Imagenes Latinas/ Newark: A Story of Struggle #1010; UC15-2608/ Reel 3; Images/Imagenes

The whole concept that that I argue I'm not sure that's the answer to the problem of those who who have and I would bet may be a problem for all the people but I don't think it is a problem for you were wrong. Yeah OK. We're talking about the relations between the black and Puerto Rican community and whatever efforts you have done to include me give you some examples. The first Puerto Rican deputy mayor in the history of the city was appointed by me the first Puerto Rican judge in the history of the city and was appointed by me the first member of the housing authority where we have people in public housing development was appointed by the first member of the education was appointed by me. So we have established relationships between blacks and Puerto Ricans for all of the years that I've been in office now those relationships are not 100 percent correct but there are no relationship between any ethnic groups that are 100 percent correct. We've made progress and I think that

if you look at education if you look at housing if you look at the interaction between the communities on a social and community basis it's a fairly good. Who are the Puerto Ricans out there and I will be taping this show and doing multiple interviews all over the place. It's basically that they are left out that is like before the minorities blacks were the minority the now the Puerto Rican. And we are left there by saying that. But. That they're really left out of all of the real power the power making excuse me the station making bodies in the city and they are like from the outside looking in and that's what kind of member of the Board of Education

who is Puerto Rican and all decisions of education are made by that board. You can't be left out of the Housing Development Agency has a Puerto Rican move. I put it it can't be left out. Anybody who says that they're left out of those positions as of this day that they've got somebody sitting there would have to know the person that they recommended to be who I appointed did not report back I'm not responsible for that. How do you see the future. Nor can I see the future of Newark just like the future of this country. The city of New York is the largest city in New Jersey obviously we have the largest number of people of any community in the state. We are the center of education in the state every major educational institution of higher learning has a center the campus in the city and we have the largest economic entities the largest company in the world in the world in a bank in financial

economic activities are based in the city and they have as a look this is the heart of the state and they do it in New Jersey like ours of ours so has a bright future bright future as bright as that of the state you know of that of the country. How do you see within that future. Zeen ethnic relationships and I am really talking about blacks and Puerto Rican. I think that the issue you have is a big if is politics. There is going to depend upon who want to be in charge. It's like any other relationship. I think that there should be and has been a natural relationship which exists between blacks and Puerto Ricans for political benefit because of the number that they represent of the population cannot be the political leadership in the city to represent enough numbers. They can be a part of that political leadership but natural law is between blacks and Puerto Ricans.

Otherwise there will be no Puerto Rican judge that I appoint member board of education or those people. If they were to register and vote there should be an opportunity for blood for Puerto Rican to be elected to city council. You know I I've I was obviously suggested that in support of that over the years I've never been a Puerto Rican elected to move to the council. I think there's a chance for that to happen. But the only way that could happen is for the alliance to exist between blacks and Puerto Ricans and that's what I think we recently had our first elected anything in the saving act of things why a political bill of education. Yeah. What is the highest ranking for a weekend straight at this point. The bill the bill would require for policy being important I would say that the housing authority is probably the highest policy making board in the city. I think a bit of education is more important but I think Hector Ortiz represents in a policy

manner a much more powerful position of any Puerto Rican in this city. The deputy mayor is in my opinion important but it does not represent that which is the future of our society. I think children are the future size of our kids education. Most of all as far as dollars are concerned I think the housing authority is largely. From your point of view what are the major problems the Puerto Rican community has to overcome to become part of the political process of the city to really represent the weight of the numbers. That number has to be registered to vote. You can represent one half of the population in a city with a big black supporter we could label whites if they're not registered to vote. To the degree that overrepresented numbers are not going to represent their numbers politically. Politicians pay to register voters and voters not registered.

Has there been any a Puerto Rican a point that they had of any father. No no. There's no particular put to the head of any department the city they have not found one that has been willing to take a job for a salary that we often. Will have an operator in Newark I think. Do you have any suggests any other question when you stop taking it. Yeah there were there were in 1994 there were two committees of people competing in these funny how the horsecollar hacks here standing emergency cowslip at them that day. Yeah. What were the negotiations and really what came out of all that they were going to

go she said let me give you the background. As I said they wouldn't. There was no riot really because the problem that I had before the next came there was a megaphone a couple people from the Hispanic community making demands on the administration for things which they knew could that be produced. Department heads had nothing to do with the disturbers of the park. We do that negotiate with them we tell them that those things were not relevant to the situation. Rejected out of hand most of the the complaints that they had about the administration a place they had frankly had nothing to do with city services. There was another group that came in and made similar demands later on which was basically a legitimate demands frankly that that any group should should ask for. But we had no power to grant. We cannot fire somebody as a department head to make a Puerto Rican department I'm never going to do that. We don't we don't respond to respond to

demands anyway. My approach to administration is I got elected mayor by people who elected me to do the job and I don't respond to some group that decides if they want to make demands on me because they see that as an opportunity to do that. But we have some very interesting discussions with the people. Much of their concerns were legitimate as I said before we've been working basically to improve conditions of all people and that includes Puerto Rico was the worst housing in the city and some of the worst conditions in the city we tried to improve upon those kind of things because it's right not because somebody comes in and makes it the mayor. I really got to. There were no negotiations nothing specifically came out of that. It was just there were a number of listed moves by both groups which I refused basically to respond to because I don't do that I don't respond to any group with a black girl. Or. The other group because

as I demand that you do this nobody can do that to the mayor. Or are you options open for a few maybe six. Well you first I run for governor in 1885. You don't try to get it. OK. Hopefully with the bike and that we can polish Let's hope that's not what happened. You got it.