Dupré Kelly wins Newark West Ward council seat

Platinum-selling rapper Dupré “DoItAll” Kelly has defeated Chigozie Onyema for the West Ward seat on the Newark City Council.

With 100% of the vote in, Kelly leads Onyema by 17 percentage points, 58.6% to 41.4%, and a plurality of 546 votes, 1,858 to 1,312.

He had the backing of Mayor Ras Baraka.

The incumbent, Joseph McCallum is awaiting sentencing after pleading guilty to taking bribes and kickbacks.

Kelly finished first in May, leading Onyema by 352 votes, 1,489 to 1,137 (38%-29%).  Four other candidates trailed far behind, including former South Ward Councilman Oscar James, who received 519 votes (13%).

This is Kelly’s second bid for public office.  He ran for an at-large seat in 2018 but finished 8,452 votes behind Councilman Eddie Osborne.

Onyema, an attorney and community activist, served as assistant commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs under Lt. Gov. Sheila Oliver.