Newark’s Mayor Cory Booker at Midpoint

[groovedaddy]

Cory Booker, the mayor of Newark, says he does not think about it that way, but there must be easier ways to make a mark in the world than by trying to turn around a troubled city.

Mr. Booker is faced — right now, today — with rampant crime, punishing property taxes and a burdensome legacy of municipal corruption.

Expectations were high when he came to office, not only because he was an attractive personality but also because his predecessor seemed incurably corrupt. His success depends partly on meeting these expectations. Judging by a recent interview in his spacious City Hall office, in which he exuded a sense of confident serenity, he thinks he can do so. But he says the job has turned out to be every bit as hard as he expected.

Mr. Booker reached the midpoint of his first four-year term today — too soon to achieve the ambitious goals he set for himself, but not too soon for his constituents to grumble about his mistakes.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/01/opinion/01tue4.html?th&emc=th

[NJCher]

1. would have missed that

If you hadn't posted it.

I saw "Street Fight," which has kept me interested in what Cory Booker is doing. I am not surprised he is finding the job just as he anticipated it--difficult.



Cher