Some wonderful election news. A progressive Democrat has ousted an entrenched old school Democrat and that is reason to celebrate.
Newark, NJ has a new mayor and it is Cory Booker, who will succeed long-term mayor Sharpe James. Booker ran a tough campaign a few years ago which was chronicled in a great documentary titled Streetfight. Booker lost that election by a slim margin but kept the heat up so high that James dropped out of the running a few weeks ago when it became apparent he could not win. Booker easily defeated James’ protegee this time around. Click Here for more:
Cory Booker, a 37-year-old former Rhodes scholar, became Newark’s first new mayor in two decades by a landslide Tuesday, ushering in a new era for the struggling city.
With 89 percent of precincts reporting, Booker had 72 percent of the total, compared with 24 percent for his nearest challenger, state Sen. Ronald L. Rice. Booker’s victory marks a generational change of black leadership in a city trying to turn around decades of urban decay.
How wonderful this would be if it starts a trend, say in Connecticut where Republican in Democrat’s clothing Joe Lieberman is facing a challenge by upstart candidate Ned Lamont.
