Northern Valley Regional High School at Old Tappan
Which school did Cory Booker go to from 1986 to 1987?
Cory Booker Cory Anthony Booker ( born April 27 , 1969 ) is an American politician , attorney , and author who has served as the junior United States Senator from New Jersey since 2013 . A member of the Democratic Party , Booker is the first African-American U.S . Senator from New Jersey . He was the 38th mayor of Newark from 2006 to 2013 , and served on the Municipal Council of Newark for the Central Ward from 1998 to 2002 . Booker was born in Washington , D.C. , and raised in Harrington Park , New Jersey . He attended Stanford University , receiving a BA in 1991 and a masters degree a year later . He studied abroad at the University of Oxford on a Rhodes Scholarship before attending Yale Law School . He won an upset victory for a seat on the Municipal Council of Newark in 1998 , staging a 10-day hunger strike and briefly living in a tent to draw attention to urban development issues in the city . He ran for mayor in 2002 but lost to incumbent Sharpe James . He ran again in 2006 and defeated Deputy Mayor Ronald Rice . Bookers first term saw the doubling of affordable housing under development and the reduction of the city budget deficit from $180 million to $73 million . He was reelected in 2010 . He was elected to the U.S . Senate in a 2013 special election and reelected in 2014 and in 2020 . Throughout his Senate tenure , Booker has written , sponsored , and passed legislation advancing womens rights , affirmative action , same-sex marriage , and single-payer healthcare . He has pushed for economic reforms to address wealth inequality in the U.S. , particularly the racial wealth gap . Booker has pursued measures to reform the criminal justice system , combat climate change , and restructure national immigration policy . In foreign policy , he has voted successfully for tougher sanctions against Iran , voiced support for the withdrawal of U.S . troops from Afghanistan , and lobbied for increased diplomacy in the Middle East . He was the first senator to ever testify against another senator during Attorney General nominee Jeff Sessionss 2017 confirmation hearing . Booker was a candidate for the Democratic nomination in the 2020 U.S . presidential election , suspending his campaign on January 13 , 2020 . Early life and education . Booker was born in Washington , D.C. ; he grew up in Harrington Park , New Jersey , northeast of Newark . His parents , Carolyn Rose ( née Jordan ) and Cary Alfred Booker , were among the first black IBM executives . Booker has said that he was raised in a religious household and that he and his family attended a small African Methodist Episcopal Church in New Jersey . Booker has Sierra Leonean ancestry ; he learned that information when he was featured on the PBS television program Finding Your Roots . Booker graduated from Northern Valley Regional High School at Old Tappan , where he played varsity football and was named to the 1986 USA Today All-USA high school football team . He graduated from Stanford University with a Bachelor of Arts in political science in 1991 and a master of arts in sociology in 1992 . He played football for Stanford at the position of tight end and was teammates with Brad Muster and Ed McCaffrey , making the All–Pacific-10 Academic team . He was elected senior class president . In addition , Booker ran The Bridge Peer Counseling Center , a student-run crisis hotline , and organized help from Stanford students for youth in East Palo Alto , California . Booker was awarded a Rhodes Scholarship to study at Oxford University , earning a degree in United States history in 1994 as a member of The Queens College . At Oxford , Booker served as president of the Oxford University LChaim Society . He obtained his Juris Doctor in 1997 from Yale Law School and operated free legal clinics for low-income residents of New Haven , Connecticut . At Yale , Booker was a founding member of the Chai Society ( now Shabtai ) . He also was a Big Brother with Big Brothers Big Sisters of America and active in the National Black Law Students Association . Municipal Council of Newark . Contemplating advocacy work and a run for city council in Newark after graduating from law school , Booker lived in the city during his final year at Yale . After graduation , he served as staff attorney for the Urban Justice Center in New York and program coordinator of the Newark Youth Project . In 1998 , Booker won an upset victory for a seat on the Municipal Council of Newark , defeating four-term incumbent George Branch . To draw attention to the problems of open-air drug dealing and associated violence , he went on a 10-day hunger strike , living in a tent and later in a motor home near drug-dealing areas of the city . Booker also proposed council initiatives that affected housing , young people , law and order , and the efficiency and transparency of City Hall , but was regularly outvoted . Mayor of Newark . Mayoral campaigns . 