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Cory Booker

Candidate for: Mayor of Newark
Election Date: May 9, 2006


FINAL RESULTS
Booker: 72%
Rice: 24%

The Candidate

Cory Booker is running for Mayor of Newark, New Jersey. He is currently a partner in the Newark, NJ law firm of Booker, Rabinowitz, Trenk, Lubetkin, Tully, DiPasquale and Webster, P.C., and is founder of Newark Now, a grassroots nonprofit group. Booker first broke onto the political scene in 1998, when he upset a four-term incumbent to become Newark's Central Ward Councilman and the youngest member ever elected to the city's Municipal Council. The Central Ward is Newark's most impoverished and during his four years as Councilman, Booker embodied a true commitment to his constituents.

In the summer of 1999, Booker and his supporters fasted for ten days and nights in the drug-infested Garden Spires housing complex to garner support for greater police presence and security. In 2000, the then-Councilman chose to live in a mobile home in the Central Ward. The home gave Booker the ability to move directly into troubled areas, to address pressing problems, and to learn first-hand about the root concerns of his community.

Four years ago, Booker entered Newark's mayoral race against Mayor Sharpe James, the city's controversial four-term incumbent. In spite of an onslaught of slander and race-baiting, Booker remained undeterred in his effort to unseat James. He eventually fell short by six percentage points, but Booker's perseverance and strong showing laid the groundwork for his 2006 run for City Hall. The tough 2002 race has since been captured by an Oscar-nominated documentary film, fittingly titled, "Street Fight."

Prior to entering politics, Cory earned bachelor's and master's degrees from Stanford University. He attended Stanford on an athletic scholarship after being named New Jersey Football's Player of the Year and a high school All-American. After Stanford, Cory won the Rhodes Scholarship to study at Oxford University and then returned to the United States to attend Yale Law School. While at Yale, Cory began his now decade long involvement in Newark, a city of 280,000, through volunteering with children and advocating for tenants' rights.


The Issues

There are three main issues in this campaign. The first is poverty: about 30 percent of Newark's residents live below the poverty line and the city is plagued by an unemployment rate of 12 percent. For a city that has made tremendous strides toward revitalizing its commerce and cultural centers over the past decade, much work remains to be done in extending Newark's promise to its most vulnerable citizens. Booker pledges to align the interests of Newark's business growth with the needs of its residents.

The second issue in this campaign is crime. The number of murders in Newark increased from 83 in 2003 to 97 last year. To make the city safer, Booker plans to put more police on the street, reorganize a police department laden with political appointees, and adopt the crime fighting technology used so effectively in New York City's regeneration throughout the 1990s.

Last, Newark's public schools, the largest district in New Jersey with over 43,000 students, are a central concern. More than ten years after the State Department of Education took control, the performance of Newark's schools has barely improved. 70 percent of the city's eleventh graders failed the state math test in 2004, while only 30 percent failed statewide. Cory Booker is committed to innovative solutions in Newark's classrooms. At the same time, he believes that education does not stop at the schoolhouse gate. Booker's commitment to bringing Newark's residents out of poverty and to cutting crime are essential to his community-wide approach to improving Newark's schools.


The Race

In the last week of March, incumbent Mayor Sharpe James unexpectedly dropped out of the race. At the time, state and national media were focusing their attention on what promised to be a heavyweight fight between the entrenched power of Sharpe James and a more seasoned and established Cory Booker. In preparation for this fight, Booker raised more than $4 million, and since James's announcement, has become the favorite to take City Hall. His strongest opponent is Deputy Mayor, and State Senator, Ronald L. Rice. Rice is an ally of outgoing Mayor James and announced his candidacy only after James decided to leave the race.

Despite long odds, Deputy Mayor Rice will not give an inch to Booker. In a strategy reminiscent of the ugliness of the 2002 campaign, Rice has already attempted to use Booker's support for public school vouchers to drive a wedge between Booker and the African-American community in Newark. Rice has also recently called Booker a proxy for "ultra-white, ultra-conservative" outsiders seeking to privative Newark's schools.

However, Cory Booker, true to form, has not backed down. He explains his support for school vouchers as one of many tools that can help Newark's schools. The New York Times has recently quoted him as saying "my determination is to reform the public school system, but I will never oppose programs that help children." Booker goes into the final weeks of Newark's mayoral race as the favorite, though Deputy Mayor Rice will mount a strong challenge; a range of other, lesser-known candidates dot the May 9 ballot as well.


Why CNM Supports Cory Booker

With natural charisma, a unique sense of commitment to his constituents, and experience as a veteran of one of the harshest races in New Jersey political history, Cory Booker is one of the Democratic Party's brightest young stars. Newark is a city still pulling itself out of the tumultuous race riots of the 1960s. But with the right leadership, it is poised to claim its place as the Garden State's flagship city. The city, its residents, and the State of New Jersey will benefit from Booker's fresh and innovative ideas.

CNM believes Cory Booker has only begun to make his impact felt on the American political landscape. His potential is an inspiration.


Support Cory Booker for Mayor of Newark, New Jersey

CNM is proud to endorse Cory Booker for Mayor of Newark, New Jersey. We encourage you to give him your support.

Please contribute directly to Cory Booker's campaign by clicking here!

You can also send checks to:
Campaign for a National Majority
Attn: Nathaniel Stinnett
6 Claflin Road, Suite 3
Brookline, MA 02445
Make checks payable to "Cory Booker for Mayor." Please include information about your occupation, employer, and address.*

*State law requires candidate campaign committees to report the name, mailing address, occupation and employer of individuals whose contributions aggregate in excess of $100 in an election cycle.
*There is no limit on individual contributions.