Prior to his election as mayor, he served on the Municipal Council of Newark and as principal of the city's Central High School.

Baraka and Hill recorded an unreleased single together entitled "Hot Beverage in the Winter", which later featured on his spoken-word album Shorty for Mayor.

[6] In May 2010 he defeated then-councilman Oscar James II in a highly contested election, on a platform critical of Mayor Cory Booker.

[14] The election was documented on the Sundance reality television series Brick City, which stars Booker, Baraka and other Newark political and residential figures.

[16] Baraka ran in the 2014 Newark mayoral election against former Assistant State Attorney General Shavar Jeffries,[17][18] after fellow council members Anibal Ramos, Jr. and Darrin S. Sharif dropped out of the race.

[19] In August 2013, fellow council members Mildred C. Crump and Ronald C. Rice issued statements formally backing Baraka's candidacy.

[22] In December 2013, the Communication Workers of America, a trade union which counts 2000 members living, and thousands more working in Newark, endorsed Baraka.

He succeeded Luis A. Quintana, after completing the term of Cory Booker, who had resigned after being elected to the United States Senate in October 2013.

[29] Soon after winning the 2014 election, Baraka initiated meetings with Cory Booker on May 19[30] with Governor Chris Christie, and Essex Executive Joseph N. DiVincenzo, Jr. on May 21.

[41] In 2010, Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook, donated $100 million of his personal fortune through his foundation StartUp Education to the Newark school system.

[45][46] Teams of consultants have suggested numerous management reforms from the top down, but according to Ras Baraka, echoing concerns of many residents, they have ignored the community and the needs of children and wishes of families in the neighborhoods.

[47] The reorganization, spearheaded by state-appointed Superintendent Cami Anderson, would relocate, consolidate or close one quarter of the district's schools that she has determined are underutilized.

The plan has met with stiff resistance from large segments of Newark's population, with critics saying there was no evidence it will increase student performance.

Baraka, as an outspoken advocate of returning control of Newark's schools to local authority, has called for the ouster of state-appointed Superintendent Anderson.

[68] It includes "Project Chill", which incorporates elements similar to Boston's Operation Ceasefire and other engagement with gang members and intervention programs.

[78] In May 2014, Baraka introduced a resolution adopted by the municipal council that would affect an estimated one thousand Newark homeowners threatened with foreclosure, giving the city legal authority to purchase home with underwater mortgages through eminent domain and refinancing them.

[79] it is estimated that more than 50% of Newark homes are financed by underwater mortgages, partially as a result of the 2010 United States foreclosure crisis.

A New Jersey State Comptroller report issued in February 2014 revealed irregularities and corruption within the Newark Watershed and Development Corporation, which is the process of being dismantled after being taken over by the city.

[90] The state's Department of Community Affairs awarded Newark $10 million in transitional aid, which comes with a required oversight memorandum of understanding.

Kailasa is a self-proclaimed island micronation (in its own words, a "Revival of the Ancient Enlightened Hindu Civilizational Nation"[98]) off the coast of Ecuador.

[101] He has called for a "progressive overhaul" in New Jersey,[102] and his campaign agenda includes "reparations, sanctuary state laws, baby bonds, and [a] universal basic income".