Sharpe James, former Newark mayor and state senator, dies at 89
Sharpe James, a colorful, passionate, and controversial New Jersey politician who championed the city of Newark, where he served as mayor for twenty years, died today after a series of illnesses. He was 89.
The Rascal King of Newark politics, where people either loved or vilified him, enjoyed a political career that lasted nearly 40 years, ending, sort of, after a 33-count federal corruption indictment led to a conviction and a 27-month sentence in prison.
His last mayoral campaign, the “Street Fight” with Cory Booker, then a young city councilman. He won by 3,494 votes, 53%-46%.
As Kenneth Gibson was launching his second bid for mayor of Newark in 1970, James, from his perch as president of the Weequahic Community Council, sought a South Ward city council seat. He secured the support of the Black and Puerto Rican Convention, where Rep. Shirley Chisholm (D-New York) was the keynote speaker. The convention was a big deal, with national Black leaders, including Amiri Baraka, John Conyers, Percy Sutton, Ossie Davis, and Whitney M. Young, Jr. in attendance.
He teamed up with Gibson, who was challenging indicted incumbent Hugh Addonizio in what would become a successful run to become the first Black mayor of the state’s largest city.
https://newjerseyglobe.com/in-memoriam/sharpe-james-former-newark-mayor-and-state-senator-dies-at-89/
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