Newark, N.J., Mayor Cory Booker said he won’t be a wallflower if elected senator. Rather, he vows, he will use his New Jersey fame as a catapult for passing legislation that’s favorable to state residents and true to his progressive-minded ideology, the Asbury Park (N.J.) Press reported.
“I would do voting plus,” he said in a Monday conference call with members of the media. “Anybody knows who looks at New Jersey and the nation that I’ve been a much more effective voice for progressive causes than they have, just because I find ways to break through the noise of the country and more effectively advocate and get things done.”
Mr. Booker said that he knows “how to be a bit of a disruptive force in Washington” and that a leading member of the Senate already has expressed the view that he’s badly needed on Capitol Hill, calling him “different,” the Press reported.
“Give me a statewide platform,” he said. “I will not only continue this stuff at a magnified level all across our state, but in Washington on day one, as the leadership’s already told me, I’ll be able to have an impact that a freshman senator usually won’t have. The ability to rack up favors with people now that are asking me to campaign in tough states from Kentucky to Louisiana, but also experience in working across the aisle on issues.”
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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