Rally at City Hall Calls for an End to Utility Proposal

More than two dozen people rallied on the steps of Newark City Hall Thursday to protest the creation of an independent authority that would oversee the city's sewer and water systems.

The rally came after a New Brunswick-based advocacy group released a report that implied that the creation of a municipal utilities authority could lead to the privatization of the city's utilities.

 “I want to thank Food and Water Watch for their report. This is objective data,” said Councilwoman-at-Large  Mildred Crump, who joined the rally Thursday afternoon. “A lot of us are out here because we feel it’s wrong. This proves it’s wrong.”

But during an interview with WBGO radio Thursday night, Mayor Cory Booker, who first proposed the creation of a municipal utilities authority, flatly denied that creating the authority is a step towards privatization. He accused Crump and other members of the Newark Municipal Council of playing politics with the issue.

The report from Food and Water Watch details attempts nationally by private equity firms to acquire public utilities. Karina Wilkinson, an organizer with the group, pointed to the city of Bayonne, where the municipal utility authority is considering a 40-year deal involving private equity firm KKR.

Although a utilities authority does not necessarily lead to privatization, Wilkinson said “we think it’s a stepping stone” towards that goal.

Wilkinson also distributed a statement describing 2010 campaign contributions Booker received from Wall Street firms, bankers and “private equity players” totalling more than $1 million, or 15 percent of the $6.5 million received in that campaign.

A review of 2010  campaign finance reports reveals that Booker received donations from individuals in a diverse range of occupations, including people in the finance industry, who gave Booker some of his largest single contributions.

The donations, coupled with Booker’s led some to speculate Thursday that the mayor intends to sell off the public utilities to Wall Street.

“Mayor Booker is negotiating with private equity firms to take away our water.....[Private equity firms] have already toppled our housing industry, they have toppled our banking industry, now they want to take our water? I don’t think so,” said Brenda Toyloy, a member of the Newark Water Group, a citizens organization fighting the creation of a utilities authority.

Booker and his representatives, however, said the mayor is just as opposed to privatization as the protesters. During his WBGO interview, Booker asserted that selling off city water would not even be possible if a utilities authority was created in Newark.

“It’s almost comical at this point to me,” Booker said, adding that the MUA plan submitted to the state makes privatization “against the law.” The state agency in charge of approving an authority has already agreed to keep any Newark authority in public hands, Booker's office said. 

Booker also said he is not wedded to the idea of a municipal authority but does want a system that would keep city water publicly owned and provide badly needed repairs without leading to soaring rates for customers. He has repeatedly challenged the Newark Municipal Council to either get behind an authority or come up with an alternative that would achieve those objectives. 

"All we're asking for is leadership. What they should have a rally about is, 'This is our plan to fix the system,’” Booker said.

Thursday’s rally comes as signatures continue to be collected for a petition that would force the municipal council to vote on a proposed ordinance prohibiting the creation of an authority without direct voter approval. Earlier this month, the Newark Water Groupcalling for the ordinance. If the clerk is able to certify at least 2,300 of those signatures, the proposed ordinance would go before the council.

Co-editor Lia Eustachewich contributed to this report.