Mayor Yadira Ramos-Herbert is the 24th Mayor of the City of New Rochelle, New York, widely recognized as the fastest growing city in the State. As the first woman and person of color to hold this office since her inauguration in 2024, Mayor Ramos-Herbert brings a transformative perspective to leadership deeply rooted in equity, innovation, and the empowerment of every resident in our diverse community. Prior to her service as Mayor, she served as a member of the New Rochelle City Council, proudly representing District 3 from 2020-2023. Focusing on housing, transportation, community engagement, and public works, Mayor Ramos-Herbert has already overseen several successful initiatives in her first year. In early 2024, New Rochelle was designated a pro-housing community by Governor Hochul, building on a decade-long legacy of New Rochelle’s pro-growth approach to housing. She has championed resources for the ongoing renaissance of downtown New Rochelle, supporting the creation of the Vanguard District, a vibrant hub of retail, dining, and entertainment, that also boosts local businesses and entrepreneurship. She is also a steadfast advocate for youth programming and youth engagement. In her first year as mayor, two massive infrastructure and transit projects made significant gains: the LINC and the New Rochelle Transit Center. Mayor Ramos-Herbert is particularly proud to help lead efforts to secure funding for LINC, a transformative project that consists of converting a portion of a highway to a linear open space that will reconnect the historic African American community to New Rochelle’s downtown, fostering inclusivity, accessibility and economic opportunity. Additionally, the redesign of the New Rochelle Train Station and Intermodal Transit Center will restore vital connections to surrounding neighborhoods, and connect the new developments and residential buildings in the downtown. A Queens, New York native, Mayor Ramos-Herbert received her B.A. from St. Francis College, her J.D. from SUNY Buffalo Law School, and her M.Ed. from Northeastern University. Her professional experience includes serving as a litigator at several New York City law firms and dedicating a decade to Columbia Law School, where she most recently held the position of Associate Dean of Student and Registration Services. She moved to New Rochelle in 2007 and is the proud mother of two beautiful children.

Mayor Randall L. Woodfin’s philosophy of “putting people first” has guided his leadership. Revitalization of the city’s 99 neighborhoods is his top priority. He is focused on: enhancing education for young people, fostering a climate of economic opportunity for all residents and leveraging public-private partnerships to make the city the best version of Birmingham it can be. His vision to create new education and career opportunities for students led to the Birmingham Promise, a public-private partnership that provides apprenticeships and tuition assistance to cover college costs for Birmingham high school graduates. Mayor Woodfin led a regional effort to invest in the renovation and expansion of the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex making the city an emerging destination for sports and entertainment. Through Pardons for Progress, he removed a barrier from employment opportunities and offered a second chance with the mayoral pardon of 15,000 misdemeanor marijuana possession charges dating back to 1990. He entered his second term as Birmingham’s 30th mayor on November 23, 2021. A graduate of Morehouse College and Samford University’s Cumberland School of Law, he previously served as president of the Birmingham Board of Education.

Mayor Warren received his Bachelor of Arts Degree in Political Science from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and his Juris Doctor Degree from Rutgers University School of Law, Newark, NJ. He earned the Certificate in Municipal Finances-Raising and Spending Money by Municipalities from the Center for Government Services Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy of Rutgers University; topics include: Bonding Municipal budgets Property tax assessments Public contracts law Tax lien enforcement He also completed advanced training at the New Jersey Institute for Continuing Legal Education. Mayor Warren is certified by the New Jersey Administrative Office of the Courts as a Mediator for the Superior Court of New Jersey Special Civil Part. Upon receiving his Juris Doctor, Mayor Warren was awarded a Judicial Clerkship in the New Jersey Superior Court. Thereafter, he served in the Essex County Prosecutor's Office. Warren then went on to private practice where his practice focuses on civil litigation and representing private and public sector clients. Family Mayor Warren is married to Dr. Karma Warren and they are the proud parents of Dwayne Jr. and Nia Simone. Mayor Warren is a member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. and his wife is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. Public Service Warren is a member of the New Jersey League of Municipalities Legislative Committee and a member of the New Jersey Urban Mayors Association. He is a former Orange Municipal Court Judge and served as the Legislative Research Officer for the Orange City Council. Warren also served as an Adjunct Professor in Para-Legal Studies at Essex County College and has lectured at William Paterson University on Racism and the Law. Warren has served on the local legal corps of every Democratic National Committee Convention since 1996. He previously served as Counsel to the Essex County Democratic Party.

