NEWARK – Altarik White won’t be a candidate after all in the South Ward this year.

The founder and executive director of Leaders For Life, a Newark-based community outreach group, and former football star at Weequahic High School, qualified to be in the May 10th Newark ballot but the campaign of fellow South Ward candidate Pat Council challenged his residency.

A judge ruled against White.

“I moved back to Newark last year lease, and the lease didn’t get signed until June,” said White. “I missed it by a month. I’m not appealing.”

It was a heartbreak for him, but nothing compared to losing his 19-year-old daughter to cancer.

“At the end of the day the work continues, mentoring young people and deescalating violence,” he told InsiderNJ. “I will continue to keep active in the race, but my focus is on healing and on my family. I don’t need to be the councilman to do that.”

A respected community leader with a history and work ethic, White posed a threat, according to sources, and carries weight as a name others will court in the developing South Ward contest.

Does he plan to endorse?

“I have not thought about it,” he said. “I may in the future. I just don’t know right now. There are a number of candidates. I’m just focused on me right now. The South Ward needs a lot of work. The infrastructure is old and crumbling. We need to improve the social services network. We need jobs. We main thing we need is safety and resolving those conflicts of people who resort to violence. These were the things I was running on, and the things that need to get done. Again, the number one issue is safety, and hiring more cops is not the answer.

“Whoever I decide to endorse, if any, I would have to hear a platform that addresses these issues,: White said; and reflecting on the challenge t his residency, adding, “though the people I thought were brothers of mine did me in.”