Nakea White

Council President Mildred Crump, left, with her ally, School Board member Nakea White.

NEWARK- Along with the South Ward, where organizer Ras Baraka is building to mount an aggressive challenge of South Ward Councilman Oscar James II, the central ward again looms as a battleground in the Newark 2010 municipal race, with one candidate a definite go and two others hovering near the starting gate.

The Booker Team's filing report shows the mayor listing freshman School Board member Nakea White as his ticket mate for central ward council, but White won't comment about whether that means she's a lock to run next year.

That may be in no small part because Central Ward Councilman Charles Bell says he's ready to run to secure a full term after defeating Booker's candidate last year in a special election war.

His decision is not definitive, but very close.

Howell: The School District’s decision to close Southard Elementary School opens up the prospect of where to route the children displaced by the closing – but that decision occurs only if voters approve the School Board’s proposed budget today.

Robbinsville: This is one of those towns where the School Board hopes to reverse a tide of voter discontent, but faces a political environment worse than last year, when voters rejected the budget. Robbinsville’s $38.6 million price tag for schools represents an increase of about $1.4 million from what it is now. The increase would result in an extra $189 for a homeowner assessed at $400,000, from $4,334 to $4,523. Last year, after killing the School Board's initial proposal, residents settled for a 3-cent hike engineered by the Town Council.

Hoboken: While the Zimmer Team supports the Kids First Slate in the School Board Elections, her opponents are ostensibly staying out of today's fight. “Part of that reason is I wanted to keep politics out of it - the mayor doesn’t support the Board of Education,” said councilwoman Beth Mason, while the Cammarano Team this morning issued an email blast reminding people to remember to register to vote.

NEWARK – Getting caught in the middle of political theater involving other, bigger antagonists goes with the territory when it comes to the fledgling career of Nakea White, Central Ward council candidate.   

No big deal.

Politics here with all of its intrigue still generally has fewer hard edges than crime.

“The number one issue in our ward is crime, especially with the recent shootings on Boyd, these are the issues affecting people,”  says White, sitting in her gritty, second story campaign headquarters on Springfield Avenue. “People are scared.  A woman told me the other day she’s scared that she might be the next person to get shot.”