Ras J. Baraka is the 40th Mayor of the City of Newark, currently in his third term. Part of a family that has called Newark home for more than 80 years, Mayor Baraka’s proactive approach to governing has won accolades from city residents to grassroots organizations to the White House. His forward-thinking agenda has reduced crime in the city to its lowest levels in six decades, addressed affordability while maintaining steady growth, reduced homelessness, lowered unemployment, and restored local control of schools after more than two decades. Elected in 2014, Mayor Baraka defied expectations during his first term in office, and handily won re-election in 2018 and 2022. Mayor Baraka is regarded nationally as a thought leader in the field of urban revitalization. He defied a hostile Presidential directive targeting the immigrant community with an executive order that designated Newark as a sanctuary city, solidifying his status as one of the country’s most progressive elected officials. CRIME AND SAFETY By focusing on crime and violence as matters of public health rather than public safety issues, major initiatives launched by the Baraka administration have reduced the city’s crime level to its lowest point in more than 60 years, representing a 46% drop since he took office. Under his leadership, the city established the Office of Violence Prevention and Trauma Recovery in 2020. The OVPTR supports survivors of crime and violence with a holistic approach and offers a range of services from transitional housing to victim and witness assistance to art therapy. In memory of his sister, Mayor Baraka also created the Shani Baraka Women’s Resource Center, which provides comprehensive aid to women and their families in crisis and transition. Its programs and services include domestic violence response, counseling, sheltering, employment training, and classes on subjects like nutrition and financial literacy. Launched in February 2023, the “Safe Surrender” program represents another proactive move by the Baraka administration to combat crime. “Safe Surrender” enables city residents with outstanding warrants to surrender themselves peacefully to designated clergy members, administrators or law enforcement officers at locations in each ward. Mayor Baraka has also continued to expand Newark’s annual “24 Hours of Peace” event, a citywide celebration that brings communities together through free activities including live music, retail and food vendors, poetry sessions, Town Hall meetings, a midnight movie, yoga, medication, calisthenics, and more. On May 11, 2023, President Barack Obama recognized Newark as a model community for violence reduction. One of only four cities nationwide to receive this honor, Newark was designated as a Model Community by My Brother’s Keeper (MBK) Alliance. The city was selected from hundreds that boast an evidence-based record of success in positively shifting outcomes for boys and young men of color. Mayor Baraka joined President Obama onstage at an MBK Impact in Action event in Chicago to celebrate this most significant accomplishment. HOUSING AND DEVELOPMENT The Baraka administration launched a major housing-related initiative in 2022 and established a goal to eliminate chronic homelessness in Newark within three years. Relying on citywide collaboration, an expansion of the street homelessness outreach team, and partners including NJIT architecture students, the city built two Hope Villages, transforming containers into low-barrier housing for residents without addresses. In addition to safe shelter, these villages also offer social service support to those who need it most. In year one, homelessness in Newark was reduced by 57.6 percent, earning the city international recognition. Affordable housing is another priority of the Baraka administration, and the Mayor’s groundbreaking Affordable Housing Ordinance requires that property developers who build or renovate buildings with 30 or more units must set aside 20 percent as affordable housing. Newark residents will get first dibs on all affordable housing under the Inclusionary Zoning Ordinance, and sales of city-owned property – including vacant lots and sales to the Newark Land Bank – are now required to feature deed restrictions that require affordability for 30 years. In 2023, the City launched the Homeownership Revitalization Program, which enables low-cost sales of in rem properties to residents who have lived in Newark for at least five years or been displaced by gentrification. These properties will be used for the construction of one, two, three, and four-family homes, and, as part of the program, new owners will receive counseling and support to help them successfully redevelop, maintain, and budget for their homes. The Mayor has also worked to redefine downtown Newark with two major additions. He unveiled the Harriet Tubman Monument as the centerpiece of the Downtown Arts and Education District in the square that bears her name, and also led the groundbreaking ceremony as construction began on the Mulberry Street pedestrian bridge. The walkway will link the Mulberry Street Commons and Prudential Center with Newark Penn Station. ECONOMY AND INDUSTRY Another key Baraka initiative is “Hire. Buy. Live. Newark”, a program that marks the first time that any American city has sought to transform its economy by combining employment, procurement, and residential strategies. The program has attracted the attention of Amazon, which named Newark a finalist city – from a pool of more than 200 applicants – in its search to establish its second global headquarters. To further stimulate Newark’s economy, the Baraka administration introduced the eGuaranteed Income Program, tripled the size of the City’s Summer Youth Employment Program, and launched the Retail Reactivation Initiative. The RRI is designed to help businesses and nonprofits convert long-vacant storefronts into amenities for Newark residents, workers, and students. Business operators are eligible for up to $650,000 in support. TECHNOLOGY AND TRANSPORTATION To strengthen Newark’s position in the expanding technology space, Mayor Baraka has partnered with corporate stakeholders and institutions including NJIT (New Jersey Institute of Technology) to find ways to take advantage of the 26 miles of dark fiber beneath the City’s main corridors. In 2018, the City launched LinkNWK, a citywide communications network of sidewalk kiosks that provide residents and visitors with public Wi-Fi, mobile device charging, phone calls to anywhere in the U.S., access to municipal services, maps and directions, and real-time local information on city streets at no cost to taxpayers or users. The City of Newark has become the fourth city in the world to implement such technology, and the following year hosted the VOICE Technology Summit, a three-day conference at the forefront of natural language processing, sponsored by Amazon Alexa. In 2021, Mayor Baraka introduced the NewarkGo e-scooter and bike ride program, and in less than three years, more than a million riders took advantage of the service.