April 10, 2006

Two Trustees of the Conference of Mayors have announced they will leave office.

Newark Mayor Sharpe James and Gary (IN) Mayor Scott King have been active players in the Conference of Mayors; James since first elected in 1986 and King since 1995. Both had a combined total of 31 years in public office.

Both cited different reasons for leaving their mayoral seats vacant.

James, 70, entered his sixth race for mayor March 16 but on March 27 dropped out of the race with a letter delivered to the city clerk’s office only minutes before ballots were to be sent to the printer.

James, who also served as a New Jersey State Senator since 1999, said he wanted to focus on state issues, and emphasized in his letter that he thought he would win in the May 9 election if he remained in the race because Newark is better off now than when he was first elected in 1986.

The New York Times said that during James’ 20-year tenure, Newark, a city of 280,000 once synonymous with urban failure, saw a revival of its downtown.

A native of Newark, James was a teacher before entering politics. He started his political career as a member of the city council in 1970. He defeated the city’s first African American Mayor, Ken Gibson, in 1986.

Cory Booker, 36, a former council member, lost to James in the mayoral election four years ago by six percentage points. James’ withdrawal clears the way for a face off between Booker and State Senator Ronald L. Rice, Newark’s deputy mayor and a James supporter.

King, 54, a former criminal defense lawyer, announced his resignation March 22 after 11 years in office. King said he needed to earn more money to finish paying for his children’s college education.

His news conference was attended by his wife and three children.

King was the first white mayor in the predominantly black city in more than 20 years when first elected in 1995. He won easy reelection twice.

King’s efforts were directed toward revitalizing an economy battered by the shrinking of the steel industry in the Northwest Indiana city of 102,746.

King brought in a basketball team, a new baseball stadium and a Miss USA Pageant.

King also was among the first mayors in the country to file lawsuits against gun manufactures.

Dozier Allen Jr. of Calumet Township, a former trustee, is the current Deputy Mayor. Gary precinct leaders are to meet within 30 days to choose a new leader.

In his early years with the Conference of Mayors, King was co-chair of a Conference Drug Control Task Force with Boise Mayor H. Brent Coles.

The task force toured the nation and had special sessions focusing on the surge in methamphetamine, and predicting that the drug would be a growing national problem. King challenged several US attorney generals, federal drug control czars, and Congressional leaders with tough questions on drug enforcement and drug treatment as equal and essential of any national drug policy.

He also served as chair, for the past three years, of the Conference of Mayors and Police Chiefs Task Force, working with President Clinton’s Attorney General Janet Reno. King established, with the FBI, a joint task force in Gary on drugs and gangs, leading to a dramatic drop in homicides in the city.

Most recently, King obtained a federal aviation administration grant for the Gary-Chicago Airport, which is governed by a bi'state authority between Indiana and Illinois and also supervised substantial progress in the redevelopment of Gary’s lakefront on Lake Michigan.