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Factvsfiction
Citizen
Username: Factvsfiction
Post Number: 347
Registered: 4-2006
| | Posted on Monday, May 8, 2006 - 5:58 pm: | 
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I know Booker is a dynamic guy and a newer-style community leader, but what would his election to Mayor of Newark mean to us as fellow Essex County residents?
The only thing I understand from what I have read is that Booker would probably make Newark more appealing to real estate developers and related capital than it was under the James administration. How so?
Does that mean Newark will be picking up more of the share of the Essex County tax burden? Are there benefits to us, or detriments? (exp. a crackdown on Newark crime forcing it into the 'burbs.)
What do you think intelligent MOL posters ? |
crabby
Citizen
Username: Crabbyappleton
Post Number: 588
Registered: 1-2004
| | Posted on Monday, May 8, 2006 - 6:22 pm: |
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I dunno. |
Factvsfiction
Citizen
Username: Factvsfiction
Post Number: 356
Registered: 4-2006
| | Posted on Monday, May 8, 2006 - 6:25 pm: |
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crabby-
you must be a political pundit then. |
Just The Aunt
Supporter
Username: Auntof13
Post Number: 4939
Registered: 1-2004
| | Posted on Monday, May 8, 2006 - 7:59 pm: |
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fact
It's not 'if' Corey gets elected. It's WHEN he wins the election. I think he's going to do as much as he can to clean up Newark. |
Nohero
Supporter
Username: Nohero
Post Number: 5368
Registered: 10-1999
| | Posted on Monday, May 8, 2006 - 8:30 pm: |
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The crackdown on crime (as in the violent, robbery, drugs kind of crime) has been going on a while now. If anything, Irvington has borne the brunt of that, as the next destination for those pushed out of Newark. That fight will have to go on, in order to help us here in SO/M.
With respect to other kinds of "crime", investing in and developing property in Newark has been a difficult "game", under the Sharpe James administration. If there is more confidence in the city of Newark, on the part of developers, that can only be a good thing. The state has been doing its part, from developing NJPAC to the new light rail that will be in operation in a month or so.
I think that it's reasonable to be optimistic, here in our little towns. |
Copperfield
Citizen
Username: Copperfield
Post Number: 342
Registered: 1-2004
| | Posted on Monday, May 8, 2006 - 9:45 pm: |
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And the fact that Newark is starting to turn around has been duly noted on the Sopranos. (The "old neighborhood" where Jamba Juice was opening a location *is* in Newark, isn't it?) |
Bob K
Supporter
Username: Bobk
Post Number: 11449
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Tuesday, May 9, 2006 - 4:35 am: |
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To be effective Booker has to be able to either destroy or live with the county "machine" which has been the real power behind James and company.
Which approach he takes and if he can do it is an open question imho. |
Nob
Citizen
Username: Nob
Post Number: 150
Registered: 4-2004
| | Posted on Tuesday, May 9, 2006 - 7:08 am: |
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same issue Corzine faces .....and look which direction he seems to be taking -- he certainly doesn't look like he's destroying the machine but paying to get a good ride. I like Corey Booker but suspect reality will set in for him too. |
Chris Prenovost
Citizen
Username: Chris_prenovost
Post Number: 872
Registered: 7-2003
| | Posted on Tuesday, May 9, 2006 - 9:21 am: |
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In the last election, Booker made a big issue of education. I hope it wasn't just talk.
Newark spends over $1 Billion per year on it's school system. The vast majority of that is state money (abbot district funding). That works out to over $20,000 per student per year, which is about 50% more than we in MSO spend per student. Very Serious Dollars.
If Booker can improve the school system, two things will benefit us: 1) The number of illegal students in the MSO schools will drop as the illegals from Newark obtain a better option closer to home, and 2) The billions in school aid currently being thrown down the toilet of the inner city schools will be better spent, as in HS grads being actually able to read and write. |
Bob K
Supporter
Username: Bobk
Post Number: 11458
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Tuesday, May 9, 2006 - 10:32 am: |
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Booker is in favor of school voucher programs, something I find interesting.
