West Ward Councilman Joe McCallum accused Mayor Ras Baraka's administration of funneling tickets to the president's events to friends and family instead
NEWARK -- Members of the Municipal Council voiced anger and frustration after they were apparently left out of President Barack Obama's visit to the city Monday.
Obama's stop in the city included a visit to rehabilitation drug treatment facility Integrity House and Rutgers-Newark, where he announced plans to create new grants to help prisoners transition back into society and an effort to "ban the box" -- referring to a question on job applications asking potential workers whether they have a criminal history.
Dignitaries including Mayor Ras Baraka, U.S. Sen. Cory Booker and Congressman Donald Payne Jr. were along for much of the ride, but aside from Council President Mildred Crump, council members were nowhere to be found.
In a statement, Central Ward Councilwoman Gayle Chaneyfield Jenkins placed the blame with Baraka's office, saying she had been assured that members of the body would be included in the event, but that no invitation or further details followed.
"I am stunned and deeply offended that my colleagues and I were not formerly asked nor invited to participate in one of the most important discussions facing America since Reconstruction taking place in our own city," she said.
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"Mayor Baraka said we were included. Then his staff turns around and said we aren't. They are obviously doing their own politics."
Baraka spokeswoman Majorie Harris did not immediately return a request for comment early Monday night.
At-Large Councilman Carlos Gonzalez called the apparent snub "disrespectful on the administration's part", noting that officials from other cities, such as Hillside Mayor Angela Garretson, were invited.
He said he received no information from the city about any events where Obama was participating in, and learned most of what he knew about the visit from the media.
"Some people from outside city of Newark were invited, and the governing body of the city was Newark was not," he said. "I'm not saying it was on the part of the mayor, but someone in his office did not know protocol enough to make sure the council was invited."
At-Large Councilman Luis Quintana also voiced his displeasure, saying he believed it was part of a pattern of poor communication from Baraka' office. As evidence, he cited the state's approval of the city's budget in September, which council members say they were never advised of.
"We were the last one to know," he said. "If nine members of the council can't come, then we can we talk about it. There's no communication, from the top to the bottom."
North Ward Councilman Anibal Ramos Jr. issued a statement of his own, saying he believed he was "disappointed" that the council was not included considering Obama's announcements potentially major impact on the city.
"We know it's a historic occasion for the president to be in Newark, especially to talk about such an important issue like prisoner re-entry and creating opportunities for former prisoners, especially coupled with important legislation sponsored by Senator Booker on this issue," he said.
In an interview, Ramos said he was granted an invitation to the events at Rutgers after contacting Booker's office last week, but declined to attend after learning his colleagues had been left out.
While some members declined to directly blame the mayor and found fault with other members of his administration, West Ward Councilman Joe McCallum said the move "had to be purposeful."
"I think there's people around him who just focus on the mayor, and don't understand the relationship between the council and the mayor, or just don't care. They were more concerned with getting their family members and their friends in there," he said.
"No matter how many tickets they had, nine should have been to the council. As hard as we all want to work with the mayor, its amateur hour around him."
Dan Ivers may be reached at divers@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at @DanIversNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.