u/Echo2020z

Just watched the replay, and my God. It really feels like they’ll let anybody run for mayor of this city.

Even going back to when I was a kid, I never understood how Sharpe James kept winning. He wasn’t well spoken, didn’t come across as particularly sharp, and yet Newark residents kept putting him back in office like there was no better option.

Watching this current debate gave me that same feeling. It felt unserious. Slightly embarrassing, honestly. I won’t say everything I really want to say because Reddit moderation exists, but it definitely didn’t leave me feeling hopeful about the future of Newark politics.

Even if Baraka leaves the mayor’s office in the future, I don’t have much confidence that whoever comes after him will be some major upgrade. It feels like the city keeps recycling the same type of political energy over and over again.

The only mayor in my lifetime who didn’t feel embarrassing to me was Cory Booker. He wasn’t perfect, and yes, he was definitely a poser with the whole “living in Brick Towers” thing, but at the time, I do think he was actually trying. He represented Newark well, carried himself professionally, and made the city feel like it had some national relevance.

Was Newark a stepping stone for him? Absolutely. But I can still admit that I was proud to say Cory Booker was my mayor. Would I vote for him for president? No. But for Newark? He was solid. Cory Booker is great for middle management.

I’m not saying Newark needs a perfect mayor. That doesn’t exist. But for a city with this much history, culture, talent, and potential, the bar should be way higher than what I saw in that debate. Newark deserves serious people with real vision, not just whoever has the connections, name recognition, or nerve to get on a stage and call themselves a candidate.

I’m currently in my 30’s and was born and raised in Newark. Ever since I was a kid I never understood what adults got out of standing in front of of these establishments all day. There’s literally nothing exciting about it. As I got older I realized a lot of them was most likely dealing drugs and use these locations as a meet up point. That was the 90’s and early 2000’s.

Lately with technology a lot of those dealers moved their operations online. To this day I till see people doing the same thing. I don’t even think they are dealing drugs at this point. A lot of them just like sitting outside all day doing completely nothing.

I would be so miserable if this was my life. I try and stop my head around it to understand the mindset around it. I also think to myself if there’s anything the business owner’s could do or even elected officials could do to stop it. I know it certainly hurts business. There’s been time where I needed something and I would drive to the next nearest bodega since there was so many people hanging out in front of the location.

I know it’s a super small gripe within the bigger picture of a major city but I know I can’t be the only one that finds this slightly annoying. It also makes the neighborhood look bad in my opinion. I don’t see it in my immediate area anymore but when I go more inner Newark to visit family it’s still a thing.