After the Street Fight

 

     In class we watched the documentary "Street Fight" which followed the the 2002 campaign for mayor of Newark, New Jersey. The documentary was very entertaining and had me questioning what happened after the election.

     Sharpe James won the 2002 election against Cory Booker with his dirty tactics. He used any means necessary to become mayor. But in 2006 James announced that he wasn't going to run for a sixth term. 

     Booker ran for mayor of Newark again in 2006, against Ronald Rice. Rice attacked Booker for the large amount of money spent on his campaign, but Booker still won the election with 72% of the votes. 

     Shortly after Sharpe James left office there was a federal investigation in his affairs. James was guilty of selling city owned property to a mistress of his. He sold the property at a fraction of what is was worth, and in turn his mistress sold the property for a profit. 

     James spent 18 months in prison. While in jail he wrote a book about his life titled "A Sharpe View".