ISLA on Wednesday had a guest speaker.  Molly Cummings is in her first year in office, and is the second woman in history of of Hopkins to hold the position as mayor.  

Track Record and Previous Experience

Previously,  Mrs Cummings served on the Hopkins Park Board, followed by the zoning and planning commission. Afterwards she ran and got elected successfully for the city council and currently still serves.

The position of Mayor in Hopkins is nonpartisan, and she has met prominent figures since being sworn in last year. She has worked with Al Franken on the Light Rail project, and has established professional relationships with former Vice-president Walter Mondale in regards to affordable housing.

Before working for the residents of Hopkins, she worked in accounting for 20 years, and she studied psychology and business at Florida State University. Prior to that she had a business where she managed a travel agency in downtown Minneapolis.

Once Mayor Cummings finished introducing herself she took a handful of questions from students. One student asked her about whether she spoke any other languages.  She said that regrettably, she did not, and emphasized that it was important for the students to study language;  she went on to emphasize the diversity that currently exists in Hopkins.

“In Hopkins we're a very diverse community, and in the Hopkins School District we have more than 40 languages spoken; so it is really important again because we represent  everybody that we are able to communicate so everyone can understand,” said Mayor Cummings.

In addition, she said this city is diverse since one-third of the population is immigrant, and explained the challenge of trying to serve everyone in the community.

“I think we have a very diverse culture in Hopkins. We have lots of people from lots of different countries, and I think this is a challenge not just in Hopkins but in the whole region-in the state. In my opinion, in the entire country. And we need to make sure that everyone is represented, that everyone's voices is heard and we are a melting pot. The United States is a melting pot and we need to be really careful that we are treating people equally,” concluded Cummings.