John S. Watson (New Jersey politician) John S. Watson (New Jersey politician) John S. Watson (August 14, 1924 – June 15, 1996) was an African-American Democratic Party politician who served six terms in the New Jersey General Assembly, where he represented the 15th Legislative District. Born in Camden, New Jersey, Watson served with the United States Merchant Marine fleet during World War II. In 1970, Watson became the first African-American elected to the Board of Chosen Freeholders in Mercer County, New Jersey. In 1977, he became the President of the Board. For 12 years, Watson was a member of the New Jersey State Assembly, where he
James S. Watson and, together with Charles E. Toney, also elected that year, thus became one of the first two black judges in New York state. He served as a judge until his retirement in 1950. He faced a particularly tough re-election campaign in 1940 when Tammany Hall denied Watson the position of Democratic nominee in spite of Watson's being endorsed by the Association of the Bar of the City of New York. Tammany Hall eventually relented and Watson was given the nomination and won re-election by a margin of nine-to-one. In 1943, Watson was the first African American to become a new