Camden Courier-Post – August 8, 2004
By ERIK SCHWARTZ
Arnold W. Webster, 73, a former Camden mayor and schools superintendent who fashioned a long career in education and city politics, died Wednesday.
Webster left public life in disgrace after pleading guilty to taking $20,833 from the school district when he left the superintendent’s post for the mayor’s office.
Born in Washington, D.C., Webster began teaching in Camden in 1954. He worked as a teacher and principal in the city’s schools while rising to lead the Board of Education in the early 1970s. He became a district administrator in 1974 and later served as superintendent from 1986 to 1993.
Webster was widely credited with steering the Camden school system away from the brink of a state takeover in the late 1980s.
He served on city council from 1983 to 1986 and spent a period as council president. Webster was elected mayor in 1993 and served one term. He lost his re-election bid to Milton Milan.
"I’m sorry to hear that," said Councilman Mike McGuire, reacting to news of Webster’s death. "I served on the board of education that appointed him superintendent of schools. As far as superintendents go, he was a great role model for our youth — very positive. Things were really going good… As a mayor? I guess he worked with what he had to work with."
Funeral services will be held noon Thursday at Nazarene Baptist Church, 8th and Fairmount streets.
Leave a Reply