring Economic Opportunity
Honest and Clear Dialogue with and by the consent of the Governed

Providing services efficiently, promptly and without favor

A mayor is a leader in his or her city. What does that mean to you?

To be a leader means to be a servant. Indeed a mayor should be a servant-leader. He or she must be bold to set a course and build consensus for that course. But he or she must not be afraid to make hard decisions that may not be politic or popular, but are right. A mayor must be accessible and responsive to his or her constituents, and those constituents must be more than a selected few favored because of their deep pockets and connections. A mayor must be optimistic and guided by faith and truth. To be a leader is to be able to get up when you get knocked down. To fight through the attacks and misinformation. To persevere in the face of relentless attacks, and to always be ready to bend the arc of the moral universe towards justice.

If the mayor in your city is a member of the city council and there's a city manager appointed to handle the day-to-day administration of the city government, what do you believe should be the mayor's top priority in office?

The Mayor's top priority is to ensure that the right people are in place to bring about the bold change that the people voted for. Every appointed position must be reviewed to ensure that the right person, the most qualified person is in place to change the "business-as-usual" atmosphere that exists today. We do not suggest that wholesale change is necessary, but neither so we suggest that no change is necessary. The mayor must set the tone to usher in the change that the People are demanding. The Mayor must engage all of the people to participate in their government. A Mayor Mark Administration will get to work on day one to bring about consensus for this change.

What do you love most about your city?

I love this City's people. Their uniqueness is woven into the fabric of the City. It is because of her people that Greensboro has the potential for greatness. Under my opponents leadership, the Gateway City became the Gated City- a city shut off from most of it's people; a city whose growth has been blocked by a network of entrenched and corruptible interests. Yet in spite of this, Greensboro has continued to simmer on the brink of greatness. And that is surely a testament to its people.

What do you perceive to be your city's greatest challenges over the next decade?

Growth and affordability. Special interests and corruptible politicians have concentrated poverty in specific areas in the City. Self-dealing politicians, antiquated newspapers and conflicted PACs have ensured that the same people have been returned to office year after year, and have made it hard for a new generation of leadership to take its place. Fresh ideas and unbought talent is needed to help Greensboro grow and prosper. Neither of my opponents have clean hands, especially seeing as though they remain in the pockets of certain special interest groups. Our City cannot grow with the same tired leadership being recycled election after election.

What do you believe is the ideal relationship between your city and the state government?

As the third largest city in the State, Greensboro should have a bigger role in decisions made in Raleigh. That starts with a City government forging relationship and leveraging influence. Our city has been lacking the leadership necessary to build relationships and wield influence. That must change. A Mayor Mark Administration would work tirelessly to ensure that change.

What do you believe is the ideal relationship between your city and the federal government?

Federalism dictates that the Powers not expressly granted to the Federal Government are reserve for the States and its people. The ideal relationship between the City and the Federal Government should be that the City functions as an incubator to test ideas that could be scaled to federal applicability. That's why bold fresh leadership is needed. Leadership that is not afraid to stand up to the government in the face of overreach, and bold enough to try new things.

What do you believe is the ideal relationship between the mayor's office and law enforcement?

The Mayor must set the tone for law enforcement. The Mayor must support law enforcement when they are right, and most not be afraid to criticize it and bring about change when they are wrong. Most importantly, the Mayor's Office must ensure that law enforcement reflects the Communities that they are charged with keeping safe. The Mayor must empower law enforcement to keep our communities and schools safe, while also obliging it to police itself to weed out ill-trained and weak officers. A Mayor Mark Administration will have a no racial profiling policy, an emphasis on community policing. Work to ensure take home cars for patrol officers, state-of-the art training and incentivized pay for officer who live or are willing to relocate to the City.

What are your views on financial transparency and government accountability?

Citizens United open the flood gates of corporate money in politics. If money is speech, and we accept that their must be limits on speech (i.e. you don't have the right to yell fire in a crowded theatre), then isn't it logical to have limits on money in politics. I support transparency laws and ethics reform on special interest money in government

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

2022

Mark Cummings did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.

Noteworthy events

Allegations of professional misconduct (2019)

See also: Noteworthy professional misconduct in American politics (2019-2020)

North Carolina Supreme Court Chief Justice Cheri Beasley suspended Cummings in March 2019. Cummings told the Greensboro News & Record that he was under investigation for professional misconduct, including calling officers racist and changing bonds set by Superior Court judges. After a yearlong investigation, Cummings resigned effective December 20, 2019, under an agreement which would prohibit him from running for judicial office in North Carolina in the future.

See also

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Candidate

Mayor of Greensboro

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