October 30th, 2009
Courier-Post Editorial Board

Dana Redd has the clearest goals and the most ability to accomplish them, if elected.

Milton Milan was the last mayor to really demonstrate a forcefulness and drive to lead Camden. But that was almost a decade ago, and he ended up in prison after resigning in shame, as too many Camden corrupt mayors have done.

This year, after more than nine years of Gwendolyn Faison serving as an almost caretaker mayor, Camden residents have a chance to elect a new, strong leader. And with the powers of the state-appointed chief operating officer position perhaps changing, there's a very real chance that the mayor will regain some of the power lost when the COO job was created.

Democratic State Sen. Dana Redd is the hands-down favorite in this race. She has the all-important support of the city and county Democratic Party, and has come up the political ranks in Camden.

Facing her are three independent candidates -- Roberto Feliz, Angel Cordero and Mujiba Salaam Parker -- who didn't bother vying for the Republican nomination because to have an "R" next to one's name in Camden is akin to a scarlet letter.

The understatement of the century might be that the next mayor has his or her work cut out. Crime, poverty, failing public schools, drugs, a virtually nonexistent tax base, a lack of jobs, an entrenched bureaucracy, infrastructure decay, pollution -- these are the problems that face Camden and face its mayor.

While each of the four candidates in this mayor's race brings passion and a desire to start working on these problems, we believe Redd has the clearest plans and the best chance of hitting the ground running and starting to actually solve some of the problems that have festered for decades.

Redd, 41, who was born and raised in Camden, says she views the mayor's job as being like a CEO: Have clear goals for the city and stay focused on achieving them. Redd's goals are doable. They include: improving trash collection and picking up all the refuse that litters Camden's streets, establishing more programs and organized activities for kids during after school hours to keep them from getting in trouble, improving the city government's capacity and ability to deliver the services it is supposed to and getting more job training programs and centers in the city.

She recognizes that the police department is understaffed and wants to fight to get the department back up to about 400 officers, where it needs to be. She wants to bring about redevelopment in neighborhoods that comes with in-fill housing that mixes with existing homes, more realistic than the grand plan to remake Cramer Hill that died. She wants to hold city workers and department heads accountable and make sure they're doing their jobs well. She wants to make sure school board members show up at meetings, and said she would use the mayor's power to select three board members to put people on the board who really care and will be there at every meeting.

While seeing that the mayor and City Council need more power to lead than they've been afforded under the state takeover, Redd doesn't want to throw off the state altogether. She knows the city needs help from Trenton and from elsewhere. She envisions keeping the COO position, but making that person someone who focuses on the city's budget -- keeping it balanced and making sure money isn't wasted or stolen. She recognizes that the state attorney general must still have a major hand in law enforcement in the city.

Redd's three challengers are all quality people. While we're not endorsing them for mayor, they should all be serving in elected office in Camden, either as City Council or school board members. They're smart. They're passionate. They have good ideas. They're dedicated to improving things in the city. They're are a lot of, frankly, empty suits who lack ideas and interest serving on Camden's elected bodies. Cordero, Feliz and Parker would not be empty suits, they would be strong representatives, something Camden badly needs.

So we're endorsing Redd for mayor because we think she has the desire and the potential to make Camden better.