Randy Primas
| Randy Primas | |
|---|---|
| Mayor of Camden, New Jersey | |
|
In office 1981–1990 |
|
| Preceded by | Angelo Errichetti |
| Succeeded by | Aaron Thompson |
| Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs | |
| Preceded by | Anthony M. Villane |
| Succeeded by | Stephanie Bush |
|
In office January 1990 – 1992 |
|
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Melvin Randolph Primas, Jr. August 31, 1949 Camden, New Jersey |
| Died | March 1, 2012 (aged 62) Chapel Hill, North Carolina |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Bonita Primas |
Melvin Randolph "Randy" Primas, Jr. (August 31, 1949 – March 1, 2012) was an American politician who served as the first African-American Mayor of Camden, New Jersey from 1981 to 1990.
Primas was raised in Camden, New Jersey as a member of one of the city's most prominent families. He earned a bachelor's degree from Howard University in Washington, D.C., in 1971. Primas then joined the Black People's Unity Movement when he returned to Camden. Before becoming mayor, Primas was the Vice President of Burger King Entities, an economic-development program sponsored by the Black People's Unity Movement.
Primas was elected to the Camden City Council when he was just 23 years old, quickly rising to become the council's president. In the early 1980s, Camden Mayor Angelo Errichetti was indicted by U.S. federal authorities in the wake of the Abscam scandal and Primas subsequently won the 1981 mayoral election, becoming the first African-American mayor in the city's history. He was 31 years old at the time of his election.
Primas would be elected to three consecutive terms in the mayor's office, serving until 1990. However, his support for several urban renewal projects, including the construction of the now demolished Riverfront State Prison, earned him criticism from some community leaders and residents. Primas left office in 1990 when New Jersey Governor Jim Florio appointed to him as the Commissioner on the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs, succeeding Anthony M. Villane.
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