Wed Nov 11, 2009 at 11:00:00 AM EST
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For the last seven years, the state has gotten the last word on local actions taken by governing bodies from the planning board to the school board to city council. Newly elected Camden Mayor Dana Redd wants to put an end to that state control:Seven years ago, the state implemented a $175 million bailout designed to invigorate commerce in Camden, a city weighed down by poverty, crime and corruption. In exchange, the governor got final say over the actions of governing bodies from the planning board to the school board to city council.
Now that most of that aid has been spent, Redd says it's time to put the mayor back in charge.
"I fully expect to be in control of leading the city," Redd said in an interview days after her easy victory. It appears that the new Governor is willing to create a realistic timetable to hand back control:New Jersey Gov.-elect Christopher J. Christie yesterday described the state takeover of Camden as mostly a "failure" and said he would work with Camden's next mayor to shift power back to the city.
"I'd like to return control of Camden to the City of Camden as quickly as I possibly could," he said after meeting with high school students in Hamilton Township, Mercer County. "My fundamental position is, I don't believe that the state should be controlling municipalities in New Jersey." The Inquirer article says that State Legislators have considered loosening controls even before Christie takes office. While many leaders in Camden supported the initial takeover, there is a feeling that the state monies were not well allocated and control should be returned to local authorities. What do you think should be done with state control of cities like Camden? |
| Jason Springer :: Redd and Christie both want to end state control of Camden |
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