“In Newark, we see a problem and want to seize it, but we run up against the wall of state government, the wall of federal government that does not have the flexibility or doesn't see problems, even. At the federal level, it's often a zero-sum game: If you win, I lose. At the local level, it's just not local that. It's win-win-win.”

American politician and lawyer

Cory Booker is an American politician and lawyer. He serves as the senior United States senator from New Jersey, a seat he has held since 2013. He is also the first African-American U.S. senator from New Jersey. Booker is a member of the Democratic Party. Before entering the Senate, he was the 38th mayor of Newark from 2006 to 2013, and served on the Newark Municipal Council for the Central Ward from 1998 to 2002.