New Jersey Politician To Cory Booker: "Don't Expect Your Celebrity To Land You The U.S. Senate Nomination"

Newark Mayor Cory Booker & New Jersey Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver

As regular Booker Rising readers know, Newark Mayor Cory Booker is planning to run for the U.S. Senate in 2014. However, liberal New Jersey Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver may be challenging the moderate-liberal mayor in the Democratic primary: "Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver has a few choice words for Newark Mayor Cory Booker: don’t expect your celebrity to land you the U.S. Senate nomination, PolitickerNJ reports. Oliver who last week said she would not rule out a possible run for the seat held by long time senator Frank Lautenberg, made the remarks last night in Washington at a inaugural ball, while standing just feet away from Booker."

The article continues: "Oliver told PolitickerNJ, that the lack of women in the Congressional delegation is of prime concern to her and she doesn't feel Booker’s celebrity should guarantee him the Senate position. 'I don’t feel that an assumption should be made that because Cory has national celebrity that national celebrity translates into who should be our next U.S. Senator.'"

More: "Booker filed papers with the Federal Election Commission to form a campaign committee earlier this month. Oliver said she is less concerned with Booker's popularity and more concerned with his stance on hot button issues like gun control and education. 'I want to know what his platform is,' Oliver said. 'What is your position on gun control, what is your position on public education? I don’t care that you’re in Vogue magazine or Esquire. That’s not important to me as a citizen of this state. What’s important to me is what will your positions be on Capitol Hill?'"