by donna
Pay Snubs and Booker’s Flubs
August 2, 2007
Reading about how NewarkWorks failed to pay hundreds of its teen summer workers on time is like footage of a bad car crash on a continuous loop. It is bad enough that scores of city workers are facing the prospect of layoffs, but this unfortunate incident will only worsen public anger and intensify suspicions against Mayor Booker. I can only imagine how loud, theatrical and raucous the council meeting was on Wednesday night at City Hall. Worse still was the item about Mayor Booker’s remarks about the late Judy Diggs, who was president of the Newark Parents Association. It is simply not a good week for the mayor, anyway you look at it. On the bright side, the week is almost over!
This incident seems to point to an ever continuing trend of neglect on the part of Mayor Booker and the people that he has employed. I’m sure that this will add fervor to the argument that Mayor Cory Booker is not from Newark; therefore he cannot care for Newark, and nor will Newark, NJ ever thrive while he is mayor. All he has done in his time as mayor is “cut” everything that gave people ease in a town as rough as Newark, i.e. their ability to care for themselves. From layoffs, to pushing street vendors off the street, and now to failing to pay the group of citizens (teens) that he swears to care the most for. The community organizatioin that Mayor Booker began is called Newark Now, but since his reign as mayor of this fine city, he seems to broker the spirit of “Newark Never”.
The supposed gentrification or “de-negrolization” as an associate of mine called it will take years to occur completely. Presently the prospects that Mayor Cory Booker will still be the mayor when that occurs is slim. He should really look within this city and learn what makes it beat. It is not his friends from out of town and out of state, but it’s the people who live here in Newark. I dare say that he won his position as mayor because people simply felt that it was time for a change from Sharpe James. I know that they wish they had waited a little longer.
I have only one question for you: if you’re faced with a budget crunch even after raising taxes, what do you? This was a long time coming(job cuts) and that Port Authority settlement money was running out. I think James would have done the same thing…the money has to come from somewhere…
As far as kids’ pay being missed, that’s just neglect. In light of the layoffs it would not have been in the mayor’s best interest to let it happen.
What my comment points to is not just one incident, but the year long track record of the mayor. In his short time, he has not made citizens happy and the fact that he is not from Newark does not help his case. Let’s look at some things. He wants to fight crime, however, his first contract offer to the police department was to cut pay, reduce overtime, and put each officer on the street 5 straight days; not to mention his first Director of Police is not even from the Newark Police Department, but from a completely different state. Are you telling me that there was no officer in our department who could not have been an effective director. Murders are still on pace to hit 100. Cancelling a concert people were excited about for months. Outsourcing contracts to out of state companies.
This new development just makes people more skeptical of his offce.
I really don’t think a man has to be from Newark to be the mayor. NYC ex-mayor Ed Koch was from Newark. I don’t think any man(mayor) can make the citizens of Newark happy in only one year. The amount of problems that exist go above and beyond only a year in office.
HOWEVER:
I completely was against the canceling of that concert. I didn’t make any real sense to me