1970 Newark mayoral election

1970 Newark mayoral election

← 1966 June 16, 1970 1974 →
 
Candidate Kenneth A. Gibson Hugh Addonizio
Party Nonpartisan Nonpartisan
Popular vote 54,892 43,339
Percentage 55.88% 44.12%

Mayor before election

Hugh Addonizio
Democratic

Elected mayor

Kenneth A. Gibson
Democratic

The 1970 Newark mayoral election was held on June 16, 1970. Incumbent mayor Hugh Addonizio ran for a third term in office but was defeated by civil engineer Kenneth A. Gibson. Gibson became the first black man elected mayor of a major city in the Northeastern United States or Eastern Seaboard.[1][2]

Gibson finished first in a primary election on May 12 but did not receive a majority of the vote. He defeated Addonizio in the run-off with 55.88% of the vote and record turnout.

Gibson would remain in office until 1986; he ran two unsuccessful campaigns for Governor of New Jersey in 1981 and 1985.

  1. ^ "Newark Elects Kenneth Gibson, Negro, Mayor". St. Petersburg Times. June 17, 1970. Retrieved September 27, 2013 – via New York Times Wire Services.
  2. ^ Sullivan, Ronald (June 17, 1970). "Gibson Defeats Addonizio in Newark Mayoral Race; Voter Turnout A Record". p. 1. Retrieved August 12, 2021.