2002 election . On January 9 , 2002 , Booker announced his campaign for mayor of Newark rather than running for reelection as councilman . That pitted him against longtime incumbent Sharpe James . James , who had easily won election four consecutive times , saw Booker as a real threat and responded with mudslinging . At one campaign event James called him a Republican who took money from the KKK [ and ] Taliban .. . [ whos ] collaborating with the Jews to take over Newark . In the campaign Jamess supporters questioned Bookers suburban background , calling him a carpetbagger who was not black enough to understand the city . Booker lost the election , garnering 47% of the vote to Jamess 53% . The Oscar-nominated documentary Street Fight chronicles the election . During the campaign , Booker founded the nonprofit organization Newark Now . 2006 election . On February 11 , 2006 , Booker announced that he would run for mayor again . Although James filed paperwork to run for reelection , he announced shortly thereafter that he would instead cancel his bid to focus on his work as a state senator , a position to which he was elected in 1999 . At Jamess discretion , Deputy Mayor Ronald Rice decided to run for mayor . Bookers campaign outspent Rices 25 to 1 , for which Rice attacked him . In addition to raising over $6 million in the race , Booker attacked Rice as a political crony of James . Booker won the May 9 election with 72% of the vote . His slate of city council candidates , known as the Booker Team , swept the council elections , giving Booker firm leadership of the city government . 2010 election . On April 3 , 2010 , Booker announced his candidacy for reelection . At his announcement event , he remarked that a united government was crucial to progress , knowing his supporters in the city council faced tough reelections . Heavily favored to win , Booker faced former judge and Essex County prosecutor Clifford J . Minor and two minor candidates . Booker was reelected with 59% of the vote . Tenure . Before taking office as mayor , Booker sued the James administration , seeking to terminate cut-rate land deals favoring two redevelopment agencies that had contributed to Jamess campaigns and listed James as a member of their advisory boards . Booker argued that the states pay-to-play laws had been violated and that the land deals would cost the city more than $15 million in lost revenue . Specifically , Booker referenced a parcel at Broad and South Streets that would generate only $87,000 under the proposed land deals yet was valued at $3.7 million under then-current market rates . On June 20 , 2006 , Superior Court Judge Patricia Costello ruled in Bookers favor . In late June 2006 , before Booker took office , New Jersey investigators foiled a plot to assassinate him led by Bloods gang leaders inside four New Jersey state prisons . The motive for the plot was unclear , but was described variously as a response to the acrimonious campaign and to Bookers campaign promises to take a harder line on crime . First term . Booker took office as mayor of Newark on July 1 , 2006 . After his first week in office , he announced a 100-day plan to implement reforms . The proposed changes included increasing police forces , ending background checks for many city jobs to help former offenders find employment in the city , refurbishing police stations , improving city services , and expanding summer youth programs . One of Bookers first priorities was to reduce the citys crime rate . In furtherance of this , he appointed former deputy commissioner of operations of the New York City Police Department Garry McCarthy director of the Newark Police Department . Crime reduction was such a central concern of Bookers administration that he and his security team were known to personally patrol the Newarks streets until as late as 4 a.m . Booker was a member of the Mayors Against Illegal Guns Coalition , a bipartisan group with a stated goal of making the public safer by getting illegal guns off the streets . In October 2009 , the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence gave him the Sarah Brady Visionary Award for his work in reducing gun violence . During his mayoralty , crime dropped significantly in Newark , which led the nation in violent crime reduction from 2006 to 2008 . March 2010 marked Newarks first murder-free month in over 44 years , although murder and overall crime rates began to rise again after 2008 . In addition to his crime-lowering initiatives , Booker doubled