Posted on Fri, Oct. 30, 2009
Camden residents will pick a new mayor Tuesday, but the most powerful person in the city won't change: the overseer sent from Trenton under a 2002 state takeover law.
State control, which is set to expire in 2012, has been one of the signature issues of the race.
Dana Redd, a state senator and city councilwoman, said she expects the state Legislature to soon restore power to the mayor's office and transition control away from a chief operating officer.
"The mayor has to be a decision-making position if I'm going to facilitate all the programs that I talked about during this campaign," she said.
Angel Cordero said he has been an opponent of the takeover since its inception.
"This has been a debacle for the residents of Camden," he said. "The takeover must end now."
Mujiba Salaam Parker, who worked for the state agency that distributed $175 million to Camden as part of the takeover, said she "wouldn't mind the state being in control as it is until 2012."
The state's investment in the city has earned it a right to oversee Camden, she said, but she added that she felt the state would trust her, negating the need for an extension of the takeover.
Roberto Feliz said he would request immediate removal of state control upon taking office, citing growing city budget deficits since 2002.
"If state oversight has improved the city, then I would welcome it," he said. "But the evidence shows otherwise."
The four are running for the seat being vacated by retiring Mayor Gwendolyn Faison. While interim state-appointed chief operating officer Albertha Hyche controls most of the city's operations, the mayor has an official advisory role and earns more than $100,000 annually.
At a candidate forum this week, Feliz acknowledged that the mayoral race has been largely "bloodless." But there has been a clash over political affiliations.
Redd won the Democratic nomination in June with 86 percent of the vote. The three independent candidates - Cordero, Feliz, and Parker - have railed against a Camden County Democratic "machine" that they believe holds power over city politics, and have touted their relative lack of political affiliations.
"The machine has been running the government for the past three decades, and it's time for a change," Parker said.
Cordero said Democratic Party leaders "control everything and feed us little crumbs." During Tuesday's forum, he reached over and fist-bumped Feliz and Parker.
Feliz was more pointed, describing Redd's desire to give up a state Senate seat for a mayoral position without power as an attempt by the party to "use people as puppets."
Redd, vice chair of the Democratic State Committee, stood by her Democratic allegiance during the "machine" attacks, highlighting the relationships she has built with state and county officials.
"I certainly believe in working in the political realm," she said.
Each candidate says he or she is uniquely qualified to lead the city. Here are their stories:
Angel Cordero
Angel Cordero's road to his mayoral candidacy started in a prison cell.
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