Yesterday, Newark Mayor Cory Booker announced that he was exploring a run for US Senate in 2014. (Many had thought he’d run for governor.) Booker’s come a long way in the last 10 years, what with cleaning up Newark and saving people from burning buildings. For me, I first became conscious of him a few years ago thanks to Marshall Curry’s 2005 documentary Street Fight.
Street Fight is an engaging documentary about the 2002 Newark mayoral election that pit Booker against long-time incumbent Sharpe James. The film looks at the campaign at the ground level, looking at the advantages of incumbents and the power of major political machines. The film also explores the early questions that Booker had to face about his authenticity and his outsider status in Newark.
Even if you’re not a political junkie, Street Fight is a great watch, and seems especially noteworthy now given the continuing rise of Booker’s national profile.
