NJ restores Camden home rule
Tuesday, January 12th, 2010
Legislation that would all but end a major experiment in Camden, New Jersey, is headed to Governor Jon Corzine's desk. The city's been under state control since 2002. Yesterday the legislature approved a bill that would effectively give control of Camden back to the city's leaders, long before the oversight was set to expire in 2012.
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Martha Chavis is the CEO of Welcome New Jersey, a non-profit organization that focuses on workforce development in Camden. She says her to-do list for the city's new Mayor Dana Redd is full of typical big city problems.
Chavis: The short list would include just continuing with our economic development, working in our communities around safety, crime, and grime issues. I know she's concerned about crime in general from drugs to our violent crime. And obviously the education of our children, that's key.
Many community leaders and politicians have been pushing to end the state oversight early. Some say it's been a waste of money – while others want local leaders to have more control.