Editor’s note: The Tribune did receive a copy of the photo, but will not publish it.
CULLMAN, Ala. – Cullman County Republican Party Chairman and city council hopeful Steve Cummings had to take to social media this week after an embarrassing photo of him appeared on his Facebook page over the weekend. The photo, a selfie taken by Cummings, who currently spends much of his time away from home caring for a family member, was reportedly going to be sent to his wife to show off a little weight loss, but ended up in his public feed instead. The photo was deleted as soon as the mistake was discovered, but not before a few people saved screenshots and started some rumors.
Cummings said he initially thought he had been hacked, but he discovered the photo had been uploaded from his phone.
He told The Tribune, “My phone, I don’t have a lock screen on it and so, if you throw it back in your pocket, the first thing that’s up there is ‘add a story.’ And if you bump that, it goes to your pictures, and that’s what happened.”
Cummings added with a little laugh, “Why would I post it intentionally? And then, I’m fairly good at Photoshop, so if I was going to post it, I would’ve Photoshopped the heck out of it!”
Cummings took to social media much more intentionally and carefully Wednesday morning, saying, in part, “I get it, here’s a straight-laced, Republican, Christian guy that is running for office and he does something like this? There’s blood in the water. Never mind, that I’ve spent a lifetime doing the right thing, I’ve never been unfaithful to my wife Debby in ANY way in our 32-year marriage. I don’t drink, I don’t smoke, I don’t even use the occasional cuss word. That doesn’t make me any better than anybody else – it’s just the standards I set for myself 43 years ago and they just stuck.”
He continued, “I was crushed that this happened – but not so much for me – I can take the heat for it, but for my wife and my family and my family name. Proverbs 22:1 – ‘A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches.’ So how devastating would it be to lose my good name over a simple glitch in technology? I could see it if I had a Lack of Judgement and did that on purpose – or if I even posted it as a Mistake – then I’d gladly take the blame. But to lose 55 years of a good reputation that I’ve worked hard for due to an action, that I did not take, would be soul-crushing.
“And if it weren’t for my faith, I would have crawled in a hole already. I don’t believe in running away from difficulty – I’m just not wired that way, you stand up like a man and tell the truth and face things straight on. And I know it would have been easier to just say ‘I must have been hacked’ or just say nothing at all, and just hope it all went away. Things just don’t go away. I just don’t go away. I’m not leaving town – Cullman is my home – and I am still running for the city council because I believe I could contribute to the community I love. Whether anybody votes for me after this, we’ll have to see Aug. 25th.”
In her own post, Cummings’ wife Deborah Cummings wrote, “My husband, Steve, is a Godly man who has always set high morals for our children. He has been an outstanding citizen of his community . . . Technology is a blessing and a curse. He is very upset over this mishap, especially about what his friends and family will think. I love this man very much! I hope that we never judge one another by our text or social media posts.”
In his post, Cummings said he learned that “In the very middle of this ABSOLUTE FIRESTORM of circumstances – my heart was fixed and I felt an inner strength that was not my own. The other things I learned are: I need to get a better phone, always use a screen lock and no more selfies.”
Cummings is challenging incumbent Clint Hollingsworth for his seat on the Cullman City Council in the Aug. 25, 2020 Municipal Election. Hollingsworth told The Tribune that he considers Cummings to be a friend and the incident to be an unfortunate accident, and that it will not be an issue in the campaign.
Cummings invited his friends to talk to him about the incident, adding, “I’ve got nothing to hide (not now anyway).”
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