The Latest

Mayor Booker toured the development site of the future U.S. Headquarters for Panasonic in Newark on Monday. Newark will help open Panasonic's new building downtown this summer with views of historic Military Park, the New Jersey Performing Arts Center and the Passaic River.

Mayor Booker participated in his second Reddit Ask Me Anything (AMA) Sunday evening, answering questions on Newark's current economic status, the role of social media in government and his future political goals. Reddit's AMA's are an online forum designed to connect high profile individuals with large numbers of the general public.

Mayor Booker spoke about a new "declaration of interdependence" at this year's South by Southwest conference in Austin, Texas last week. Named the "Speaker of the Event", Mayor Booker emphasized the need to find better tools to connect our leaders to their constituents at a time when voters feel distanced from their government.

Mayor Booker attended the opening of a Key Food in Newark's South Ward yesterday, as he continues to work towards increasing access to grocery stores in the city. The new Key Food is the second supermarket to open in Newark in over 20 years. Read more about the opening on newarknj.patch.com

This morning, I will begin living on a food budget of $30 a week / $4.32 per day.  This is the financial equivalent of the budget provided to people participating in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as food stamps, in the State of New Jersey.

Heading into the holiday season, Mayor Booker believes it is important to keep the neediest among us in mind. In order to highlight the issue of hunger in our communities he will be participating in the #SNAPChallenge, sustaining himself on the financial equivalent of food stamps for one week. http://bit.ly/UIgpTH

During Superstorm Sandy, Mayor Booker was compelled to open his home to Newark residents who had been negatively impacted by the storm. In addition to sharing his home, the Mayor has personally delivered supplies and food to affected residents. Read the full story on Politicker NJ.

Since Hurricane Sandy hit and brought power outages to over 60,000 Newarkers, Mayor Booker has provided critical information about safety and recovery efforts to affected residents - via his Twitter account.

Donate now to provide immediate relief to the struggling residents of Newark coping with the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.

Originally posted on NJ.com on Saturday, October 27, 2012

We have a teacher compensation problem in America.

Teachers pour their hearts, souls and even their personal resources into their demanding jobs. According to the U.S. Department of Education, for example, in the 2007-08 school year, 92 percent of teachers paid out-of-pocket for classroom supplies or on the unmet needs of their students. And in low-income areas, teachers are called upon even more frequently to provide extra support, financial and nonfinancial, for the children they teach.