Newark Today

Programming Note: Sharpe James will join us this Friday, February 3rd at 8pm as Newark Today Presents "The Four Living Mayors". He will be joined by fellow former mayors Ken Gibson, US Senator Cory Booker and current mayor Ras Baraka for what will be a historic night. Mayor Sharpe James served as Newark’s south ward councilman before defeating Ken Gibson in a close 1986 election. It would end up being his closest election as city mayor. He was such a presence he ran unopposed in 1990. James went on to serve five terms, eventually becoming a state senator. “Today I call for one Newark. A Newark working together for better tomorrows, and continue to fight against crime, drugs, auto theft, and activities that impair our quality of life,” James proclaimed during his last inauguration address in 2002. James would serve as mayor and state senator until deciding not to run for reelection. In 2008 he was convicted of fraud and spent 18 months in federal prison for selling discounted plots of