Atleast he is not one of those Obamafied democrats who constantly criticize business and private equity!

Many people seem enamored of Booker, I am not one of them. He is far too wrapped up in his own persona (dare I say narcissist?). At times i think of him as the black Bret Schundler, trying to leverage his current job into higher office.

Quote:

I don't know how you managed to connect a thread on Cory Booker to Romney (nice try through MJ, though), but I have to say that even socialist european newspapers wrote that Obama sounded in the debate like he was not interested in being President.

I agree with Moto. I have spent alot of time in Newark and came to luv the city. It is brimming with potential and many decent people.

Booker really needs to stay one more term. I do feel he owes it to the city. And he needs to put the same kind of energy in attracting attention to Newark in other areas. Like crime and economic policy. Some of the monies raised through private donations should have been diverted to the police force because way too many officers were cut.

Also, development has not been very transparent and in my opinion too rich with abatements. I don't think it will benefit the city in the long haul. He needs to balance the public and private interest more evenly.

I am not sure if there are proper mechanisms in place to oversee the private donations and funding that Newark has gotten. And fear they will not be properly used.

Quote:

I really don't want to bump this thread but as a former Newark resident I think you should study Mayor Booker a bit more...with the eye you would give to Mayor Healy as a JC resident. You may come up with a more balanced opinion. I'm not a Republican, I'm not a Democrat. I just have my life knowledge of Newark, that causes me not to clap for him (right now). I'm a JC homeowner, and (via discussions like this) I encourage others to get to know other municipalities. Are you a resident of New Jersey?

Mayor Booker can certainly energize a room with his speaking, and can get off a good line. I was in Atlantic City this morning, and amidst health care and Newark-related issues, he did happen to mention that he's been doing some campaigning for President Obama, and mentioned that he's detected a similarity between Mitt Romney and Michael Jackson, perhaps the first time anyone has seen those two in the same light.

"Mitt Romney reminds me of Michael Jackson doing the moonwalk. He wants you to think he's moving forward, but he's really going backward."

You are welcome! Newark has the potential to become a great city. It has got all the good elements needed for that. The good work has been started by the mayor. Hope it continues in the future so that less people in Jersey have to cross the river for work.

My sister actually wrote this piece over the course of 6 months - thanks for posting the link.

I always find myself thinking....

New York gets Michael Bloomberg.
Newark gets Cory Booker.
Jersey City get Jerramiah Healy?

Just doesn't add up....

Cory Booker strides to the lectern at a June reception honoring hedge-fund founder Bill Ackman. Pershing Square Foundation, Ackman?s philanthropic organization, had pledged more than $25 million since 2007 to help Booker?s poverty-wracked Newark, New Jersey, improve schooling, enhance parks and find jobs for ex-convicts.

Now, in Manhattan?s Mandarin Oriental ballroom, the 43- year-old mayor salutes one of the titans of finance he had persuaded to revive a city in which some have never set foot, Bloomberg Markets magazine reports in its November issue.

?The room is packed; you had every major hedge-fund, private-equity person,? recalls Joseph Shenker, chairman of law firm Sullivan & Cromwell LLP.

Booker holds guests spellbound using the Hebrew phrase ?tikkun olam,? or fixing the world, to describe Ackman?s generosity. It?s a notion Booker has adapted to his city 12 miles (19 kilometers) west of Wall Street, and the moneyed elite are buying in.

Newark?s Booker Lures Wall Street Millions to City Few Have Seen