NEWARK — Newark Mayor Cory Booker's decision to run for the U.S. Senate in a special election this year has raised questions and opened old wounds in the city he will leave behind if he wins.

The Newark City Council, already fractured from a brutal political fight in November over a council vacancy, now has to choose a president amid a seeming stalemate among the eight sitting council members.

That newly named council president could become interim mayor.

With a special election scheduled for November to fill the seat vacated by former council President Donald Payne Jr. and a citywide election in 2014 in which two council members have already declared they are running for mayor, conditions are ripe for a political fire storm in the state’s largest city.

"We can’t have the same kind of dog-and-pony show that we had on November 20," South Ward Councilman Ras Baraka said at a council meeting last week. "I’m hearing there are machinations afoot."

When U.S. Rep. Donald Payne Sr. died in office last year, his son took his seat, leaving the council without a president.

On Nov. 20, Booker attempted to fill Payne Jr.'s seat with Shanique Speight, a former school board member. The move sparked a near-riot in City Hall and the ensuing court battle determined Booker did not have the authority to appoint Speight.

The seat was left vacant and none of the remaining council members have been able to secure the five votes needed to become president. A special election will be held this November to fill the seat, which will likely shift the balance of power toward Baraka or North Ward Councilman Anibal Ramos.

But the council needs to pick a president before then. It will also have to pick a new mayor should Booker with the special Senate election in October because he will hacve to step down.

Normally, the council president becomes mayor, but because of divisions over Booker’s failed appointment, there is no president.

One person who may have the necessary votes is at-large Councilman Luis Quintana, who is the longest serving councilman and has allies on both sides of the political divide which tends to fall along racial lines.

"The suggestion I made was that I’m here to help," Quintana said last week.

But the interim mayor does not have to be the council president.

If Booker steps down, the council could appoint any Newark resident as mayor until the 2014 general election, according to information provided to the council by City Clerk Robert Marasco in a letter.

Marasco is seen by some as an enemy combatant as Booker opponents feel he was complicit in the November debacle. Baraka has demanded an independent legal opinion.

"This needs to come from someone who practices law, not someone who practices deception," Baraka said.

"As the city election official, I am confident and comfortable with the information provided to the Municipal Council," Marasco said in a statement.

One name being floated is city Business Administrator Julien Neals. However, he now lives in East Orange and would have to move to Newark.

On Tuesday, the council will meet to discuss its next move. In a preview of what is likely to be a contentious meeting, Ramos asked Baraka to refrain from making public accusations.

"Let’s get beyond the political rhetoric and get to work on Tuesday," he said.

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