New Jersey gubernatorial candidate Ras Baraka (D.) said Sharpe James (D.)—a former Newark mayor who served jail time for using his power and influence to defraud residents—helped shape his values.
Baraka, the current mayor of Newark, released a statement praising James, 89, following his death on Sunday.
"In his 20 years in office as Mayor, Sharpe James was many things: a warrior for our city, a unifier for its people, a powerful force to launch development like New Jersey Performing Arts Center and the Prudential Center, and a strong advocate for Newark and its people," Baraka wrote Monday. "He was also an outstanding educator and an inspiration to generations of Newark residents."
"Our relationship included competition, conflict, and collaboration, and through it all, helped define me, my values, and my aspirations for this city," Baraka continued. "The Newark we live in is, in many ways, a city he created."
But in 2008, James was found guilty of five counts of fraud and sentenced to over two years in federal prison—despite facing up to nearly 20. He was also fined $100,000 and barred from holding public office.
As mayor, James, who headed Newark from 1986 until 2006, oversaw a city program that sought to sell properties to developers below market value to revitalize blighted neighborhoods. He used that program to steer the sale of nine properties to his former girlfriend, Tamika Riley, for only $46,000, even though she had no real estate experience, according to the federal prosecutor's office—headed by then-U.S. attorney Chris Christie. She then flipped them for $600,000 with little or no upgrades. Riley was sentenced to 15 months for her role and ordered to pay $27,000 in restitution.
"Evidence at trial revealed that James used his influence and power as both mayor and as a state senator to manipulate and control a city program designed to redevelop run-down properties in the city," Christie wrote at the time. "With James’s help, Riley acquired the properties at cut-rate prices and resold them without any rehabilitation."
A federal indictment also accused James of using city credit cards to bankroll nearly $60,000 in personal expenses, but those charges didn’t go to trial as prosecutors didn’t believe a conviction would add prison time.
Baraka, who served under James as deputy mayor for three years, is locked in a six-way gubernatorial primary race. He owns the most progressive lane, advocating for policies such as a public option for health insurance and supporting sanctuary cities.
This isn’t the first time Baraka has praised controversial figures. In March, he defended the Nation of Islam and accused critics of trying to silence him after a video surfaced showing him applauding racist and violent comments from Louis Farrakhan, the group’s notoriously anti-Semitic leader.
"The cracker hit you on your jaw, you break his neck. That’s the way we think," Farrakhan said during the 2004 speech, prompting then-deputy mayor Baraka to stand and applaud.
Baraka’s father, Amiri Baraka, meanwhile, was stripped of his post as New Jersey’s poet laureate after publishing a 2002 poem, "Somebody Blew Up America," suggesting that Jews had advanced knowledge of the 9/11 attacks.
"Who knew the World Trade Center was gonna get bombed / Who told 4000 Israeli workers at the Twin Towers / To stay home that day / Why did Sharon stay away?" he wrote.
The younger Baraka faced his own run-in with the law just days before eulogizing James. The Department of Homeland Security arrested Baraka on Friday, accusing him of trespassing on an immigrant detention facility and ignoring law enforcement’s orders to leave the gated area.
"He has willingly chosen to disregard the law," Alina Habba, interim U.S. attorney for the district of New Jersey, said Friday.
Baraka did not return a request for comment. He will face voters at the ballot box on June 10.