James A. Sharp Jr. (May 28, 1933 – July 2, 2023) was an American politician who served as mayor of the City of Flint, Michigan, and the second "strong" mayor under

Flint Flint, occasionally flintstone, is a sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as the variety of chert that occurs in chalk or marly limestone. Flint was widely used historically to make stone tools and sta ...

's 1974 Charter.

Career

Sharp defeated

James W. Rutherford James W. Rutherford (April 23, 1925 – January 14, 2010) was a mayor of the City of Flint, Michigan serving as the first "strong" mayor elected under Flint's 1974 charter.

at his attempt at a third term for Flint Mayor, effectively becoming the city's first popularly elected African American mayor; the city's first African American mayor

Floyd J. McCree Floyd J. McCree (March 29, 1923 – June 15, 1988), was a Michigan politician. He was the first African American mayor of Flint, Michigan. Early life Floyd Joel Mcree was born in Webster Grove, Missouri, on March 29, 1923, the son of Jordan ...

, who served between 1966 and 1968, had been selected by the Flint City Commission. In 1984, Sharp was selected as alternate delegate to Democratic National Convention from Michigan. Sharp was defeated by

Matthew S. Collier Matthew Samuel Collier is a veteran, business executive, entrepreneur, and speaker. At 29, he was elected as the youngest big-city "strong" mayor in the United States when he served as the chief executive of his hometown of Flint, Michigan, fro ...

in 1987.

Death

Sharp died on July 2, 2023, at the age of 90.

References

1933 births 2023 deaths Michigan Democrats Mayors of Flint, Michigan African-American mayors in Michigan 20th-century American politicians 20th-century African-American politicians 21st-century African-American politicians {{Michigan-mayor-stub