Cory Booker (D-Newark) was sworn is Saturday as Newark?s new mayor. He promised sweeping changes aimed at taking back the city?s streets.

Booker pledged to perform all the duties of his office and to serve the city well. His inaugural address focused on the city?s glory days and a call to action to restore Newark. The mayor is calling for a greater focus on families, prosperity and safety. Booker has already appointed a new police chief and plans to unveil a plan to put more cops on the street. Still, the new mayor is asking for patience, admitting that mistakes are likely.

Booker, 37, has served on the Newark City Council and unsuccessfully tried to beat then-incumbent Mayor Sharpe James in 2002. The negative race was the focus of the documentary film ?Street Fight.? Although Booker lost in 2002, he gained 70 percent of the vote in 2006. Booker is also a Rhodes Scholar who graduated from Yale Law School and was a star football player at Stanford.

Related Information