Jhamar Youngblood

The question was how would he make our local government more transparent, and instead of answering, he started yelling about Trump and taking shots at me again. We can do so much better, Newark.

Many Newark residents remember the Mark Zuckerberg donation as $100 million, but the full commitment to Newark students was $200 million because the original grant required matching funds. As Baraka said in this video, not much of that money reached students directly. This is why as mayor I will make transparent spending a basic function of our government. I will require all spending, contracts, grants, and vendors to be visible in a clear and accessible system. Our expenses should not be buried in PDFs, vague summaries, or press releases. Residents should be able to see where money came from, who received it, what it funded, and what results it produced. And if outside organizations spend money in Newark on behalf of our residents, I will require full disclosure of that spending and make it accessible to the public. No organization should be able to claim it spent money helping our city if residents cannot see where that money went, who received it, and what it actually produced.

Under our administration, the next twelve years of development in Newark will be for the residents of our city. Vote 4A on May 12.

Vote for me today! You can request a mail-in ballot in two ways. Online: voter.svrs.nj.gov/auth/sign-up and complete the Vote-by-Mail application. Or you can download the application here: nj.gov/state/election… Then mail or deliver it to: Essex County Clerk Hall of Records 465 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr Blvd Room 247 Newark, NJ 07102 Mail requests must be submitted by May 5, 2026 for the May 12 election. You can also request one in person at the County Clerk’s office until 3:00 PM the day before the election. Thank you, Newark.

Today is my birthday. I am not feeling my best, but if you want to celebrate with me, meet me at the School Board meeting at Lafayette Street School at 5:30. Or donate $5 to our campaign: jhamayor.com/donate.

I got a chance to finally meet and chat with South Ward legend and boxing trainer Tremmel Southerland about growing up in Newark, getting shot, being mentored by Wali Moses, @ShakurStevenson, his broken relationship with the City Hall, his top five boxers of all time, and more.

The Alif Muhammad & Middy Baraka video is the talk of Newark. Here’s what happened: Alif tried to stop the Newark Housing Authority from getting involved in a bad contract worth $2.3 million, and the mayor’s Chief of Staff tried to pressure him to change his vote. This is a problem because the Newark Housing Authority is not controlled by the mayor. It is a separate agency run by a Board of Commissioners and funded by the federal government. The board makes all decisions and must act independently. The mayor can appoint some commissioners with City Council approval but he cannot direct their votes, delay decisions, or control outcomes. If the mayor or his staff is pressuring the board, that can violate New Jersey law, including official misconduct and corruption statutes. I will continue reviewing this one hour long video and share updates as I learn more.

This is the reality our children experience growing up in our city. We need to be willing to have these conversations publicly if we expect things to improve. There is no progress without addressing the conditions affecting our most vulnerable residents. Things will get better, Newark. *This is not my video.

Here is my three minute speech from Newark’s city council meeting. Vote 4A on May 12!

Here is future Central Ward Councilwoman Gayle Chaneyfield Jenkins speaking about Willie Parker, a former Newark city prosecutor and corporation counsel, who filed a federal lawsuit against the City of Newark, Mayor Ras Baraka, and his brother Amiri “Middy” Baraka. Parker alleged he faced retaliation and intimidation after refusing to approve a development deal he believed would cost the city millions. According to the lawsuit, he was pressured to move the deal forward and later confronted and threatened by Middy Baraka when he did not comply. The case was later settled, with the city paying Parker $300,000. This administration has spent tens of millions of taxpayer dollars on lawsuits like this. This is public money that could have gone to fixing potholes and cleaning our streets. Thanks to Gayle for being brave and speaking up like a true leader. Read more about the story here: observer.com/2017/06/baraka…

Millennials it is our time to lead. Vote 4A on May 12.

Newark residents, many of us are living in a state of emergency. ICE is active in our city. Too many of our children are not reading or doing math at grade level. Seniors are being exploited by negligent landlords. The cost of food, rent, and basic services keeps rising. Job opportunities are limited. Residents are being murdered in our streets. At the same time, the current administration is using its executive authority primarily to protect immigrants during this period. Residents deserve leadership that addresses every part of this emergency. Do not accept narratives that claim conditions are improving if your daily experience shows otherwise. Look at the data. Look at the streets. Look at the schools. We need residents to wake up intellectually, spiritually, and morally because we need more courage in our city.

@HotepJesus @FightStorage LMAO. They tried to get a grift past King Grift on a snow day. They have some nerve!

@FightStorage Here he is. 19 hours ago... x.com/Naturejab/stat…

Julian Brown, the young inventor who created tech that turns plastic into gasoline, hasn’t been seen in over a YEAR.

I’m not sure if we’ll get an update like this here in Newark, but in case we don’t, listen to Zohran.

One of the ways public funds and public trust can be compromised outside of contracts or kickbacks is through a $5 million miscellaneous budget that the mayor is not required to publicly disclose or itemize for residents. Many people outside of Newark praise him for defending immigrants, but stay silent about the exploitation of poor Black residents here in our city. That silence shows how normalized the exploitation of Black people in America has become.

My stutter was alive at tonight’s City Council meeting when I spoke about our city’s budget and City Hall’s treatment of Wali Moses, the grandfather of @ShakurStevenson.

Newark has $722 million in debt. Over $80 million goes out every year in principal and interest payments. Property taxes are up 15%. Rents are rising. Water bills are rising. If the city does not create new revenue, residents will keep paying more. Wake up Newark and let’s try something new! Jhamayor.com

If these claims are true, this is sad. But I’ve heard too many stories about things like this happening in our city. We need something new, y’all. rlsmedia.com/article/newark…