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Mayor Cory Booker achieves wonders for city of Newark
by David Litvak
Forum | 5/19/09
Posted online at 6:09 PM EST on 5/18/09
Booker was nothing if not persistent. He ran for mayor in 2002, losing to James after a campaign challenging his faith (on the evidence of his involvement in L'Chaim while at Oxford), his suburban background and his African-American identity (des-pite James himself being African-American), but the margin was close enough that James opted to run for the New Jersey Senate in 2006. Booker subsequently won 70 percent of the vote and got to work fast.
Newark's police department didn't even include a narcotics department until Booker took office, and he brought in a top New York Police Department officer, Garry McCarthy, to restructure and lead the new department in Newark. Crime is really the sine qua non of Newark's problems, and Booker has instituted a zero-tolerance policy to help combat it. In light of endemic ineptitude or historical corruption within various sectors of the city government, Booker has sought outside reformers to aid in reviving the city regardless of their racial background. He has otherwise simply fired city employees, for example, in the Newark Housing Authority, which had become notorious for political cronyism and nepotism.
Booker has sought to reform Newark's education system as well, although he has had less control there given the state government's intervention in Newark's schools following the state Education Department's 1994 report. But here, too, he has gone against the grain, challenging entrenched (if well-intentioned) groups like teachers' unions and seeking to close or restructure failing schools. In the past, Booker has supported bipartisan efforts to expand school choice, which, even if untested, were generally shunned outright without being given an opportunity to succeed.
The importance of Booker's work is not lost on others. President Barack Obama proposed an Office of Urban Policy during his candidacy that would have helped to target federal aid to cities effectively and aimed to improve job creation and economic development. Obama created a similar Office of Urban Affairs in February to achieve nearly the same purpose. It is not unreasonable to think that Obama, Booker's friend, has taken note of the mayor's progress and continuing efforts. His push to renew the urban pride of Newark's past and bring his city back to its feet are laudable, and Newark's success may depend on his ability to deliver. His commitment bodes well for his city's future.
Newark's police department didn't even include a narcotics department until Booker took office, and he brought in a top New York Police Department officer, Garry McCarthy, to restructure and lead the new department in Newark. Crime is really the sine qua non of Newark's problems, and Booker has instituted a zero-tolerance policy to help combat it. In light of endemic ineptitude or historical corruption within various sectors of the city government, Booker has sought outside reformers to aid in reviving the city regardless of their racial background. He has otherwise simply fired city employees, for example, in the Newark Housing Authority, which had become notorious for political cronyism and nepotism.
Booker has sought to reform Newark's education system as well, although he has had less control there given the state government's intervention in Newark's schools following the state Education Department's 1994 report. But here, too, he has gone against the grain, challenging entrenched (if well-intentioned) groups like teachers' unions and seeking to close or restructure failing schools. In the past, Booker has supported bipartisan efforts to expand school choice, which, even if untested, were generally shunned outright without being given an opportunity to succeed.
The importance of Booker's work is not lost on others. President Barack Obama proposed an Office of Urban Policy during his candidacy that would have helped to target federal aid to cities effectively and aimed to improve job creation and economic development. Obama created a similar Office of Urban Affairs in February to achieve nearly the same purpose. It is not unreasonable to think that Obama, Booker's friend, has taken note of the mayor's progress and continuing efforts. His push to renew the urban pride of Newark's past and bring his city back to its feet are laudable, and Newark's success may depend on his ability to deliver. His commitment bodes well for his city's future.
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