Kenneth Gibson Archives

Marie Villani, Newark city councilwoman for 20 years, dies at 100

July 17, 2021 10:26 pmJuly 19, 2021 9:39 am

HMarie L. Villani, a six-term Newark City Councilwoman and the first woman to win a citywide election in the state’s largest city, died on July 13. She turned 100 on July 4. Villani was appointed to fill an at-large city...

The story of a maid who became an assemblywoman

May 13, 2021 1:48 pmMay 13, 2021 2:45 pm

A former maid and the granddaughter of slaves, Remay Pearce served as an assemblywoman from Essex County for about seven weeks in 1979 and 1980. In those days, when a seat in the legislature became vacant, it would remain empty...

Trailblazer: Congressman Donald Payne Sr.

January 18, 2021 12:10 amJanuary 17, 2021 1:57 pm

Donald Payne, Sr. (1934-2012) was the first Black to represent New Jersey in the U.S. House of Representatives. He had run for Congress twice before winning the seat in 1988. In 1970, Payne became the first African American to serve...

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...

Happy Birthday, Jim Florio

August 29, 2020 8:16 pmAugust 30, 2020 12:02 am

Happy Birthday to former Gov. Jim Florio, who turned 83 today. Florio has been a fixture in New Jersey politics since 1969, when he won a seat in the New Jersey. He spent fifteen years as a congressman from South...

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...

Thomas Cooke, former East Orange mayor, dies of coronavirus at 90

May 29, 2020 4:03 pmJune 4, 2020 10:20 am

Former East Orange Mayor Thomas H. Cooke, Jr., one of the first African American politicians to achieve success in Essex County in the 1960s, died on May 18 of complications related to the coronavirus pandemic. He was 90. Cooke was...