title: Gus Newport
text: # Gus Newport
  
  Eugene "Gus" Newport (April 5, 1935 – June 17, 2023) was an American politician who was the mayor of Berkeley, California, from 1979 to 1986. He later worked to help the Gulfport, Mississippi, community rebuild in the wake of damage from Hurricane Katrina. He was the second African American mayor of Berkeley.
  
  ## Mayoralty
  
  Newport was elected mayor in 1979 with the backing of Berkeley Citizens Action, a coalition of progressives, radicals and reformers. The BCA ran on a campaign of economic reform, inspired by a 1976 document, "The Cities’ Wealth: Programs for Community Economic Control in Berkeley, California." He held the mayoralty from 1979 to 1986.
  
  ## Political views
  
  Newport endorsed U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders' campaigns for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2016 and 2020.
  
  ## Personal life and death
  
  Newport was born on April 5, 1935. He died on June 17, 2023, at the age of 88.
  
  