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Chris Prenovost
Citizen
Username: Chris_prenovost
Post Number: 874
Registered: 7-2003
| | Posted on Tuesday, May 9, 2006 - 11:22 am: |
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You can buy an awfully good private education for $20,000. |
Tom Reingold
Supporter
Username: Noglider
Post Number: 14159
Registered: 1-2003
| | Posted on Tuesday, May 9, 2006 - 12:44 pm: |
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Yeah, if you can get your hands on the cash.
I don't know much about Newark. I've lived in Maplewood for only a little less than three years. I now commute to Newark occasionally. I see a ton of new construction. If the trend continues, it's reason for a great deal of optimism. On the other hand, when I go to Newark, I commute through some really bad sections, so it has a long way to go, still.
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Chris Prenovost
Citizen
Username: Chris_prenovost
Post Number: 876
Registered: 7-2003
| | Posted on Tuesday, May 9, 2006 - 12:51 pm: |
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Get your hands on the cash? The teacher's unions will ensure that you never do.
I lived in Newark. The overwhelming majority of the construction you see in Newark is either paid for by the State, or subsidized by it. Very little purely private stuff. |
Tom Reingold
Supporter
Username: Noglider
Post Number: 14160
Registered: 1-2003
| | Posted on Tuesday, May 9, 2006 - 12:53 pm: |
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What's your opinion on all that subsidized construction? Obviously, the intent is that it will bring in businesses (and residents) who will bring money in and improve the economy for everyone. The $64,000 question is, do you think it will work?
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Nob
Citizen
Username: Nob
Post Number: 151
Registered: 4-2004
| | Posted on Tuesday, May 9, 2006 - 1:07 pm: |
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Well isn't Hoboken still an Abbott District -- and I would hardly consider them property tax poor............why would Newark be any different if its property values improved dramatically? Why pay for your schools when you've already convinced non residents to do so -- gives Newark/Hoboken more money to pay for "other things" -- like a sludge fund for Sharpe James to control once he leaves office. |
Chris Prenovost
Citizen
Username: Chris_prenovost
Post Number: 878
Registered: 7-2003
| | Posted on Tuesday, May 9, 2006 - 1:08 pm: |
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Tom, I would love to think that it will help - there are a lot of really good, warm hearted people in Newark.
But it will not solve the fundamental problem. Schools.
Newark has arguably the WORST school system in the state, and one of the worst in the country. The corruption, waste and inefficiency are absolutely mind boggling. Single teenage mothers with the attendant poverty do the rest. No one will want to live in Newark, despite it's great location, until the schools show some dramatic improvement.
It is not a money issue. As explained above, spending in the Newark schools is among the highest in the nation.
(BTW, several polls taken in Newark show strong support for a voucher system.)
That is what I think will work. Fix the schools, and all else will follow. Either fix them, or close them and give every child a voucher for $20 grand. |
Eats Shoots & Leaves
Citizen
Username: Mfpark
Post Number: 3320
Registered: 9-2001
| | Posted on Tuesday, May 9, 2006 - 1:27 pm: |
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Heck, at $20k per kid, we should open the SO/M school doors wide open to Newark kids who want to transfer here! For that much dough, we could have air conditioned buses pick them up. |
Chris Prenovost
Citizen
Username: Chris_prenovost
Post Number: 882
Registered: 7-2003
| | Posted on Tuesday, May 9, 2006 - 1:38 pm: |
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As I said, just TRY and pry that money away from the teacher's unions. |
rachael
Citizen
Username: Rachael
Post Number: 44
Registered: 7-2001
| | Posted on Tuesday, May 9, 2006 - 2:41 pm: |
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One year ago at the Maplewood Contry Club, Corey Booker was the guest speaker at a meeting for the Harvard Club of New Jersey. He stated he thought is was a good thing that families in Newark send their children illegally to other towns with better schools. He thought people need to do what ever is neccesary to get their kids a better education.
