By Lev D. Zilbermints OP / ED
NEWARK – On Tuesday, May 12, 2026 Newark residents faced the largest amount of candidates for elective office in decades. There were eight candidates for mayor; nineteen candidates for councilman-at-large; and another eighteen candidates for seats in North, South, East, West and Central Wards put together.
As Local Talk reported in its May 14 issue, “By “unofficial,” County Clerk Christopher Durkin is holding off certifying the results until on or before May 28. This is the 14-day voting machine impoundment period to allow any challenges or recounts.
Essex County Superintendent of Elections Patty Spango is meanwhile holding the Vote By Mail reception window open until May 20 for those ballots who have been postmarked on or before May 12.
Once the votes were counted it became clear that almost all of the incumbents were easily re-elected to their positions. The sole exception was the fourth and last At-Large seat, which saw community activist Donna Jackson defeat a Team Baraka-backed candidate.
The question is, why and how did the incumbents prevail over a huge field of challengers? This article will attempt to analyze the answer in detail. Sources include Local Talk and Essex County Clerk’s website.
Too many opposition candidates splinter the vote
When running against an incumbent, a challenger faces several hurdles. There is name recognition; money; established networks; political support; endorsements by key public and religious figures; list of accomplishments. The incumbent, by their virtue of being in office longer, has already built-in advantages over the challenger. This is why it is not a good idea for too many challengers to take on an incumbent.
The opposition would splinter into numerous factions, each one voting for its candidate. Meanwhile, the incumbent, with a ready base of loyal supporters, would get the majority of the vote.
This is what happened in the mayoral election. Ras Baraka received 13,057 votes, or 70.34% of the vote. The remaining seven candidates received 29.66% put together.
Jhamar Thompson received 3,100 or 16.70; Debra Salters, 873, or 4.70%; Sheila Montague, 612, or 3.30%; Tanisha Gardner, 294, or 1.58%; Noble D. Milton, 289, or 1.56%; Douglas R. Davis, 244 or 1.41%; Nasheedah S. Singleton, 94 or .51%.
Instead of having so many wannabes for mayor, the opposition should have agreed on a single candidate. With one candidate facing Baraka, the opposition could have channeled their combined resources into supporting their single candidate. It is another question whether that candidate would have been able to defeat the incumbent mayor. But that would have been the best strategy.
Coming to At-Large Council races it is easy to see that the incumbents, by dint of their better name recognition; money; established networks; political support; endorsements; were able to beat back challenges from 15 rivals. As reported by Local Talk in its May 14 issue, Luis Quintana carried 8,378 votes, or 14.28. Council Members C. Lawrence Crump and Louise Scott – Rountree carried 7,630 0r 13% and 7,188 or 12.25%, respectively.
The big surprise was Donna Jackson, who received 6,735 votes or 11.48%. Jackson will succeed outgoing Carlos Gonzalez, who has been a Council member for 20 years. Team Baraka-backed Josephine Garcia, a Carlos Gonzalez staffer and former Newark School Board of Education President, lost to Jackson. The vote tally was 5,061 or 8.63% for Garcia versus 6,735 for Jackson.
Everyone else had far fewer votes. According to the May 14 Local Talk, Rasheen Peppers pulled 4,129 or 7.04 for sixth place. Altarik B. White, Sr. was next at 2,667 or 4.56 Lynda A. Lloyd was eighth at 2,548 or 4.34. Alonzo Herran, Jr., placed ninth after hauling 1,890 or 3.22. Yusuf H. Shabazz cracked “The Top 10” by edging Maria E. Lebron 1,836 or 3.13 over 1,805 or 3.08.
Nadirah H. Brown bagged 1,692 or 2.88 for 12th. Pablo H. Olivera was next at 1,423 or 2.43, followed by Jeanette Hinnant at 1,216 or 207 and Khalil T. Kettles’ 1,126 or 1.92. Malik H. Cooper carried 1,041 or 1.77 for 16th. Christina G. Cherry copped 957 or 1.63 for 17th, ahead of Edden O. Rivera’s 680 or 1.16. Lamont T. Vaughn completed the balloted field at 662 or 1.13.
Ward Council (Vote for one each.)
As reported in the May 14, 2026 Local Talk, “Central Ward voters, in a rematch, re-selected Amina Bey for her first full elected term over former councilwoman Gayle Chaneyfield-Jenkins. Bey, whom voters picked over Chaneyfield-Jenkins in a special election to fill now -Cong. LaMonica McIver’s unexpired term, bagged 2,338 or 55.18. Chaneyfield-Jenkins garnered 1,899 or 44.82.
Tuesday night’s results also means that, for the first time in recent memory, there will not be a Central Ward Council runoff election. East Ward voters, unless they wrote in a candidate, literally faced a “One Man, One Vote” situation.
Incumbent Councilman Michael J. Silva ran unopposed for his first full elected term. Silva was first elected to succeed the retiring Augusto Amador.
North Ward voters rallied behind incumbent Anibal Ramos, Jr. over Marcos M. Sanchez by a four-to-two ratio. Ramos received 2,965 or 81.12. Sanchez scored 690 or 18.88.
South Ward voters gave Rev. Patrick O. Council the most votes over six challengers. Council carried the night with 2,165 or 46.12 percent. However, because of Newark’s “50 percent plus one vote” rule, he will head to a runoff against former Newark Public Schools Board of Education President Asia J. Norton, who tallied 1,093 or 23.29.
Donald J. Jackson – a former BOE member and Donna Jackson’s son – placed third at 601 or 12.80. Trenton E. Jones was next at 485 or 10.33. Lonnie T. Baker finished fifth with 129 or 2.79. AbdushShahid Ah’Mad was sixth at 115 or 2.45. Willi S. Jetti completed the balloted field at 106 or 2.26.
Nearly 60 percent of the West Ward returned Councilman Dupre L. Kelly over three challengers. Kelly tallied 2,365 or 59.13. Malcolm X. Outlaw, Sr. was second at 706 or 17.65. Jimmy L. McCoy finished third at 476 or 11.90. Muta N. El-Amin completed the field at 453 or 11.33.
As was argued earlier, the enormous number of candidates for At-Large Council seats splintered the opposition. Just like in the race for mayor, the resources of anti – incumbent forces were not focused around one or two strong challengers. Donna Jackson won because she had better name recognition than Josephine Garcia.
It is a matter of fact that Jackson frequently speaks at city council meetings. This meant good name recognition and an established network. Jackson’s victory over Garcia shows that it is possible for a challenger to defeat a candidate endorsed by established politicians.
It needs to be remembered that incumbents are vulnerable when they make bad political decisions or are tainted by scandal. Former Newark Councilman Joseph McCallum was found guilty of bribery and jailed. Dupre Kelly succeeded him. Hugh Addonizio was guilty of corruption. Kenneth Gibson defeated him in the 1970 Newark mayoral election.
Yet this is not a given. The voters have to actually believe that their political leaders are corrupt or made bad political decisions. Only then can incumbents lose office.
Bottom line is this. It is fun to run for elective office. The reality is that winning against an incumbent requires name recognition; money; backing by political and religious figures; established networks; a list of accomplishments; and knowing the incumbent’s weak points. Having too many candidates can often allow the incumbent to win because the opposition is fractured and cannot unite.
Case in point.
Lev D. Zilbermints has a B.A. in Political Science, Magna Cum Laude, from Bloomfield College, 1996. He also has a M.A. in Political Science from Rutgers University – Newark, 2005.
