Ramos Ends Legal Dispute Over Vacant Council Seat

Mayoral candidate Anibal Ramos said he is pulling out of a legal dispute involving the seat left vacant when Donald Payne Jr. was elected to Congress in November, his campaign announced.

“I am withdrawing from this appeal to focus on my mayoral campaign,” Ramos said. “As the legal process dragged on, it became clear to me that it no longer made sense to continue fighting this legal battle since the voters will have an opportunity to pick the candidate of their choice at the ballot box this November.”

Last year, Mayor Cory Booker attempted to cast the tie-breaking vote in favor of Shanique Speight for the seat on the nine-member council. Ramos, along with fellow council members Carlos Gonzalez, Luis Quintana and Augusto Amador, also supported Speight.

Booker’s vote -- cast at a rare council meeting appearance Nov. 20 -- touched off a near-riot at city hall, with some irate members of the audience leaving their seats and approaching the speaker’s podium. Newark police used pepper spray to subdue the crowd.

Following the raucous meeting, the remaining four council members -- including another mayoral candidate, Ras Baraka -- successfully challenged Booker’s vote in court on procedural grounds. Booker and the council members who originally supported Speight appealed that ruling, however. The appeal is currently pending before the courts.

Ramos has now decided to withdraw his name from that appeal, along with Quintana, who told NJ.com he is supporting John Sharpe James’ campaign for the seat. James is the son of Booker's predecessor and bitter political rival Sharpe James.