I’m just getting around to reading the Q&A Cory Booker had with the “Newark Speaks”:http://newarkspeaks.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1903 community. His answers to the handful of questions he chose to answer were very clear and exciting for the people of Newark. One question, in particular, really struck me as an extreme example of public service:
Q. Do you plan to move (I’m embarrassed to say my mayor lives in a run down apt. building.) and if so what ward do he plan to move to?
A. Get used to it. I made a pre-politics commitment to the folks that live in that community — most specifcally including Ms. V. Jones. I told her I would stay there until the job is done. I will remain in that building until we can secure it and then secure the funding to rehab the building. In fact, we had already done that and we had secured millions of dollars in rehab but the city blocked us. This is a great building and a viable one. It should be saved and restored to its 1969 level of greatness. There are people in other city’s that would kill for such large spacious apartments. We can make that a model of mixed income redevelopment right near the heart of our down town.
But as far as where I live…I am not concerned about what people say. It is my personal choice. And I tell you this, you may be surprised where I choose to live next. This city has communities that are in a state of crisis. And for the next four years I am committed to making every neighborhood safe. I am willing to go to any personal lengths necessary to accomplish that as my past living choices have shown: from a moble home to a tent at garden spires. So if I win, your mayor might “embarrass” you again, but I think in the end you will be proud that I got the job done in our city.
—Cory Booker
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[...] During the election, Booker got a little flak from the crew at Newark Speaks about his current living conditions. When asked whether he would move into quarters more suitable for a mayor of New Jersey’s largest city, his response was classic: [...]