Cory Booker

Politics is not necessarily my area of expertise, but I can say I am informed with political issues that are circling out lives. Many names and faces are very familiar, although I do admit I do not know enough about politics to preach as to whether or not I think an individual deserves to win and/or lose an election. Being a Newark student, I am familiar with the same Cory Booker, and what I do know about Cory Booker is that he has shaped and changed the culture of Newark in his way to become the Senator of New Jersey.

Cory Booker was the mayor of Newark, up until elected Senator this year. Booker took pride in his job, and greatly wanted to change the culture and outlook of Newark and make it a city that was not thought of as a city of high crime and drugs. His goal was to rapidly reduce the crime rate, but not by locking up individuals. Since I am a Criminal Justice major, I am informed about a variety of different theories and policies. Cory Booker chose the "Broken Windows" Theory to help reduce crime. This theory suggests that improving the look and development of the city would greatly reduce crime. The logic is simple. An abandoned building in shambles will draw attention to high crime, whether it be drugs, or a place to commit other crimes. By making this building cleared for use, or even by fixing it up and making the building appear nice and well groomed, this would help keep crime diverted away from the building, which will help with lowering crime rates and drug usage. By enhancing development projects and beautifying the city of Newark, he believes people won't have the outlook that the city is a nasty, beat up run down place. With thoughts like this, people will commit crimes because they live in the slums, and if it still looks like a slum, they will blend in with their environment and act the same. Booker believed that this theory would be highly effective.

And it was. During his time as Newark, the crime rate dropped (sorry, I could not find statistics), and the drop was so significant that he received national credibility. He used these credentials and statistics to help his candidacy while he ran for Senator, and these overwhelming stats helped him become the first African American Senator in New Jersey. As a part of the Newark family, I think Booker is a great politician who did great things for this city. Hopefully, he continues to improve in his position as Senator and does great things for the state of New Jersey.