Trailblazer: Councilman Calvin West – New Jersey Globe

Calvin D. West (1932-2019) was a legendary and beloved Newark political figure for parts of seven decades and the first African American to win citywide office. West was elected to an at-large seat on the Newark City Council in 1966, running on a slate with Mayor Hugh Addonizio. While Addonizio faced a runoff with former Mayor Leo Carlin – future mayor Kenneth Gibson came in third – West and his running mates won outright. His sister, Larrie West Stalks, worked as a top political operative to Addonizio, where her job was to help the mayor with the Black vote.  She later spent twenty years as the Essex County Register of Deeds and Mortgages. West’s career as a councilman lasted just four years. He ran again on Addonizio’s slate in 1970, but lost his seat to former Essex County Freeholder Earl Harris, who ran on a ticket headed by Gibson. Gibson became the first African American mayor of a major northeastern city, but three of the four Addonizio-backed candidates for at-large council seats won. Gibson allies won council seats in the South and Central wards, with Turner losing his bid for a third term to Rev. Dennis Westbrooks. West later served
Read More