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Rashawn Davis, the youngest candidate in Newark's May 13 municipal election, speaks with a voter.

(Courtesy of the Davis campaign )

NEWARK — If Rashawn Davis gets his way, he will be graduating from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., while simultaneously winning a seat on the Newark City Council.

And while a degree from a prestigious university is no small feat, a 21-year-old political newcomer winning the West Ward is a much bigger one.

Davis is the youngest candidate in the May 13 municipal election in a city notoriously suspicious of new faces, not to mention a new face without a name like Rice, Baraka, Sharif, Crump or Payne.

Davis, however, is not naive. The central argument of his candidacy is relatively simple.

“What you have is a city with problems that intimately affect young people but really, a leadership where young people are not represented,” Davis said.

The bulk of gun violence in Newark involves black men between the ages of 18 and 25.

The majority of Newark’s unemployed population is under 35. Newark has three undergraduate universities, and one of the biggest campaign issues for all candidates is education.

But there is no one on the city council younger than 35.

“To my surprise, people really love the idea of a young person jumping into the race,” Davis said from his Alexander Street headquarters, a modest storefront where he and a staffer alternate their attention between laptops, smart phones and a plastic dart board.

Davis, a graduate of University High, has a lot of ideas. He wants to foster more community block associations and provide city support to expand them. He wants to create a merchants association for West Ward businesses. He wants to create an app that makes it easier for people to interact with City Hall.

But Davis said he knows the city has its share a lot cynics.

“I’m often the target of a lot of jokes,” Davis said of his youth. “We expect that. Newark is a city where change doesn’t come easy.”

Perhaps more importantly, with West Ward Councilman Ron Rice not running for re-election, several big names have stepped up to fill his shoes.

Anton Wheeler, an educator who once was an aide to former Mayor Sharpe James, is running. So is Maryam Bey, who came in second as an insurgent candidate in 2010.

Joseph McCallum Jr., an aide to Rice, is also making a bid. In all, there are eight candidates running for the West Ward council seat.

Andra Gillespie, a political science professor at Emory University in Atlanta and author of “The New Black Politician: Cory Booker, Newark, and Post-Racial America,” said Davis has some serious firepower to contend with.

“Probably in Mr. Davis’ case, the bigger issue is not that his name isn’t Payne,” Gillespie said. “I think the bigger problem for him is he has no record on which to stand.”

Davis said his lack of experience makes him independent.

“I’m the only candidate running in the West Ward who hasn’t held a position at City Hall,” Davis said.

Gillespie warned the young candidate against appearing like a dilettante.

“One of the takeaway lessons from Newark is you have to be very circumspect about how fast you jump into a community,” she said. “People will take it as self-aggrandizing.”

Davis has had some decent mentors to guide his political path. A former top aide to Booker, De’Shawn Wright, took Davis under his wing after Wright became deputy mayor in Washington, D.C. Booker’s state director, Modia Butler, has also counseled the young candidate.

Davis is not shy about praising Booker as a leader.

“He challenged Newark. He challenged Newark on its assumptions. He challenged Newark on what we need to do better,” Davis said. “Newark in a lot of ways is always reluctant to acknowledge its problems.”

Even if Davis doesn’t make it to the City Council this time around, Newarkers are likely to hear his name for a while.

“You have the same families and the same friends recycling power,” he said of his native city. “Even if we don’t win, we want to shake up Newark.”

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