Eddie Osborne, a respected labor leader and Newark City Councilman-at-Large for eight years, died today after a long illness. He was 63.
He was elected to the city council in 2014, running on a ticket with mayoral candidate Ras Baraka. He finished fourth in a field of sixteen candidates for four seats, edging out his own running mate, Patrick Council, by 666 votes.
Osborne was re-elected in 2018, outdistancing his nearest competitor, former Councilwoman Bessie Walker, by a massive 6,608 votes, 15%-7%, in a field of ten candidates. He did not seek re-election to a third term in 2022.
He was with the Laborers’ International Union of North America from 1989 to 2022 and served as director of government affairs.
He served as a commissioner of the Newark Housing Authority from 2009 to 2022. Osborne was a commissioner of the Alcohol Beverage Control Commission from 2007 to 2022.
Osborne ran in a 2008 special election to fill a vacant Central Ward council seat but lost to former Councilman Charles Bell by 788 votes in a sixteen-candidate race.
In a statement posted on social media, Osborne’s two children said their father “met Parkinson’s disease the way he met every challenge in life: with resolve, grace, and unwavering dignity.”
“Even as the illness took its toll, he never lost his strength, his humor, or his spirit, and our family is deeply grateful for every moment we shared with him,” said Crystal Harvey and Eddie Dobson-Osborne, Jr.
Paul Roldan, the business manager for LIUNA Local 3 Building Laborers’ said that Osborne “understood that progress for working families is never the work of one person.”
“Eddie was a tireless advocate for working people. Whether on a picket line, at a job site, or in the halls of government, he stood shoulder to shoulder with his brothers and sisters in labor. He knew that the fight for workplace safety, fair wages, and dignity for working people did not end on the job, and he brought that same commitment to his service as a Newark city councilman,” said Roldan. “Eddie understood that our strength comes from standing together, looking out for one another, and never backing down when working families need a voice. His leadership mattered because he was always part of something bigger than himself.”