Hugh Addonizio Archives - New Jersey Globe

Trailblazer: Mayor Kenneth Gibson

January 16, 2023 12:04 amJanuary 15, 2023 7:44 pm

Kenneth Gibson (1932-2019) became the first Black to serve as mayor of a major northeastern city when he ousted two-term incumbent Hugh Addonizio in 1970. Gibson had served as an engineer for the New Jersey Highway Department and as the...

Trailblazer: Assemblyman George Richardson

January 16, 2023 12:02 amJanuary 16, 2023 12:04 am

George C. Richardson (1931-2021) was a maverick civil rights leader who served four terms in the New Jersey State Assembly in the 1960s and 1970s. Richardson had sought to become the first Black to serve in the New Jersey Senate...

Trailblazer: Councilman Calvin West

January 16, 2023 12:01 amJanuary 15, 2023 7:42 pm

Calvin D. West (1932-2019) was a legendary and beloved Newark political figure for parts of seven decades and the first African American to win citywide office. West was elected to an at-large seat on the Newark City Council in 1966,...

Labor Leader: Joel Jacobson picked a public fight with Frank Sinatra

September 5, 2022 12:15 amSeptember 8, 2022 3:47 pm

One of the great New Jersey fights of the 1970s was between labor leader Joel R. Jacobson (1918-1989) and Frank Sinatra. Sinatra and Dean Martin were playing blackjack before their performance at the Golden Nugget Casino in Atlantic City in...

Labor Leader: John J. Giblin served as State Senator, Essex County Freeholder

September 5, 2022 12:10 amSeptember 4, 2022 3:25 pm

John J. Giblin (1909-1975) was one of New Jersey’s most powerful labor leaders, serving as president of the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 68, chairman of the national union, Essex County Freeholder and State Senator. Giblin was the patriarch...

Veterans: Six World War I veterans elected to NJ Assembly

May 30, 2022 12:02 amMay 29, 2022 6:42 pm

Six young World War I veterans were elected to the New Jersey State Assembly during the first three years after the war ended: Francis A. Stanton (D-Hoboken) and Thomas Lloyd Lewis (R-Asbury Park) in 1918; Felix Forlenza (D-South Orange) and...

Trailblazer: Assemblyman George Richardson

January 17, 2022 12:17 amJanuary 16, 2022 10:17 pm

George C. Richardson (1931-2021) was a maverick civil rights leader who served four terms in the New Jersey State Assembly in the 1960s and 1970s. Richardson had sought to become the first Black to serve in the New Jersey Senate...