I agree, but lets have them pay for it |
Chris Prenovost
Citizen
Username: Chris_prenovost
Post Number: 884
Registered: 7-2003
| | Posted on Tuesday, May 9, 2006 - 2:57 pm: |
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"He thought people need to do whatever is necessary to get their kids a better education".
Here is a radical idea - how about working to improve the school districts they are already in?!? Instead of exporting your problem somewhere else? |
dave23
Citizen
Username: Dave23
Post Number: 1747
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Tuesday, May 9, 2006 - 3:05 pm: |
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"Here is a radical idea - how about working to improve the school districts they are already in?!? Instead of exporting your problem somewhere else?"
That's a great idea, except you can't improve a school overnight, particularly since school funding is tied to local property values. It takes at least a generation to turn a school around. |
Chris Prenovost
Citizen
Username: Chris_prenovost
Post Number: 885
Registered: 7-2003
| | Posted on Tuesday, May 9, 2006 - 3:20 pm: |
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Dave 23, you're right in that nothing happens overnight, but if it really takes a generation, then shut down the entire system and send everyone to private schools. Education is too important to be left to those who have been failing to educate for the past forty years.
And in the case of Newark, your observation about local property values is slightly incorrect. Newark is an abbot school district, which means it gets most of it's funding from the state. Last year, abbot school systems consumed $4.5 Billion of your tax dollars. |
dave23
Citizen
Username: Dave23
Post Number: 1749
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Tuesday, May 9, 2006 - 3:26 pm: |
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The root of the problem lies with the parents, of course. On the whole, the public school system in this country is good. (I know I'm not supposed to say that, but I'm going based on my own observations and the economic revolution of the last 20 years.)
Like any other industry, the best teachers tend to go to the best schools. |
Factvsfiction
Citizen
Username: Factvsfiction
Post Number: 363
Registered: 4-2006
| | Posted on Tuesday, May 9, 2006 - 6:16 pm: |
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Was not suprised to hear about the phys. ed. teachers and others making 100k in Newark on the news the past 2 days. More money being available for schools sometimes means more to mis-spend. Glad that Corzine stepped in on the subject of Abbot funding for this year, but hey, he is already elected, he won't need the votes until the next time. By then he will probably want to be Vice-Pres instead (or before).
Given the horror show that some Abbot districts are, I would support the school voucher concept, although I am sure IMHO the NJEA would do everything they could to defeat it.
But again, if Booker is Mayor, why will more developers and capital now be flocking to Newark? And don't say a hockey arena. What would be different than under the James administration? Would it just be perception?
Most of us in the area are aware of the murder in SO over the weekend over a Newark-related beef. It may have been a crime of opportunity and planning, but I wonder what Booker will do about erradicating crime. And that's what it has to be, not just making Newark inhospitable to criminals. Irvington also has the State Police, for which they will not be charged, although the rural districts will, meaning there will be lots of West-South Jersey howls of protest and mayabe a cutback in Irvington of free State Police patroling.
Will we be hearing our towns wanting to pass higher budgets in order to hire more police, get more police cars, etc. because of a Newark crackdown spillover?
A crime summit of all towns within a 5 mile radius of Newark with new Mayor Booker might be helpful in preventing that and maybe coordinating together what we should do in our little area of Essex County to reduce crime.
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Nohero
Supporter
Username: Nohero
Post Number: 5373
Registered: 10-1999
| | Posted on Tuesday, May 9, 2006 - 10:44 pm: |
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Looks like we're going to find out what it means to us ... |
Just The Aunt
Supporter
Username: Auntof13
Post Number: 4958
Registered: 1-2004
| | Posted on Tuesday, May 9, 2006 - 11:14 pm: |
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Looks like he won by a landslide... |
Just The Aunt
Supporter
Username: Auntof13
Post Number: 4959
Registered: 1-2004
| | Posted on Tuesday, May 9, 2006 - 11:17 pm: |
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Booker wins easily
Cory Booker swept to victory in the Newark mayor’s race by a historic margin today, collecting more than 70 percent of the vote from an electorate that rejected his candidacy four years ago.Booker’s closest challenger, state Sen. Ronald L. Rice, finished with less than 25 percent.