the amount of affordable housing under development and quadrupled the amount under pre-development , and reduced the city budget deficit from $180 million to $73 million . After taking office , Booker voluntarily reduced his own salary twice , first by 8% early in his first year as mayor . He also raised the salaries of many city workers . But his administration imposed one-day-a-month furloughs for all non-uniformed employees from July through December 2010 , as well as 2% pay cuts for managers and directors earning more than $100,000 a year . In 2008 and 2009 , the City of Newark received the Government Finance Officers Associations Distinguished Budget Presentation Award . In an effort to make government more accessible , Booker held regular open office hours during which city residents could meet with him to discuss their concerns . In 2010 , Booker was among the finalists for the World Mayor prize , ultimately placing seventh ; he was also an unsuccessful candidate for the 2012 award . In March 2010 , Booker won a Shorty Award in the government category for having the best microblog . In July 2010 , Booker attended a dinner at a conference in Sun Valley , Idaho , where he was seated with Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg . Zuckerberg , who had no known ties to Newark , announced in September 2010 that he was donating $100 million to the Newark school system . According to The New York Times , Booker and Zuckerberg continued their conversation about Bookers plans for Newark . The initial gift was made to start a foundation for education . The gift was formally announced when Booker , New Jersey Governor Chris Christie , and Zuckerberg appeared together on The Oprah Winfrey Show . Some considered the timing of Zuckerbergs donation a move for damage control to his image , as it was announced on the opening day of the movie The Social Network , a film that painted an unflattering portrait of Zuckerberg . But on her show , Winfrey told the audience that Zuckerberg and Booker had been in talks for months , had planned the announcement for the month before , and that she and Booker had to force Zuckerberg to put his name on the donation , which he had wanted to make anonymously . On October 10 , 2010 , Booker established Lets Move ! Newark as part of First Lady Michelle Obamas national Lets Move ! initiative against childhood obesity . Booker gained national attention on December 28 , 2010 , when a constituent asked him on Twitter to send someone to her elderly fathers house to shovel his driveway because he was about to attempt to do it himself . Booker responded by tweeting , I will do it myself ; where does he live ? Other people volunteered , including one person who offered his help on Twitter , and 20 minutes later Booker and some volunteers showed up and shoveled the mans driveway . Second term . In October 2011 , Booker expanded the Lets Move ! Newark program to include Lets Move ! Newark : Our Power , a four-month fitness challenge for Newark public school students run by public health advocate Jeff Halevy . On April 12 , 2012 , Booker saved a woman from a house fire , suffering smoke inhalation and second-degree burns on his hands in the process . Newark Fire Chief John Centanni said that Bookers actions possibly saved the womans life . After Hurricane Sandy destroyed much of New Jerseys and New Yorks shoreline areas in late October 2012 , Booker invited Newarkers without electrictiy and similar services to eat and sleep in his home . In February 2013 , responding to a Twitter post , Booker helped a nervous constituent propose to his girlfriend . Booker rescued a dog from freezing temperatures in January 2013 and another dog that had been abandoned in a cage in July 2013 . On November 20 , 2012 , a melee occurred at a Newark City Council meeting Booker attended . The nine-seat council was to vote on the successor to the seat vacated by newly elected U.S . Representative Donald M . Payne , Jr . Bookers opponents on the council , including Ras Baraka , sought to appoint John Sharpe James , son of former mayor Sharpe James , while Booker and his supporters favored Shanique Speight . Booker attended the meeting to deal with the eventuality of the lack of a quorum or a tie vote , in which state law would allow him to cast a deciding vote . After acting Council President Anibal Ramos Jr . refused Baraka an opportunity to address the council , Baraka and two other council members walked away in protest . Booker cast the deciding vote for Speight . Supporters of James stormed the stage and were held back by riot police , who eventually used pepper spray on some members of the crowd . Baraka later blamed Booker for inciting the disturbance . Booker refused to comment to the media after