Politics, Fourth of July Highlight This Week

This week we report on some significant news for the mayoral campaign of Anibal Ramos. The current acting president of the Newark Municipal Council and North Ward resident is seeking to become the first Hispanic mayor of the state’s largest city. Ramos’s rivals so far are two South Warders, Shavar Jaffries, a former assistant state attorney general, and Ras Baraka, Ramos’s colleague on the municipal council and principal of Central High School.

In more political news, we check in with the clerk’s office to see who has pulled packets to run for the currently vacant council seat held by Donald Payne Jr. until November, when he left city hall to become congressman for the 10th District. There will be a special election for the seat in November, and the person who wins will hold it at least until the term expires in July 2014. Whoever does win in November, however, is likely to run for a full four-year term in May 2014.