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Newark Residents Rip Booker: 'He's Not Concerned With Our Struggle'

'He's not going to help us'

Cory Booker
Cory Booker / Getty Images
January 7, 2019

Residents of Newark, N.J., had unkind words to say about Cory Booker, their former mayor, and his White House ambitions.

Potential voters said Booker, who is expected to announce a 2020 bid for the presidency soon, is "not there" for the little guy and is not qualified to be president.

"He's not concerned with our struggle," Fuquhn White, a Newark resident, told NJ.com.

"He did a lot to gain popularity on a national level," White said, but "for himself and not the city," the website reported.

As mayor and a local councilman Booker "was visible in the city" and "could be seen jogging through the neighborhood," although some residents were not impressed with his governing record.

"Is he there for the little person?" asked 99-year-old Elsie Figueiredo. "No."

"I think he'll make a good president, but he's not going to help us," she added.

Others said the junior senator of New Jersey is not qualified to be president.

As mayor and a Central Ward councilman, Booker was visible in the city. He’d make unannounced visits to police precincts and rode around with his security detail during early morning hours.

Dekieta Nuhic told NJ.com Booker "could have done more at Garden Spires and other areas in the city."

Nuhic said Booker is a "great person," but "anything beyond that I don't think it would work."

"There are a lot of elected officials that I like, but that doesn't mean they deserve that position," she said.

Bill Werner questioned Booker's record on education and "what happened to the Facebook money that Newark received to help the city's schools." (Business Insider lays out that catastrophe.)

"I don't think he's qualified for president right now," Werner said. "Maybe later on if he could do a little more."