Newark Mayor Ras Baraka has recently been called a reasonable radical and a practical progressive. Still, for the Black community in general, and specifically in Newark, N.J., Baraka has always been ours. The son of the iconic poet and activist Amiri Baraka, he was educated in Newark before venturing to Howard University. He has served as Mayor of New Jersey’s biggest city for over a decade and now has his eyes set on the biggest office in the state: Governor. Mayor Baraka spoke exclusively with rolling out about why the time to run for governor is now, appealing to the state’s Democratic base, and combating the discriminatory practices of the presidential administration.
“Now is the opportunity, particularly in the climate that we’re in; what’s happening nationally makes it clear to me that (running for governor) is what needs to happen,” he said.
Baraka said voters need a candidate who will stand on Democratic values and push back against the climate in the country that is attacking everything that we hold near and dear in this country, from DEI to Medicaid and social security.
Baraka touts record as mayor
Baraka shared why New Jerseyans should vote for him.
“We have been electing candidates who have not been able to protect working-class families, who don’t see us…we need a governor who sees the majority of the people of the state, which includes Black, brown women, South Asians, and working-class families throughout the state, and I don’t think policy has been going in that direction, and so we are here to make sure we build a broad-based coalition across the state to establish real democracy in New Jersey.”
He then stated his accomplishments.
“I pulled our city out a $93 million deficit, brought it up twice on Moody’s in rating, have invested $200 million and more in the last four years in Black, brown, women businesses, reduced violent crime in the city by 61 percent, changed the lead service lines in this town at no cost to the taxpayer, 23,000 of those lead service lines brought hundreds of businesses to the city. A third of the affordable housing that’s being built in the state is being built in Newark.”
Baraka aims to bring Newark’s success to the entire state.
“If we are wrestling with these problems in Newark, we certainly can deal with the problems in the state, and lastly, I don’t think anybody can inspire our base, can give our base the hope and the excitement to come out and vote, but this candidacy, I think our campaign is exciting, I think it’s new. I think it’s fresh and imaginative, and people need that right now…we need to find the people that have already registered as democrats and get them to the polls, and we need to excite them to do that, and I think our campaign is the right candidacy to do that.”
