term in November 2001 and continued to hold both offices. His Senate district encompassed part of Newark in Essex County and all of the Township of Hillside in Union County. Sharpe James became known in his early years as mayor for often wearing jogging suits in public and making high-profile efforts to attract development to Downtown Newark. In 1997, Newark saw the completion of the acclaimed New Jersey Performing Arts Center. In 2006, James championed the relocation of the New Jersey Devils to the City of Newark. The Prudential Center is the newest arena in the Newark metropolitan area. In terms of housing, James' policy in the 1990s was to demolish Newark's massive, but mostly abandoned, housing projects, and replace them with small-scale public housing or market rate middle class residences. Political life In 1986, James challenged and defeated Kenneth A. Gibson, Newark's first African American mayor. James then became known as an example of "machine politics". He had a reputation for questionable campaign tactics, including alleged use of the police force for his own purposes, intimidating supporters of his opponents and attacking his opponents' heritage. His final reelection campaign, against then-Councilman Cory Booker in 2002, was documented in the 2005 feature film Street Fight. On March 16, 2006, James filed for reelection as mayor, but announced eleven days later he would not seek a sixth term. On April 9, 2007, James announced he would not seek re-election to his State Senate seat. In 2013, Sharpe advised the election campaign of his son John Sharpe James, who won a seat on the Municipal Council of Newark. Sharpe also endorsed Cory Booker, a former foe he had defeated in the 2002 Newark mayoral race, in the special election for U.S. Senator to replace the late Frank Lautenberg. In 2022, James was attempting to run for office as an at-large candidate for Newark City Council despite a court order banning him from running a public elected office. His certification was denied by Newark City Clerk Kenneth Louis on March 3, 2022. James threatened a lawsuit if the city denies his candidacy. Fraud conviction On April 16, 2008, Sharpe James was convicted on five counts of fraud by a federal jury for conspiring to rig the sale of nine city lots to his mistress, who quickly resold them for hundreds of thousands of dollars in profit. James served his two-year prison sentence in