by Elaine Durbach
NJJN Staff Writer

September 7, 2010

Newark Mayor Cory Booker will be the featured guest speaker at the Jewish Federation of Princeton Mercer Bucks 2011 Campaign Kick-off Dinner on Sunday, Oct. 17. The dinner will be held at Greenacres Country Club in Lawrenceville.

Booker will receive the federation’s Shomer Tzedek Guardian of Justice Award “in appreciation of his stalwart support of Israel and inspirational leadership in public service.”

Federation president Lisa Smukler of Princeton said she is optimistic that the kick-off dinner will give the campaign a hearty boost.

“It’s one of the most important events of the campaign,” she said. “It’s for the major donors — those who give $500 and more — and it’s always a great occasion. It’s the first time everyone’s seeing each other after the summer and they’re looking forward to the new year — and a number of people like to make their pledges there.”

This past year was tough in terms of raising funds, she said, and federation leaders are still hoping to do better in the 2010-11 campaign. “We want to bring in new donors and inspire existing donors to give more,” she said. “We’re facing increasing needs, and we can only give out what we get in.”

Smukler is particularly looking forward to hearing Booker speak. “He is a stellar choice,” she said. “He’s very connected with the Jewish community, and he understands the value of volunteerism, of giving of oneself. And he’s a marvelous speaker.”

Booker’s connection with the Jewish community was fostered during his time as a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University, where he joined the L’Chaim Society, an interfaith organization run at the time by author and TV host Rabbi Shmuley Boteach. Booker rose to become the society’s first non-Jewish president.

Addressing a Middlesex federation campaign event two years ago, Booker said, “As a non-Jew, an African-American, as mayor of Newark, and in my own personal life, I know the contributions of the Jewish community are legendary.”

Cochairs for the event are vice president for campaign Mark Merkovitz and his wife, Wendy, of Princeton Junction, and Women’s Philanthropy campaign chair Stephanie Will and her husband, Thomas, of Skillman.

 

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About Booker

Mayor Cory A. Booker, 41, began his political career in 1998 when, after serving as staff attorney for the Urban Justice Center in Newark, he won election as a councilman for the city’s Central Ward. He served in that role for four years.

In 2002, he ran for mayor against long-time incumbent Sharpe James and lost. In 2006, he ran again, this time against Deputy Mayor and State Sen. Ronald Rice, and won decisively, with 72 percent of the vote. He was re-elected to a second term last May.

From 2002 to 2006, between serving on the Newark City Council and taking on the mayoralty, Booker founded Newark Now, a grassroots nonprofit organization to help communities access needed services and resources. He also became a partner in a West Orange law firm and a senior fellow at Rutgers’ Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy.

He received his BA and MA from Stanford University and a BA in modern history at Oxford University, which he attended as a Rhodes Scholar. He completed his law degree at Yale University.

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