Newark mayor to students: Be involved in community

LAWRENCE, N.J. (AP) — Newark Mayor Cory Booker is telling college students that it’s important for them to be involved in their community.

Booker says elected officials and residents alike share responsibility for staying engaged in the democracy in which they live.

The mayor spoke to students at Rider University yesterday in an event sponsored by the Rebovich Institute of Politics.

Booker’s 45-minute speech was peppered with inspirational personal stories.

The Democrat grew hoarse as he talked about the positive influence his parents had on him and the pain of seeing a young gang member die during his first month in office.

The Stanford-educated politician and two-term mayor of the state’s largest city has expressed his intent to seek a U.S. Senate seat in 2014.