No Street Fight in '06

I guess the Oscar-nominated documentary I wrote about a month or so back might have a happy ending after all:

Mayor Sharpe James said Monday he will not seek a sixth term leading New Jersey's largest city, opening the door to a young rival who lost by fewer than 4,000 votes four years ago.

James, 70, who was first elected to the job in 1986, sent a letter to the city clerk asking that his name be removed from the May 9 ballot. The ballots are to be printed Tuesday.

In the letter, James thanked "the 10,000 loving and caring Newark citizens who signed my petition of nomination."

James' surprise withdrawal makes Cory Booker, 36, the clear front-runner, political analysts said.

James beat Booker by 3,500 votes four years ago in a race so rough that federal election monitors were called into Newark. The race featured physical confrontations between the camps and accusations of signs being stolen.

Sharpe claimed that the problem was dual-office holding (he's been a state senator since 1999), but of course he's been holding two offices for 7 years. Maybe he saw the writing on the wall, that Cory Booker has the skill and talent to deliver for the people of Newark, despite the rough and tumble smear tactics that barely denied him the office in 2002.

Good for Booker. He comes off in the film as a dedicated public servant and a nice guy. We need more of him in politics.