While rules state that any Newark resident can be selected as interim mayor by a vote of the municipal council,convention calls for the president to ascend to the post. However,council president Donald Payne Jr. had resigned in November 2012 to take a seat in Congress. This left the position vacant and the council with eight instead of nine members.[15] Payne's resignation led to a power struggle for the vacant council seat in which opponents contested Booker's appointment and an eventual judicial ruling left it vacant until a November 2013 special election.[16][17][18][19][20] Quintana was the longest serving councilman and had allies on both sides of the political divide,which tends to fall along racial lines.[15]
Quintana was voted council president on September 19,2013,in a near-unanimous vote by seven colleagues,with one abstention by Quintana himself.[21] He became acting mayor on October 31,2013,and was sworn in on November 4,2013,assuming the unexpired term of Booker,[22] which ended on June 30,2014. He is the first Latino mayor of Newark,the total population of which is one-third Latino[23] and 13% Puerto Rican.[24]
Quintana's style is considered to be considerably different than Booker's,particularly the use of social media. Whereas Booker was known for his contacts outside the established political network,Quintana was expected to staff city hall from within local political establishment.[25][26] Since Newark received $32 million in emergency state aid in 2011 and 2012,a memorandum of understanding between Newark and the state requires the city to request and the state approve hiring of city hall staff,[27] which they initially did not do,[28] and later denied.[29]
Quintana's term ended on June 30, 2014.[23] He declined to run for mayor 2014 elections.[2] Quintana was seen as an ideal interim mayor because he was "someone who wasn't planning to run and is well-steeped in the minutiae of running Newark." None of the mayoral candidates sought the position since not only "would it be difficult to run the city for the first time while campaigning, it would be hard to demand change in a city while running it."[30] "I am not considering a run for mayor of Newark, and I've said that before,..My only mission is to be the gatekeeper, and to give the citizens of Newark a model for future mayors to come." said Quintana in December 2012.[31]
As quoted in the Newark-based newspaper, the Star-Ledger, Rutgers University professor Clement Price characterized the election as the "first mayoral race after the long drama associated with the ending of Mayor Sharpe James' last term and the national ascent of Cory Booker" and "wonders whether the local and national attention in this campaign will be anywhere proximate to the life and times of Cory Booker and Newark."[32] Booker's departure prompted an earlier than normal start to electoral campaigns.[33]
Municipal elections in Newark are nonpartisan[34] and are held the 2nd Tuesday in May[35] (May 13, 2014).[36] Booker's election, and eventual departure, as well as shifting demographics, have been instrumental in changing the political climate and political alliances in Newark.[37] The percentage of Latinos in Newark has grown considerably between 1980 and 2010, from 18.6% to 33.8%; that of blacks has slightly decreased from 58.2% to 52.4%. While municipal elections have seen black-Latino coalitions, voting tends to remain racially polarized.[38][39][40][41]
↑ Giambusso, David; and Queally, James. "Citizens rush council members as chaos erupts at Newark City Hall meeting", The Star-Ledger, November 20, 2012. Retrieved 2013-12-06. "After weeks of jockeying for Rep. Donald Payne's successor, Booker made an unprecedented personal appearance to cast the deciding vote with his council allies for Shanique Davis Speight, a longtime ally of power broker Stephen Adubato, over the angry objections of residents."
↑ Giambusso, David. "Judge rules Cory Booker did not have authority to vote for open Newark council seat", The Star-Ledger, December 11, 2012. Accessed December 12, 2012. "The court had to decide whether Mayor Cory Booker had the power to vote for Shanique Davis Speight, and give her the five votes needed to join the City Council. Carey reversed Booker's vote today, saying the mayor did not have the authority to vote on the issue.... Now the city's legislators are divided, 4-4, and the seat vacated by Donald Payne Jr., the former council president, will probably remain vacant until a special election can be held next year. "
↑ Giambusso, David (December 8, 2013). "Newark mayoral campaigns heat up on the streets". The Star-Ledger. Retrieved December 7, 2013. With former Mayor Cory Booker leaving office early to become a U.S. senator, political factions in Newark mobilized much earlier than they would have in a normal campaign.
↑ Giambusso, David (September 22, 2013). "With Newark council president vote, Ras Baraka could win Latino support". The Star-Ledger. Retrieved December 4, 2013. For Baraka's political opponents it blunts a potential weapon in the mayoral race, as Ramos seeks to become the first Hispanic mayor of Newark."Tonight, the Newark City Council made history with our majority vote of Luis Quintana as council president," Baraka said Wednesday. "Councilman Quintana is well qualified to lead our Council during the coming months of transition in Newark." The Ramos campaign said the move would do little for Baraka. "If this was Ras Baraka's desperate ploy to conceal his history of divisiveness in this city, then it won't work because Newark voters won't be fooled," said Ramos spokesman Bruno Tedeschi. "There is no question that Anibal Ramos is the only uniter in this race who will be a mayor for everyone in Newark."
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