Ex-Newark Mayor Sharpe James now part of group looking to reform city's politics
Published: Sunday, November 14, 2010, 9:10 PM Updated: Monday, November 15, 2010, 5:16 AM
Enlarge Left, Luis A. Quintana along with former Mayor Sharpe James, center, and Herb Calloway Jr attended the Reconnect Newark meeting Wednesday night. (William Perlman/The Star-Ledger) Ex-Newark Mayor Sharpe James hoping to change city again gallery (6 photos) 
NEWARK — Sharpe James, lately of federal prison, moved from one end of the room to the other like a king returned home from battle, shaking an endless stream of hands and taking kisses on the cheek, two at a time.
The boisterous alto of a former councilwoman sounded above the din of clinking glasses and forks scraping against plates.
A former council president, behind tinted glasses, left off one conversation and was whisked into another, already waiting.
Newark’s old political guard threw itself a rally last week. Close your eyes and it was a decade ago.
But two doors down, the slick posters papering Mayor Cory Booker’s campaign headquarters reminded the 200 or so Newarkers packed into the chic Key Club that the glory days are gone. Now James is a convicted felon. The towering Donald Bradley has gone into retirement and Gayle Chaneyfield Jenkins has long since been ousted. Now the old guard is on the outside looking in, but not for long, they say.
"Whether you are African-American, Latino, Caucasian, male, female, old, young, you are being currently hurt by the public policies of our government," said former councilwoman Chaneyfield Jenkins, one of the principal organizers of Reconnect Newark — a community group that aims to hold city government more accountable and provide a check to the policies of the Booker administration.
Chaneyfield Jenkins said the group has been quietly meeting for months, but has gained momentum lately as 866 city workers face termination, thousands of residents pay out a 16 percent property tax hike, and the city weathers a persistent 15 percent unemployment rate.
Likening Reconnect Newark to the tea party, Chaneyfield Jenkins said the divide between the governed and those who govern has widened in Newark under Booker.
"We’re saying the electorate has not allowed its leaders to be held accountable," she said "We’re saying the citizens have a responsibility."
James did not make a speech. He didn’t have to. After returning from federal prison in April, James’ presence in Newark has galvanized the anti-Booker forces. Despite being convicted for fraud — he failed to disclose his relationship with a woman before selling her city property — James is a hero to many who long for the old days in Newark.
Speakers last week repeatedly gave shout-outs to the fiery former mayor and echoed the same complaints leveled at Booker for years: He has sold the city to rich friends in New York. He is an absentee mayor. He lied about the budget crisis.
But the criticisms are amplified of late as the city struggles with an historic budget crisis.
And while no official action was taken at the party, the word "recall" crossed the lips of many at the Key Club.
"I don’t want to talk about reconnecting. I want to talk about recalling," said Rahaman Muhammad, a local union leader, in a fiery speech that drew loud applause.
A recall effort could not begin until next year, according to city officials, and would be extremely difficult, requiring well more than 30,000 signatures for Booker, who was elected with 59 percent of the vote.
"The pain and uncertainty brought by this economy is very real for too many of our residents, and is shared by people across America," Booker said in a statement. "This is not a time for selfish political actors to seek to exploit people’s hardship for political gain, but rather a time for all of us to work together."
Booker officials say the 41-year-old mayor still enjoys the approval of a majority of Newarkers, but the last election saw him lose two council allies.
Darrin Sharif was one of the insurgents to unseat a Booker candidate — winning the Central Ward race in a runoff against Charlie Bell — and was one of the speakers at last week’s rally.
"I got to the city council in an interesting way," Sharif said. "All the political machines were against me."
Sharpe James gets a hug from Chanelle Cannon and Martha Rivera as they attended the Reconnect Newark meeting Wednesday.Sharif applauded the civic engagement of residents, but cautioned against vilifying any one politician.
"It’s a transition of power, information and resources from (city hall) to the people, where it belongs," he said. "The mistake is to focus on the individual. We have to focus on the institution."
Reconnect leaders say they plan to do just that. The group’s next action will be to flood the city council chamber at the council’s next meeting set for Nov. 22. Former Councilwoman Bessie Walker encouraged the group to carry the fire created in the room Wednesday night through to the next council meeting.
"You need to go out, get your family members, your neighbors, your brothers, your sisters, and stand up," she said.
Council meetings have grown increasingly rowdy lately, prompting a request by members to have extra police on hand during the public comments portion of the meeting.
Under Sharpe James’ regime there was no public comments portion. It was an idealistic young councilman who in 1998 crusaded for residents’ right to speak.
‘"Free speech is one of the most important values our Constitution puts forth," Cory Booker told his fellow council members. "I appeal to your sense of fairness. Let the gates of freedom ring open."
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