This is a quick look at last night's results for Mayor of Newark, NJ, the state's largest city. I'm going to briefly go over what the fallout may be on each level of government. Note that this diary is strictly about political implications, not policy changes in the city.
For those who missed it, Councilman Ras Baraka defeated Assistant AG Shavar Jeffries last night in a race defined by education (with Baraka leaning much more against charter schools and privatization). Of the 9 seats on the City Council, Baraka's allies won 3 seats, Jeffries allies also won 3, unaffiliated candidates won 1, and 2 are headed for a runoff (both are between Baraka and unaffiliated candidates; each group is favored to take one).
Municipal Level
Newark elects everyone at the same time, so this was it for local elections until 2018. Look for North Ward Councilman Anibal Ramos and Central Ward Councilman Darrin Sharif to run for Mayor that year. Both were running this year, but dropped out in February. Ramos endorsed and ran with Jeffries, while Sharif stayed neutral. The biggest changes may occur at the Democratic committee level; 4 of the 5 Ward Chairmen backed Jeffries, and Baraka may try to gain majorities on some of those Ward committees in 2016.
County Level
Baraka's victory was a blow to County Executive Joe "Joe D." DiVincenzo, and a boon to his rival, former Governor Richard Codey. DiVincenzo is unopposed this year, so he has nothing to worry about immediately, but an unfriendly presence in the city that makes up one third of his county will create problems. He'll grant Baraka's allies a seat on the County Board, as is customary, and hope it ends there. If Baraka chooses to go scorched Earth and aggressively go after Democratic committee seats within the city, the power pendulum in Essex could swing from DiVincenzo to Codey.
On a side note, a DiVincenzo-backed candidate failed to unseat the Mayor of Belleville last night, but an allied challenger easily knocked off the Mayor of Irvington.
State Level
There will be two storylines here, the first at the State Legislative level (quick note: In NJ, there are 40 Legislative Districts, each of which elects one Senator and two Assemblymen; the lower house does not have separate districts).
All three of the legislators from LD-29, which contains most of Newark, backed Jeffries for Mayor. The question is, will Baraka seek to replace the Assemblypeople in 2015 and the district's Senator when she's up in 2017? It's a complicated decision. First of all, the district does not contain much of Baraka's power-base, as it lacks the West Ward and part of the South Ward. In other words, Jeffries almost certainly won the district in question last night. Another consideration is that the district's Senator, Theresa Ruiz, may be next in line for the Senate Presidency, which would be a major boon for Newark. Baraka has a tough decision about whether or not to install allies in LD-29. He undoubtedly wants to, but the risk is very high.
Now, let's talk about the Democratic Primary for Governor in 2017. There are two major candidates at this point: Senate President Steve Sweeney, affiliated with South Jersey's George Norcross machine, and Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop, just elected last year and still finding his statewide footing. Sweeney, by proxy of Norcross and DiVincenzo, was backing Jeffries. Fulop backed Baraka. Sweeney will have South Jersey locked up in 2017, and he's hoping to have a foothold in North Jersey through Essex County. Meanwhile, Fulop will need almost all of the Democratic Counties in North and Central Jersey behind him if he wants to prevail. A civil war in Essex bodes well for the JC Mayor, particularly if he manages to lock up key counties beforehand.
Federal Level
After taking his sweet time, Rep. Don Payne Jr., longtime rival of Baraka, endorsed Jeffries for Mayor a few months ago. Does Baraka go after him, too? Tough to say. Former Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver has hinted she is interested in primary-ing Payne in 2016.