Some people go out with a bang. Glenn Cunningham came in with one.
As he placed his hand on The Bible to become the first African-American mayor of Jersey City, a clap of thunder followed. Cunningham immediately turned to the crowd of supporters sitting in the Central New Jersey Railroad Terminal at Liberty State Park and said, “That’s God saying thank you.”
As a patter of raindrops hit the roof of the defunct terminal, Cunningham could not help but take credit for making a smart decision early in his term. “It was my idea to have the inauguration indoors,” he said.
Cunningham, who campaigned for crime prevention programs, a re-evaluation of tax abatements and better public schools, reiterated many of those themes during his inaugural address. He recalled the initial reason he ran for mayor, describing an evening when he took a drive around Jersey City with his wife, Sandra, at 1 a.m. Seeing drug dealers on the corners of many streets, he realized what he would change if elected.
“I was elected because the people of Jersey City want change,” he said. “They share my vision of a safer city.” In his address, Cunningham cited several plans for achieving this, including the creation of a drug education and prevention program targeted at the city’s youth. In addition, he vowed to seek help from federal agencies.
“I will convince the Department of Alcohol, Firearms and Tobacco, and the Drug Enforcement Agency to open up an office in Jersey City,” Cunningham pledged.
Based on his previous experience as a Jersey City police officer and U.S. marshal, Cunningham believes that reducing crime goes beyond making arrests. “The war on drugs can not be won by locking up the bad guys,” he said, “but I do want to tell those bad guys there’s a new marshal in town.”
Cunningham also focused on the need for development to benefit the entire city. “We must make development on the waterfront work for all people in Jersey City,” he said. Reading statistics that boasted waterfront development had brought 30,000 new jobs to the city, Cunningham questioned the authenticity of such a statement. “How many of these jobs actually went to residents of Jersey City?” he asked.
On abatements
Cunningham also repeated his campaign promise to scrutinize each tax abatement before giving it out. Tax abatements are incentives for developers. They are set amounts that the developer can pay in lieu of taxes, rather than being subject to fluctuating and potentially unpredictable tax rates.
During the campaign, Cunningham criticized the decision to give the financial firm Goldman Sachs a tax abatement. “As mayor of Jersey City,” he promised, “I will be pro-development. But for people, not just buildings.” Suggesting that money from waterfront development could be distributed to other parts of the city, Cunningham said he will insure that there is affordable housing for lower-income families.
Aside from the support of his new constituents, a slew of politicians also attended the ceremony and turned the stage into a “who’s who” of New Jersey politics.
Guest speakers included Reps. Robert Menendez and Donald Payne; Senators Robert Torricelli and Jon Corzine; Hudson County Executive Robert Janiszewski; former Jersey City mayor and Republican gubernatorial candidate Bret Schundler; and Democratic gubernatorial candidate James McGreevey.
Each guest commended Cunningham’s character and recognized the historical importance of his victory.
“A new day dawns on Jersey City, and that day is today,” Menendez said. “We tested Jersey City and America, and today we celebrate those results. Today is historic, and that history was written by the voters of Jersey City. The next chapter of this history will be written by Glenn Cunningham and his administration.”
Menendez acknowledged playing down the fact that Cunningham is African American, saying, “I saw in Glenn Cunningham not the color of his skin, but the content of his character.”
U-n-i-t-y
Although the event’s historic importance emanated from Cunningham’s ability to break through the racial barrier, each speaker addressed the importance of unity that made the victory possible. “You can play a tune on the black keys of the piano, and you can play a tune on the white keys of the piano,” said Rev. Dr. George Maize III. “But in order to play in harmony you must play the black keys and the white keys together.”
Even though the day celebrated the end of an election, campaigning continued with both gubernatorial candidates on the scene. McGreevey approached the predominantly Democratic crowd to cheers and a standing ovation.
“As governor, I want to make Jersey City public schools work,” he said. “My commitment is to work with this mayor and this administration to ensure the best days ahead.”
Schundler, who was greeted with boos and hisses, used his stage time to thank Jersey City for electing him for two terms.
“All of America doesn’t look like this,” Schundler said, noting the ethnic diversity of Jersey City. “This is one of the only places where all people come together. It is Jersey City. It is a small slice of heaven.”
Schundler had created the “Slice of Heaven” summer festivals in Jersey City to celebrate ethnic diversity. A similar multicultural party followed the inauguration ceremony in Liberty State Park.
Cunningham thanked Schundler for his service and even praised the work he did. “I’m not inheriting a city that’s going down,” he said. “I’m inheriting a city that’s moving forward. And for that I thank Mayor Bret Schundler.” Ending his address, Cunningham told an anecdote from his days as an elementary school student in P.S. 14.
“Mrs. Edna Davis horrified me as a kid,” he said. The teacher had told the class that the Statue of Liberty faced away from Jersey City because “the class was bad.” He promised to the crowd that one night in the near future a “wrenching of metal” will be heard, and it will be the sound of the “Statue of Liberty turning around.”
As red, white, and blue confetti stars fell from above, Cunningham heard one more thunderous clap. This time it came from the people of Jersey City.