Hugh Addonizio Archives - New Jersey Globe

Trailblazer: Mayor Kenneth Gibson

January 18, 2021 12:09 amJanuary 17, 2021 1:51 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: Councilman Calvin West

January 18, 2021 12:03 amJanuary 16, 2021 10:26 pm

Calvin D. West 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, running...

Veterans: Six World War I veterans elected to NJ Assembly

November 11, 2020 12:05 amNovember 8, 2020 9:47 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...

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

September 7, 2020 12:05 amSeptember 6, 2020 12:23 am

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...

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

September 7, 2020 12:01 amSeptember 6, 2020 10:51 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...

Elton Hill, top aide to Newark Mayor Kenneth Gibson, dies at 89

July 17, 2020 4:53 pm

Elton E. Hill, a prominent Essex County political strategist who helped run Kenneth Gibson’s 1970 campaign to become the first Black mayor of Newark, died on July 11. He was 89. Hill and Gibson were childhood friends and he became...

Veterans: Six World War I veterans elected to NJ Assembly

May 25, 2020 12:04 amMay 24, 2020 9:27 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...