The election of Booker, a 37-year-old former Rhodes scholar and Yale-educated lawyer who moved to Newark just a decade ago, opens a new chapter in the city’s political history. A self-proclaimed reformer, he is Newark’s first new mayor in 20 years and just the second since 1970.
His easy victory was made possible after Mayor Sharpe James announced in March he would not seek a sixth term. Four years ago, James defeated Booker by 3,500 votes, or 53 percent to 47 percent, in a vitriolic race that captured national attention.
Booker hasn’t stopped running since. This evening he was mobbed by hundreds of cheering supporters outside his Central Ward campaign headquarters, where he made a quick stop before heading to a victory party at Essex County College.
“Today you all took it home,” he told the crowd, his voice hoarse. “This is for the people and the city of Newark.”
At Rice’s campaign headquarters on Broad Street, the senator called his supporters to attention at 9:45 p.m.
“I know this occasion is a historical occasion,” he told a crowded room. “We have come so far since 1967 in this city under the leadership of Ken Gibson and Sharpe James. This progress could never have been possible without the residents of Newark. Tonight I have to concede this election based on the numbers I have seen.”
With 160 of 168 districts reporting, Booker had captured 71.8 percent of the vote, the largest percentage in a contested race since 1954, when Newark began holding nonpartisan elections. Rice won 23.6 percent of the vote, 4 percentage points less than when he ran in 1998.
David Blount, a national account manager for Sprint, captured 4.1 percent, while Nancy Rosenstock, a meat packer and Socialist Workers Party candidate, trailed with less than 1 percent.
In the council races, the early returns had Booker candidates picking up at least three council seats.
In the East Ward, incumbent Augusto Amador cruised to victory over Fernando Linhares with nearly 70 percent of the vote. In the Central Ward, Dana Rone mustered just enough votes to avoid a runoff against Charles Bell. And in the hostly contested North Ward, where both candidates had endorsed Booker, Anibal Ramos Jr. rode the backing of the North Ward Center political machine to a 3-to-1 margin over incumbent Hector Corchado.
The South Ward will be a runoff between the sons of two old political allies: J. Sharpe James, the son of Sharpe James, and Oscar S. James II, son of Oscar James.
The West Ward is heading for a runoff between incumbent Mamie Bridgeforth and Ronald C. Rice.
The remaining four At-Large seats are still being sorted out.
Booker will need the support of the council if he is to fulfill an ambitious agenda that includes hiring more police officers, giving the mayor a greater role in Newark’s ailing school district and making City Hall more accountable to residents.
Rice faced long odds from the start. Though well known and well regarded in the city, the former deputy mayor and West Ward councilman opted against mounting a campaign until he knew whether James, an on-again, off-again ally, would seek a sixth term.
As Booker collected checks, Rice waited. And as Booker hopscotched from ward to ward - shaking hands, speaking at community events and building momentum - Rice waited some more. By the time James announced his political retirement on March 27, Rice was already in a deep hole.
He didn’t open a campaign headquarters until later that week, and he never got around to hiring a campaign manager or a press liaison to promote his positions and events, not that he had many events to promte.
A Star-Ledger poll in early April showed him trailing Booker by 43 percentage points, the kind of gap that doesn’t lend itself to successful fundrasising. By last week, Rice had raised just $177,845 to Booker’s $6.5 million.
Rice had been scheduled to vote at Vailsburg Middle School before 8 a.m., drawing a half-dozen television cameras, two still photographers and assorted reporters. When he failed to show, a frantic poll worker began making calls on a cell phone outside the school.
He finally arrived at 11 a.m., saying he had been up all night plotting Election Day logistics in his campaign headquarters and needed to shower and shave before voting. He remained upbeat throughout the day, however, buoyed by the hugs and kisses of volunteers and well-wishers across the city.
