Who will run Newark without Cory Booker?
theGRIO REPORT - The current discussion inside Newark's distinctive, deep-rooted and often divisive wards is who should follow Booker and why...
Can an activist easily change his brand?
According to Price, that’s what Baraka is doing. “Ras has had a meeting with local corporate and business leaders. He’s making some effort, with success, to modify his public image.” And Price’s words of advice: “He will have to cobble a coalition that will get him elected. He cannot become mayor by only addressing the African-American community.”
Enter Shavar Jeffries. “Who?” was the collective response when the former assistant state Attorney General and current associate professor of law at Seton Hall said he would like to be the next mayor. And, what does he have going for him?
“[Jeffries] has a strong narrative,” Giambusso pronounced.
Jeffries was the youth who endured a tragic and disadvantaged childhood in the South Ward, where violence killed his mother. Despite overwhelming odds, he graduated from Duke University and Columbia Law School, achieving the successes of the privileged like Cory Booker.
But the question prevails: Who is he? And, which one of the front runners is he a threat to?
“Jeffries might be able to cut into Anibal’s support,” Gillespie suggested. And he is sharpening his attack on Baraka as well, criticizing the councilman, who is also a high school principal, of benefiting from two public jobs.
He’s taken jabs at Baraka’s anti-Booker policy. “[Baraka] is very good at saying no, but you have to say yes to something.”
Jeffries enthusiastic supporters see him as the no-strings-attached candidate, which may weigh in his favor. Politicker NJ noted that “many praised Jeffries for being ‘his own man’ and not having any ties to political bosses of deeply entrenched political families” which they think would make Jeffries “a better candidate and more independent mayor.”
Jeffries platform is crafted to deliver that message. “I’m not going to increase my salary or raise your taxes 40 percent, that’s outrageous. I’m not going to lay off your cops while we have a culture of nepotism in this city, that’s outrageous.”
Central Ward Councilman Darrin Sharif refers to himself as deliberative, which may be why he announced his candidacy months after the other three. However with much of Newark’s business community and economic activity in his ward, Sharif has to be taken as seriously. He references the success of his ward, which he claims will continue under his leadership. “As Newark continues to go through this period of growth I feel confident that I can continue to lead the city on its upward trajectory.”
But the Central Ward is also known for the violent activity in its residential areas, where several of the city’s recent spikes in shootings and homicides occurred.
“We should commit ourselves to creating a culture of respect, high expectations and achievement.” Sharif says on his campaign website. But his primary message seems directed at the business community.
“I want to be the connector, the convener, the facilitator-in-chief, ” the one-term councilman said during an interview with NJ Today. He touted Newark’s potential for partnerships between big business and higher education, carving out a niche in a crowded field of candidates.
As the third African-American entering the race, is Sharif splitting the black vote to Ramos’ advantage? He dismissed that possibility during the interview.
“Darrin Sharif will be drawing votes from the same pool as Ras,” Price observed. And like Baraka, “He has also been critical of Cory Booker.”
So who does Cory Booker back?
“I don’t know if Booker will endorse anyone,” Gillespie says. “He has relationships with all these people.”
Perhaps taking advantage of the attention being paid to the Booker campaign, both Baraka and Ramos have announced their plans for public safety, giving attention to a top concern for both residents and would-be investors.
Baraka proposes a gang intervention program, “Project Chill,” with more police concentration in high-crime wards. Ramos’ plan has no name but is a similar: Community outreach and gang intervention.
Normally candidates for Newark’s next mayor would roll out their campaigns in January and begin stomping in earnest in February. But there is a lot at stake for Newark. And, however they present their platforms, the candidates know this as well as they know they are campaigning in the shadow of Cory Booker.
“None of the people who are poised to succeed [Booker] have that wide a network. The big question is whether or not people who have invested in the city will maintain their commitment. Those with investments, will they stay there because they have an interest in the city if there is an anti-Booker policy?” These are serious considerations for the future mayor and the city itself, according to Gillespie.
“The momentum released by Cory will likely continue, but not at the accelerated pace of Cory,” Price believes. “Cory is leaving the city ripe for a paradigm shift. His successor can do what he did not do. Fill a non-existent power vacuum by building a political machine.”
Mayor Booker is plainly optimistic about the opportunities for his city and his successor.
“The corner is turned,” Booker told Giambusso. “The momentum is set. Whoever is the next mayor is going to have tailwinds,” which is exactly how Booker will takeoff from Newark, whether the citizens of his city are glad or sad to see him go.
“People are critical [of Booker] but take pride in sending him to the Senate,” Gillespie concludes. Referencing her blog entry on NYU’s “From the Square,” Gillespie says even those who were vehemently opposed to Booker as mayor “basked in the glow” of his primary victory.
“They may have fought tooth and nail over local issues, but this organizer had no doubt that he and Booker saw eye to eye on issues of national concern. And it was clear that he perceived some cachet in knowing the man who was poised to be senator.”
