Newark Mayor: ‘Missing’ Campaign Finance Reports Have Been Filed

NEWARK, NJ — Newark Mayor Ras Baraka said his campaign team has provided “missing” finance reports to state officials involving the 2022 municipal election.

The New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission filed a complaint in March, alleging that a joint fundraising committee for Baraka and his council slate that year didn’t disclose more than $700,000 in political contributions during their campaign.

Baraka – who is running for New Jersey governor in 2025 – recaptured his mayor seat by a large margin in the city’s 2022 non-partisan election, which later included a runoff election for several council seats.

The mayor said the filings were handled by an outside firm, and called the situation “unacceptable.”

On Wednesday, Baraka commented on the commission’s complaint, writing that “all missing ELEC reports have been filed” – including this quarter’s gubernatorial report.

According to a statement from Baraka’s campaign team:

“Today we can confirm that all missing reports for the 2022 campaigns have been provided to ELEC. We look forward to their review, working with their extremely helpful team to tie up all loose ends and putting these mistakes permanently behind us. We've moved on from the firm that dropped the ball and put in place a new compliance group who have already submitted our first report in the gubernatorial race.”

“We are confident these issues have been put to bed and we are excited that Mayor Baraka can refocus on his historic run for governor and getting back to sharing his unique vision for the state of New Jersey,” the statement added.

• See Related: Newark Mayor Drops Political Bombshell: 'I Want To Be Governor' Of NJ
• See Related: Baraka Says He Will Lift 'Working People' If Elected As NJ Governor
• See Related: Baraka's Governor Bid: A Path Forward Or An Uphill Battle? (Op-Ed)

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