The Newark Tradition

By Wally Edge | July 12th, 2007 - 11:02am

If Sharpe James is indicted today, he would become the fifth Mayor of Newark out of the last seven to face criminal charges.  Kenneth Gibson, a four-term Mayor who lost to James in 1986, pleaded guilty to federal tax evasion in 2002 as part of a plea agreement on fraud and bribery charges.  He had been indicted in 1980 on charges of giving out no-show jobs, but was acquitted by an Essex County jury.

Gibson's predecessor, Hugh Addonizio, had spent fourteen years in Congress before running for Mayor in 1962.  According to local legend, when asked why he would give up his seniority in Washington to be Mayor, Addonizio said: "Because you can make a million dollars in that job."   Despite his indictment on charges that he received over $1.4 million in kickbacks from city contractors, Addonizio ran for a third term and made it to a runoff with Gibson.  His trial began eight days before the runoff, and after an eight-week trial, he was found guilty on 64 counts of extortion and conspiracy.  He spent five years in a federal prison.

7 comments
Read more >>

Wake-Up Call

Morning News Digest: March 18, 2010

Runyan: ‘Different game, same mindset’  A lot of the hardest knocks Jon Runyan took in professional football he didn't see coming, and in that regard, he says the sport is not dissimilar from politics - where an email or phone call blast can drop out of nowhere and potentially...

Wally Edge

In Bergen, support for Blue Laws is bi-partisan
The latest issue in Bergen County: Gov. Christopher Christie’s plan to end Blue Laws.  Christie says Sunday retail shopping in Bergen County would bring the state an additional $65 million in annual revenue.  Expect legislators from both...
This is New Jersey, where stranger things have happened
The unlikeliest of scenarios would be for New Jersey to have both United States Senate seats on the ballot in November: a recall vote on Robert Menendez, and a special election to fill Frank Lautenberg’s seat.  Tea Party organizers will have a...
The Kean example
Tom Kean was re-elected in 1985 with 70% of the vote, after a bit of a shaky start.  Kean won by just 1,797 votes – after an extended recount – and was immediately forced to deal with a deficit Republicans blamed on the outgoing governor,...
Middlesex Dems back Potosnak for Congress
Middlesex County Democrats have endorsed congressional aide Ed Potosnak as their House candidate against freshman U.S. Rep. Leonard Lance (R-Clinton).  Potosnak, who worked for a California congressman, has also secured the organization lines...
Perez might run as a Republican
Hudson County Sheriff Juan Perez, who has lost the backing of the county Democratic organization, is mulling two options in a bid to extend his political career: seek re-election to a second term as a Republican, or run for Mayor of Bayonne. ...
MORE >

Contributors

Chris
Christie
This is going to be a budget that is going to be unlike any other you’ve probably seen in NJ in at least the last 20 years and maybe... more »
Robert
Torricelli
Everybody needs to start a new job with a list of priorities and Chris Christie is no exception. There might be a thousand things that need to get done... more »
Raymond
Lesniak
It's impossible to support consolidation of government services and also support COAH.S1 paints with a broad brush and thus will miss some fine points.  COAH paints with... more »
Jeff
Michaels
Governor Christie seems to have played the rotten fiscal cards he inherited fairly well. As reported by the Star-Ledger, he is proposing to cut school aid by more... more »
Joseph
Vitale
As part of his solution to New Jersey’s current budget deficit, Gov. Chris Christie announced that, effective yesterday, he will not allow any additional parents to enroll in FamilyCare,... more »
Steve
Adubato, Jr.
Let me get this straight.  The state has a “cap” or limit on how much municipalities can increase their annual budget every year—four percent.  The goal is to keep... more »
Alan
Steinberg
On Rebate Issue, Christie Will Win.  The leading New Jersey Sunday newspapers yesterday confirmed that Governor Chris Christie will propose in his FY2011 budget the... more »
Carla
Katz
You’ve got to hand it to Christie; he calls it as he sees it.  I don’t mean the newly crowned Governor, Chris Christie, but his nine-year-old son, Patrick.  ... more »
Joseph
N. DiVincenzo, Jr.
Anyone involved in governing and administrating a town or county in New Jersey understands the economic problems outlined in The Star-Ledger editorials of February 28 and March 1.  The... more »
Gina
Genovese
It is widely anticipated that Gov. Chris Christie’s first budget message, to be delivered on March 16, will show the harsh reality of New Jersey’s bleak financial outlook. No... more »
Donald
Norcross
In keeping with the commitment I made to you in the November election, I am looking at every possible way to cut wasteful government spending and relieve your tax... more »
Michael
W. Kempner
Republican Playbook:  Fear, Scorn & Partisanship -- Instill fear.  Sow uncertainty.   Create doubt.  Demonize.   These tactics may be the unfortunate norm for campaigning, but they are bad – if not... more »
Michael
Patrick Carroll
Our new Governor suffers from no lack of advice.  Much of it, contained in the transition reports, deserves prompt attention.  Obviously, economic prosperity benefits everyone, and – as... more »
Richard
J. LaRossa
I have to genuinely wonder if this legislature will go down as the most taxing legislature in the history of the state of New Jersey surpassing the legislative actions... more »
Dr.
Joseph R. Marbach
Now that  the dust has finally settled after the grueling campaign for governor, there are a number of lessons that we can draw from this election. First and... more »
Joey
Novick
 March 18, 2010   Stop screaming. You’ll wake up the neighbors.If you're a local town mayor in New Jersey and you think that screaming about the impact Christie’s budget... more »
Murray
Sabrin
Limited government principles and fiscal conservatism are philosophically sound, because they preserve the people’s natural rights and they prevent government from overspending, over borrowing and overtaxing.   For more than... more »
Anthony
M. Bucco
New Jersey is in severe financial crisis because for years elected officials have been able to make irresponsible and short-sighted decisions without any restraint.  Future governors may... more »
Julio
Tavarez
On January 6, 2010, several newspapers published articles with titles like “no more aid for struggling cities”, “Christie will cut state aid” and the like; furthermore, in the body... more »
Rafael
Román Martel
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, you target teachers. That’s not a positive note to start your tenure. You forget that the Teachers’ Union makes decisions on its own, such... more »
Brian
Valentino
On the day of his inauguration, Governor Christopher Christie inherited a gaping $2 billion hole in the state’s budget and swiftly set about the people’s business in meeting our... more »