Newark's municipal elections are on Tuesday, May 13th, and as someone who has gone back and forth on my opinion of the race, I have come to the conclusion that Shavar Jeffries is the mayoral candidate best suited to the lead the city for the next four years.
For those unfamiliar with the race, here is some background. Now-Senator Cory Booker was Mayor from 2006 - 2013. He was preceded by the corrupt Sharpe James, who held the top job from the 80's until 2006, and the less corrupt Ken Gibson, from the late 60's until the 80's. This is the first time in a very long time that the race is wide open.
In the beginning of the year, there were four candidates vying for the seat. North Ward Councilman Anibal Ramos was considered the frontrunner, and was backed by the Essex County Democratic Party as well as longtime North Ward leader Steve Adubato, Sr, a statewide powerhouse who has recently stepped into the role of elder. South Ward Councilman Ras Baraka, who served as James' Deputy Mayor in his last term, was and remains the choice of Newark's old, black establishment. The high school principal is backed by all of Newark's black political families (including his own), and reportedly has the best grassroots operation. Former School Board President Shavar Jeffries has been cast in the outsider role, despite growing up in the city. He is a former Assistant Attorney General who lacked major support at the beginning of the election. Also running was Central Ward Councilman Darrin Sharif, who was not in the race long enough to make much of an impact.
Sharif and Ramos dropped out on the same day in February. Ramos found his momentum stalled and support collapsing, as the Essex County Democrats (as well as some powerful forces in the state party) began to switch their allegiance to Jeffries. Ramos endorsed Jeffries and is running for reelection to his North Ward Council seat on Jeffries' slate. Sharif has not endorsed, and will face challengers from both slates as he seeks a second Council term, though he is considered the frontrunner.
Baraka and Jeffries have been dueling it out for the past three months, and the battle lines have been solidly drawn. The Democratic establishment is firmly behind Jeffries, while the Newark establishment is firmly behind Baraka. The only notable exception is Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop, who has not only backed Baraka, but provided him with ground support. This surprised a lot of NJ political watchers, as the Jeffries campaign was very reminiscent of Fulop's victory in Jersey City last year (the main difference being that Baraka only gives of hints of Newark's old school corruption, while Fulop's opponent in Jersey City embodied it).
Progressive groups have rallied behind Baraka, accusing Jeffries of being a Wall Street puppet who flew into Newark to make a profit for his wealthy friends. Meanwhile, Baraka has been characterized as a radical black nationalist who would scare away the businesses Booker attracted to the city and return Newark to the bad-old-days under James and Gibson. Both caricatures are almost laughable, but the former has been eaten up by progressives, while the latter has fueled hostility towards Baraka from the city's Latino and business communities.
The truth is that Baraka is no radical. He is just as establishment as Jeffries, if only at a lower level. Baraka would have no problem working with business leaders to continue the development of the city's economy, and his speeches on race and culture are meant to be taken as inspirational poetry rather than proposals of government policy.
The truth about Jeffries is that he is no tool. Yes, he is backed by powerful people who any NJ progressive has learned to detest. The fact is, these people were going to back anyone they thought had the best chance of beating Baraka and the old establishment. This is why they switched their allegiance from Ramos to Jeffries; Jeffries became the viable alternative. While I think the aversion people seem to have to Cory Booker is misplaced, I do understand the comparison between Jeffries and Booker. If you like Booker, Jeffries is your guy (and this is a city where Booker remains immensely popular, clocking it at 70% approval in the last poll of his mayoralty). But even if you don't, Jeffries is not going to be nationwide celebrity that Booker became. He is going to concern himself with reforming this broken city and continuing its economic development. The biggest argument against Jeffries really tends to boil down to him being a big fake. I don't understand why people think they can tell this from afar, and I'm certainly not going to buy into it.
The focal point of the campaign has been education, and this is the only major area where the two candidates have significant differences. Baraka, an educator by training, vehemently opposes the addition of new charter schools and the state takeover of Newark Public Schools in general. Jeffries is more neutral on the issue of charter schools, and also opposes the state takeover. Both candidates would work to regain local control, which will be nearly impossible as long as Governor Christie is in office. I would imagine each would have a similar chance of getting this done under a Democratic administration.
Back to charter schools, this is the one area where I disagree with Jeffries, who himself co-founded a charter school. Despite his support for charters in many instances, I do not believe Jeffries will be a candidate who will tear down the public school system. How do I know this? Because the Mayor of Newark does not have that power. Again, Newark Public Schools is controlled by the state government. They call the shots when it comes to schools in the city. The Mayor, of course, has an influence as the chief executive of the city, but Jeffries has repeatedly claimed that he will not be advocating to shut down schools. I'm inclined to believe him.
Given all of the above, my support for a candidate comes down to one factor: New Jersey's political system is in desperate need of new blood, and that is what Jeffries represents. Baraka represents the old way; Jeffries the new.