Patrick Council wins Newark South Ward city council seat

Patrick Council, the powerful South Ward Democratic Municipal Chairman, has captured the open South Ward seat on the Newark City Council.

Council defeated Terrance Bankston, a former aide to Newark Mayor Cory Booker in today’s runoff election.  With 98% of the vote in, Council leads, 1,847 to 739, 71%-29%.  He won vote-by-mail ballots, 480 to 168.  

This is a pickup for Mayor Ras Baraka, whose slate Council ran on in the May 10 non-partisan municipal election.  The incumbent, John Sharpe James, the son of former Mayor Sharpe James, did not seek re-election.

Council nearly scored a first-round victory with 45.65% of the vote, less than 200 votes off winning the seat without runoff.

He received 1,941 votes (45.7%) in a six-candidate field in May, 1,180 votes ahead of Bankston (761) in a 45.7% to 17.9% race.  Bankston outpaced Trenton Jones by 82 votes to make it into the runoff.

Bankston spent seven years on Booker’s City Hall staff.