Camden mayoral challengers take on 'chosen' Redd

Camden's Democratic mayoral primary next week comes down to $18,000 vs. $0.

The former is the amount raised by Dana Redd, a state senator, city councilwoman, vice-chair of the state Democratic Party, veteran of several government appointments, and, in the words of one supporter at a rally last week, "the chosen one."

The latter is the combined amount the other two candidates have raised for the June 2 primary, according to state reporting documents from the beginning of May.

Both challengers to Redd - Elton Custis, a 27-year-old substance-abuse counselor, and Eulisis Delgado, a 56-year-old PATCO worker and perennial political candidate - say they are running to bring new leadership and stop the "machine," their word for the potent South Jersey Democratic Party behind Redd.

A handful of other challengers plan to run as independents in November if Redd gets the Democratic nomination, including education activist Angel Cordero, former city official Roberto Feliz, and Mujiba Parker, who until 2008 worked for the state distributing money for Camden.

Redd has long been considered a successor-in-waiting to Mayor Gwendolyn Faison, the colorful octogenarian who has led New Jersey's poorest city for eight years.

With Faison stepping down - begrudgingly, she has said - now is the time for the 41-year-old Redd, who has served on the city's Parking Authority and Housing Authority, to make her move.

The money that Redd has raised comes entirely from Democratic-affiliated organizations, including $5,000 from a group in Newark. She is being guided by several political consultants, and she brought a rising Democratic star, Newark Mayor Cory Booker, to her campaign announcement in February.

"I'm doing this as a labor of love. Camden has always been my passion," Redd said. "The relationships I've developed in the state will help me raise Camden's profile, similar to what Cory Booker has done to Newark."

If she wins, she plans to resign from the Senate, but she has a senatorial reelection fund for 2011 just in case.

If Redd leaves the Senate for the mayor's position, which pays about $103,000, more than twice what a senator earns, Delgado said, she would be abandoning Camden.

"We elected her to represent the needs of the city of Camden, and she's turning around and giving up on us," he said. "She's only there to look out for her personal gains."

Delgado said Redd could have more influence in Trenton, where she was selected in 2007 to replace former State Sen. Wayne Bryant, who awaits sentencing on corruption charges.

In Camden, Delgado noted, the mayor's role is undermined by an appointed chief operating officer, who is in charge of hiring and who can veto most actions of City Council.

Responding to the assertion that she is a tool of a political machine, Redd said: "Anybody that looks at my record will see that I've always been for the community and I've worked very hard for the citizens of Camden."

Delgado vowed to accept only a $50,000 salary as mayor, and his top campaign pledge calls to mind the style of former Philadelphia Mayor Frank L. Rizzo.

"I'm going to be the people's mayor. I'm not going to be locked in City Hall," he said. "I'm going to be out, going after these violent people in the streets, going block by block."

He said the police in one of America's most dangerous cities do not do their job "sufficiently," so he plans to tag along and help them make arrests.

"Just like people in the suburbs, I want people to live in peace here," he said.

Custis says the key to public safety is to "enhance" the police force and to get money for that by stepping up lobbying efforts in Trenton.

"Let them see that we are making changes effectively," he said. "I think they will be much more willing to come in and help us funding-wise."

In time, the state will return power to a city that has its house in order, he said. To reach that point, he wants home-ownership classes that would help residents improve their credit ratings, more cultural events, refurbished storefronts, and senior citizen programming.

Custis also wants to improve the school system, get higher-quality teachers, and start evening programs for students.

But education is perhaps the one public policy area that mayors in New Jersey have almost no political control over.

Custis said the mayor can, however, work with the school superintendent.

Redd has also hit on education as a campaign theme as much as any other issue.

She held a rally at the entrance to City Hall last week with members of the city school board. "We need to make sure our young people are afforded every opportunity to grow, prosper," Redd said.

In an interview, she said she was talking about education because it's imperative that the mayor of a poor city have a close relationship with the school district.

She said she had worked in the Senate to bring school construction money to Camden. She wants vocational training and prisoner reentry programs for the city, too, particularly to prepare residents for green jobs, like solar-panel installation.

Redd said the city also needs more market-rate housing instead of just low-income affordable rental units. But the biggest new development in the city, which she championed, is made up largely of affordable housing and has been criticized for further consolidating poverty without providing sufficient resources, like schools.

Redd made her campaign announcement in February at the development, the Hope VI project in the Centerville section. She stressed that 106 of the new homes were for ownership, and that the development was a step forward because it replaced dilapidated public housing.

In seeking the mayor's seat, Redd has formed an unlikely alliance with a former foe on the issue of redevelopment: Carmen Ubarry-Rivera, who led the fight against the most controversial redevelopment plan in recent Camden history.

The Cherokee plan for Cramer Hill, which would have exercised the power of eminent domain and led to the relocation of 1,100 families, was staunchly supported by Redd and staunchly opposed by Ubarry-Rivera. The plan eventually was thrown out of court on a technical issue.

Ubarry-Rivera formally endorsed Redd at the rally last week. "What the movement for Cherokee did was put residents in the forefront," she said. "It's time to come together, put some differences aside, and move ahead."

Beaming, Redd said: "I welcome her to the family."

Redd is running on a slate with Councilman Curtis Jenkins, Councilman Gilbert "Whip" Wilson, and Marilyn Torres. They face challenges from Aaron Cooper, Donavan McCargo, Jerome Taylor, and Clarence Shambry, none of whom is running with a mayoral candidate.