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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (June 15, 2005)
FOCUS lune 15. 2005 in page C3 Il,r^¡Jortlartì» ODbaeruer ‘Street Fight’ Delivers Political Heat Award winning documentary on PBS with corporate, downtown-centered development, including a new Per forming Arts Center and minor- league baseball stadium. But Booker questions the value o f the mayor’s policies to the city ’ s poorer neighborhoods and resi dents. He cites Newark’s sky-high murder rate, a poverty - level over 30 percent, and an astounding h ig h school dropout rate of 60 percent. Booker Councilman Cory Booker cam paigns for m ayor against incum bent Sharpe Jam es. ing to N ew ark, setting up house ity stunts. He turns B ooker’s have benefited from the mayor’s su g g e sts th a t i t ’s time for a new gen in the Brick T ow ers high-rise “golden boy” image to his own patronage. projects, and starting a nonprofit favor, contrasting with great effect The race turns uglier and more e ra tio n to bring to fight slum lords. He also got his own background as a native son cut-throatovertim e.exam iningthe Newark ’ s downtown him self elected to the city council whopulledhimselfupfromthecity’s ugly underbelly ot politics, “renaissance” to all when no one gave him m uch meanest streets. He has achieve- “In the James-Booker mayoral the city’s residents. chance He undertook unortho- ments to point to and support from race, we saw a story very different A son o f civil- dox actions, such as living in an state Democrats. More to the point, from the one found in other recent rights activists who RV parked at notorious drug cor- the mayor has solid support among campaign film s,’Curry said. This integrated a w hite ners to drive away the dealers. poor blacks and Latinos - the very wasn’t a story of mass-media poli- n e ig h b o rh o o d in Sharpe James, Newark’s mayor constituency Booker claims to be tics; it w asn't about spin doctors northern New Jersey, for 16 years, promptly labels Booker standing up fo r-w h o identify with and photo ops, but a story about Booker is a poster VlayorSharpeJam es sh a k e s hands with voters. chikl for m ove. a carpetbagger engaged in public- Jam es’ rags-to-riches story or who politics in the city streets.’ There’s a saying that democ racy is a contact sport. The award-winning documen tary “Street Fight" gives you a ring side seat. This insider’s chronicle of the 2002 race for mayor in New ark, N J. is riveting, delivering a dramatic account of youthful en ergy and •........’ ideals running ....... C- - headlong into old-guard machine politics and acial demagoguery. These oppos- ment. Excelling in high school where he was an all-American football player, he went on to Stanford, to Oxford where he was a Rhodes Scholar, and then graduated from Yale Law School. Upon graduat ing, B ookerdidn’t seek high-paid law work, but instead em braced his p arents’ activist ideals, mov- ing forces are, of course, nothing new in American elections. But, in Newark in 2002, a black mayor was using these tactics against a black challenger. Director Marshall Curry’s film, winner of the 2005 Audience Award at the Tribeca Film Festival and at Hot Docs, has its na tional broadcast pre NEW • USED • Fully Guaranteed miere T uesday, July 5 at Taxes, Mounting & Balancing Included 10 p.m., as part of the 18th season of public television’s P.O.V. se ries. At first, the 32-year old Booker, a recently elected councilman for the city’s poor Central Ward, mounts a rather respectful challenge to the incumbent. Booker re c o g n iz e s th a t the mayor, representing a A sk a b o u t o ur s to c k rim w ith p u rch as ed . first generation of black Limited to stock on hard. politicians whocame up Now Dealing In New Rims! We will try to meet the hard way, is person or beat any price on tires & wheel packages. ally popular and has Call for pricing on other sizes and brands. raised Newark’s stature Thera-Party’s Spa-Day Take pleasure in a day of pampering with massage therapy, luncheon, foot soaks, facial steams and more. DOUBLE J TIRE CENTER Used tires $ 15 A up Relaxation without Frustration • • • • Saturday, June 18,2005 11 am - 4 pm Country Inn & Suites Located near PDX airport. 7025 NE Alderwood Rd. Make Your Reservation Before June l l For ticket information contact (Bold) Thera-Party @ (503 522-0507 or send check or money order to: P.O. Box 4968 Portland, OR 97208-4968 Attention June IS“1 Spa-Day. Enjoy Thera-Party's natural Spa products Brown Sugar Scrub Hand & Foot Cream Milk Bath Complex Bar Terry’s Bath Bar Goccia Oils Drops Relaxation Tea
