Editorial by Dhiren Shah
Hello Readers,
Newark’s own Stephen N. Adubato Sr. aka “Big Steve” died on October 16, 2020. He lived a great life as a teacher and politician. He worked behind the scenes and had the courage to support Kenneth A. Gibson, an African American in 1969. In those days, Caucasians were the majority in Newark. With the support of Adubato Sr., Gibson became Newark’s first African American mayor in 1970 and served four terms as mayor of Newark.
Big Steve had a voice in the political arena of Newark, Essex County and New Jersey as well. Joseph DiVincenzo became county executive with the support of Stephen Adubato Sr. Not only he was a powerhouse in politics, but he was successful in managing and running one of the top education institutes in the world. That’s the reason he was given charge to run a public-private partnership school in Newark NJ.
He was a visionary. He knew how to play chess in real life. I remember when Adubato Sr. called me and asked me to join him to tour his institutes. He gave me a tour of all his schools and the North Ward Center, and I saw how much the children loved him. He joked with the children and I felt that he had a connection with them. Local Talk’s staff and I pray for his soul and give our condolences to his family.
Another huge bit of news is Newark Councilman Joe McCullum, who was charged with bribery and kickbacks. He was on the board of the Newark CEDC which is now called Invest Newark!. As with any case, the accused is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
Power makes people do wrong in their jobs. It was all about money. Mayor Baraka and his appointees were controlling the organization. I heard that Baraka is calling meetings with city employees and all of the other non-profit corporations, as if they were city employees. I have been asked by our readers: “Does Baraka know about the ongoing bribery and kickbacks, and if he does, is he overlooking it?”
Biden vs Trump or Trump vs Biden, whatever you call it, will be a very interesting election this year. The second and final debate will be on Thursday October 22, 2020. Trump was going overboard in interrupting Biden and Biden interrupted when Trump was speaking. So, this time they will cut off the microphone during one man’s speaking time, and only afterwards can they speak when time is allotted to them. This is like how you handle elementary or kindergarten children. Everyone is waiting for the debate. The wrong things are being done by both parties. I hope there will not be any violence or civil war after the election, as no one will accept the results.
Biden is leading in the polls, but many persons are not talking and may vote for Trump as I’ve heard in our community.
Have a wonderful week.
I’ll talk to you next week.
