Here is Martinez's article in today's WSJ, tweaking Cory Booker for not fighting hard enough to improve Newark's catastrophically bad public schools (with a quote from DFER's Joe Williams):

Mayor Cory Booker travels the country talking about education reform and his wish to transform this city's few high-performing schools from "islands of excellence into hemispheres of hope."

Some of his biggest fans wish he'd spend more time at home trying to fix Newark schools.

Mr. Booker, 41, is up for re-election Tuesday, and right after his widely expected win, "some of us are prepared to call the mayor to task and call on him to become more vocal and more hands on" in the public schools, said Rev. Reginald Jackson, executive director of the Black Ministers Council, which represents about 600 churches in New Jersey. "He ought to become the visionary that he talks about," added Rev. Jackson.

"Mayor Booker clearly hasn't made education reform a top priority in his first term," said Joe Williams, executive director of Democrats for Education Reform, an advocacy group. "But we're confident that it will be a cornerstone of his next."

Cory is a great friend and has been a great mayor overall – clearly getting crime under control and dealing with jobs/the economy had to be the top priorities in Cory's first term – but fixing Newark's MUST be among the top priorities in his second term if Newark is to have any long-term future…

Speaking of Newark's crime rate, the drop has been incredible – there's a new City Journal article about it here (www.city-journal.org/2010/eon0506cs.html), which begins:

In March, Newark, New Jersey—not so long ago dubbed "America's Most Dangerous City"—celebrated its first homicide-free month in 44 years. Overall, since 2006, Newark has seen its number of shootings cut in half and its murder rate drop by a third. Only Los Angeles boasts more impressive numbers over the same period. The city's crime turnaround is a testament to Newark mayor Cory Booker and his handpicked police director, Garry McCarthy, and it shows that NYPD-style proactive policing can succeed in even the nation's most troubled cities.

----------------------------------------------------

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703322204575226462875609750.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_MIDDLENexttoWhatsNewsTop

· MAY 7, 2010, 11:40 P.M. ET