That's what the Newark Star-Ledger is alleging about the moderate-liberal Democrat, as his travel schedule and rising national profile increasingly pulls him away from Newark: "In the past 18 months, Booker was out of town on 21.7 percent of the days, according to the records reviewed. His staff argues that on many of those days, Booker didn’t spend the entire 24-hour day out of town."
Critics charge that there's a power vacuum in Newark: "'A lot of things aren’t done in a timely fashion because people are waiting for an OK from the mayor,' said Rahaman Muhammad, a vocal critic of the mayor and president of the SEIU Local 617, which represents about 600 city workers. Muhammad said he is routinely frustrated by the lack of direction at City Hall. 'There are decisions made by supervisors. There are decisions that are made by acting directors,' Muhammad said. 'They get to run the city in the absence of the mayor.'"
The Mayor's office's response to critics? "The administration dismissed those criticisms as disingenuous. 'Even when Mayor Booker is not physically in Newark, he is still on the job; the vast majority of time spent outside of Newark is used to bring new resources, opportunities, jobs, ideas and innovation back to Newark,' said city spokeswoman Esmeralda Diaz Cameron. 'That work and outreach has resulted in literally millions of dollars in philanthropic help that has allowed Newark to make enormous progress at no cost to taxpayers — even in this difficult economic environment.'"
Cory Booker: Absentee Mayor?