“People are giving me a thumbs up and honking their horns,” Rice said outside his Broad Street campaign office, across from City Hall. “If that’s an indication of votes, we’re going to do well. Residents are making me feel good today.”
Booker began his day decidedly earlier, emerging from his Brick Towers apartment shortly after 6 a.m. Energized and cheerful, he delivered bottles of water and Snickers bars to poll workers, volunteers, even crossing guards.
“Some energy for later on today,” he told workers at one South Ward polling place.
Booker would need some of that energy himself as he zipped from polling place to polling place across the city. At 3:30 p.m., he and Rice crossed paths at East Side High School. Neither man greeted the other.
Four years ago, Booker managed to raise just $42,000 from Newark residents or businesses. This time around, Newarkers accounted for $821,000 of his $6.5 million total, according to campaign finance reports filed last week.
“He has new energy, new inspiration and integrity,” said Alonzo Campbell, a 36-year-old hotel chef who cast his ballot for Booker today. “Change is good.”
Contributed by Mark Mueller, Katie Wang and Jeffery C. Mays
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Lydia
Supporter
Username: Lydial
Post Number: 1828
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Wednesday, May 10, 2006 - 7:21 am: |
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Fvf -
Money aside for a second - now that Cory Booker is Mayor, maybe there will be less suffering and misery in Newark.
And less suffering is good for everyone. |
Copperfield
Citizen
Username: Copperfield
Post Number: 343
Registered: 1-2004
| | Posted on Wednesday, May 10, 2006 - 11:26 am: |
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>>But again, if Booker is Mayor, why will more developers and capital now be flocking to Newark? And don't say a hockey arena. What would be different than under the James administration? Would it just be perception? >>
FvF: In America, circa 2006, perception often carries a lot more weight than reality. A few more news stories about how Newark is turning around now that Booker's mayour, a few more investors thinking the hype is reality and wanting to get in on 'the last good deal' before everyone else does.... |
Chris Prenovost
Citizen
Username: Chris_prenovost
Post Number: 889
Registered: 7-2003
| | Posted on Wednesday, May 10, 2006 - 12:51 pm: |
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Going back to what I posted earlier: Nothing will change in Newark, including the suffering, until the school system is improved. |
Factvsfiction
Citizen
Username: Factvsfiction
Post Number: 381
Registered: 4-2006
| | Posted on Wednesday, May 10, 2006 - 5:15 pm: |
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Copperfield-
"perception often carries a lot more weight than reality"
Is that why you voted for the "pro-education" candidates in our school election?  |
Factvsfiction
Citizen
Username: Factvsfiction
Post Number: 382
Registered: 4-2006
| | Posted on Wednesday, May 10, 2006 - 5:20 pm: |
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Lydia and Chris-
When asked about reform politicians, new leadership, and candidates espousing civic change my old, Marxist-Leninist, hippie, professor of government would simply tug on the last embers of his cig and wearily say,
" Power corrupts absolutely".
I hope Booker is great for Newark, but its not what he says, but what he does. My fingers are crossed. |
Lydia
Supporter
Username: Lydial
Post Number: 1834
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Wednesday, May 10, 2006 - 7:04 pm: |
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Factsv
Quote:my old, Marxist-Leninist, hippie, professor of government would simply tug on the last embers of his cig and wearily say,
" Power corrupts absolutely".
Was he tenured?
Tenure corrupts absolutely. |
Factvsfiction
Citizen
Username: Factvsfiction
Post Number: 387
Registered: 4-2006
| | Posted on Wednesday, May 10, 2006 - 8:05 pm: |
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Lydia- LOL
sadly, yes  |
KB
Citizen
Username: Computergeek2
Post Number: 30
Registered: 6-2001
| | Posted on Wednesday, May 10, 2006 - 8:37 pm: |
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I would suggest he focus on schools and bit on downtown Newark...perhaps turn downtown into some place that is actually desireable to visit and spend $$$. Maybe a Barnes and Noble or another large tenant or two would help along with a few bars and sit down eating spots/restaurants |
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