1.  I continue to be a Bill Bradley fan –  he was one of my earliest mentors in the political world and  continues to be there for me.  Right now he is helping us with an economic development problem (or opportunity depending on how you look at it).  Go Dollar Bill!

2. If I could make a crazy wish come true,  it would be to be able to be in more than one place at a time.  There  simply are not enough hours in the day so I often find myself doing “fly bys” (as affectionately named by my staff) instead of being able to stay at an event.  This can be frustrating — this past Sunday is a great example.  It was such a busy day and I had host of events, the biggest of which was the Puerto Rican parade, but it was also Pastor Blash’s 9th anniversary at St. Paul’s Sounds of Praise on 18th Avenue.  Anyone who knows that area knows that Pastor Blash has been an incredible force for change in that neighborhood.  So, on Sunday morning, I had the parade, a meeting with Governor Corzine and others and a personal commitment.  This meant that while I wanted to, and needed to (need that prayer), stay at St. Paul’s, I flew in at the beginning of service, was graciously put up on the microphone and talked about the power and difference that a man can make.  I embraced the understanding Pastor Blash, gave him a modest contribution and rushed off to meet the Governor and a number of other leaders in the Democratic Party at Tops Dinner.

3. My friends don’t answer my calls around the holidays.  I call everyone I can think of to raise money for warm clothes and toys for kids and to help some great non-profits in Newark.  Folks are usually very generous after I chase them down (although one friend threatened to seek a temporary restraining order).  The current financial crisis will affect us all in many ways –- tax revenues will be way down, middle and working class folks will be shaken as their investments suffer, the foreclosure crisis will continue and worsen,there will be less money in the economy to loan to businesses thus constricting our economy and undermining growth,  and so on and so on. I also know some of my usual targets for end of the year help will have less to share.  Non-profits who rely on end of the year generosity will indeed face a colder winter. 

4. In the time of crisis, one should cling more tightly to his fundamental values not abandon them.  In the face of terrorist attacks, you don’t surrender your civil liberties or those things that make us American.  In a financial crisis, you don’t just turn over billions of dollars in taxpayer money with little or no oversight –- lax oversight and abusive judgment helped fuel the problem to begin with.

5. I am really looking forward to Friday night’s Presidential debate.  I have enjoyed the debates I’ve had in my political career — I have  had three elections and  three true debates (on Cablevision) in the style/format we will see on Friday.   On other occasions when I have met with candidates in a “debate”,  they  have not been the most productive forums — I believe that some were even insulting to people who came to honestly hear from the candidates.  At the Cablevision debates, the parties play by the rules, they are orderly, auditoriums aren’t packed with earnestly vocal supporters and I think they are ultimately very informative.  The few times I have met with my past opponents outside of the Cablevision debates – George Branch, Sharpe James and Ron Rice Sr. - the debates were mostly disappointing (with some exceptions).  As much as I complained about Sharpe James seeming refusal to have face to face debates, I understood some wisdom he may have had after our meeting at 1060 Broad Street — it was captured by Street Fight and literally became a street fight.   I think community groups that want to host meetings with candidates should invite them at different times/days and have an orderly, intimate exchange with a candidate where people can really discuss the issues and get into the details – and they should not tolerate behavior that doesn’t reflect the standards of their community.  This is why, during the 2006 campaign, we set up dozens and dozens of coffee klatches for people to be able to really get into details with me and my team about our plans for Newark.  These were Newarkers who loved their City and just wanted to hear from us and others about what we would do if elected.  When forums aren’t like this, it becomes what I witnessed with both Sharpe James and Ron Rice at the Vailsburg forums — lots of shouting and yelling and residents not getting an opportunity to hear substantive detailed visions for our City (leaders from Vailsburg sent me a kind letter of regret after the 2002 debate).    You don’t govern by sound bites and I’m proud of our Municipal Council, legislature in Trenton, County Executive Joe Divincenzo and other leaders who now serve Newark – they are people of great substance and ideas.  Our elections should be about the public getting a chance to vet, review performance and listen to the future plans of their incumbents and substantively listen to and evaluate the vision, ideas and plans of challengers.  Debates shouldn’t be spectacles more reminiscent of boxing matches (who is one upping or putting down who,  with supporters cheering and booing and drowning out the ability for those on the fence to even hear) – such behavior turns more people off from politics than encouraging them to be a part of the process.  I have witnessed people walk out of past “debates” and I usually feel that an hour or two going door to door and having conversations with residents would have been much more valuable. 

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