Derek Armstead

Derek Armstead is the current mayor of Linden, New Jersey. He is the first African-American elected to that position.
Early life and career
Armstead went to Linden High School, graduating in 1979. He graduated from Union County College after studying Computer Science there, and worked at the Prudential Insurance Company as a Communications Consultant in their Computer Operations and Telecommunications Division. and served four terms before his election as mayor of Linden in 2014.
Mayor of Linden
Armstead first ran for mayor of Linden in 2010, winning the Democratic nomination but losing in the general election to the incumbent mayor, Richard Gerbounka.
Armstead ran for mayor again in 2014, ousting Gerbounka in the general election. Subsequently, Armstead proposed a budget in 2018 that contained the first tax cut in the municipal portion of property tax bills in living memory. Although a modest tax reduction, the 2018 budget was followed by a second tax cut in 2019—sealing the new administration's commitment to turning around a record that increased the city’s tax rate 104 percent since 2006.
On job creation, Armstead scored a major accomplishment when the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics announced in April, May and June 2019, that the city's unemployment rate reached its lowest point in 50 years, with only 3.3 percent of the city's labor force in need of jobs. For the first time in history, in 2019 Linden exceeded 21,000 working residents—a historic achievement that confirmed Armstead's reputation of an effective force for job creation. According to James Coyle, President of the Gateway Regional Chamber of Commerce, "Mayor Armstead has made Linden the most business friendly city in the state of New Jersey, if not the entire northeastern United States."
These achievements resulted in a stronger political position for the mayor, as Armstead replaced state Sen. Nicholas Scutari as the chairman of the Democratic Municipal Committee, ousting the incumbent by seven votes in the city although the lawmaker remained in power as the county political boss due to his continued support from mayors in Elizabeth and Plainfield.

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