the vote . In December 2012 , after discussions with a constituent about New Jerseys Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program ( SNAP ) , Booker began a weeklong challenge attempting to live on a food budget of $30 per week—the amount SNAP recipients receive . When critics noted that the very name of the SNAP program shows that it is intended to supplement an individuals food budget , not be its sole source , Booker replied that his aim was to spark a discussion about the reality that many Americans rely solely on food stamps to survive . Newark Watershed . The Newark Watershed comprises 35,000 acres of pristine land and reservoirs that supply water to municipalities in northern New Jersey . A February 2014 New Jersey State Comptroller report revealed irregularities and corruption within the Newark Watershed and Development Corporation , which was being dismantled after being taken over by the city during Bookers mayoralty . Public opinion polling . Throughout Bookers mayoralty , Fairleigh Dickinson Universitys public opinion poll PublicMind asked New Jersey residents whether they had heard of Booker and whether they had a favorable or unfavorable opinion of him . The results were : September 2008 - Name recognition : 56% - Favorable opinion : 32% - Unfavorable opinion : 8% April 2009 - Name recognition : 62% - Favorable opinion : 39% - Unfavorable opinion : 10% May 2010 - Name recognition : 66% - Favorable opinion : 42% - Unfavorable opinion : 6% May 2012 - Name recognition : 67% - Favorable opinion : 47% - Unfavorable opinion : 6% January 2013 - Name recognition : 75% - Favorable opinion : 66% - Unfavorable opinion : 13% March 2014 - Name recognition : 88% - Favorable opinion : 47% - Unfavorable opinion : 23% Legacy . Bookers mayoralty and celebrity drew substantial media attention to Newark . While he had high ratings from Newarkers , his legacy has received mixed reviews . During his tenure , millions of dollars were invested in downtown development , but underemployment and high murder rates continue to characterize many of the citys neighborhoods . Despite legal challenges initiated during his term , Newark Public Schools remained under state control for nearly 20 years . Newark received $32 million in emergency state aid in 2011 and 2012 , requiring a memorandum of understanding between Newark and the state that obligated the city to request and the state to approve appointments to City Hall administrative positions . While mayor , Booker claimed in an interview that Newarks unemployment rate had fallen by two percentage points . PolitiFact rated the claim false because he used data that had not been seasonally adjusted ; the adjusted rate was 0.7 percentage points . U.S . Senate . 2013 election . On December 20 , 2012 , Booker announced that he would explore running for the U.S . Senate seat then occupied by Frank Lautenberg in the 2014 election , ending speculation that he would challenge Governor Chris Christie in the 2013 gubernatorial election . On January 11 , 2013 , Booker filed papers to form a campaign committee without announcing whether he would run . About a month later , Lautenberg—then 89 years old—announced that he would not seek reelection in 2014 . On June 3 , Lautenberg died of viral pneumonia ; five days later , Booker announced his intention to run for Lautenbergs seat in a 2013 special election . Booker announced his candidacy at two events , one in Newark and the other in Willingboro . On August 13 , 2013 , Booker was declared the winner of the Democratic primary , with approximately 59% of the vote . On October 16 , he defeated Republican Steve Lonegan in the general election , 54.9% to 44.0% . Booker was the first African-American to be elected to the Senate since Barack Obama in 2004 . The night before his victory , he visited the gravesite of Rabbi Menachem M . Schneerson , offering prayers and lighting a vigil candle in memory of his father . Booker resigned as mayor of Newark on October 30 , and on October 31 was sworn in as the junior U.S . Senator from New Jersey . He is the first African-American U.S . Senator from New Jersey . 2014 election . On January 9 , 2014 , Brian D . Goldberg , a West Orange resident and New Jersey businessman , announced that he would seek the Republican nomination for U.S . Senate . On January 27 , 2014 , Freehold Township businessman Richard J . Rich Pezzullo announced his candidacy for the Republican nomination . Pezzullo had run for the US Senate in 1996 as the Conservative Party candidate . On February 4 , 2014 , conservative political consultant Jeff Bell announced his bid for the nomination . Bell was the Republican Party nominee for U.S . Senate in 1978 . Ramapo College professor Murray Sabrin , who ran for the Senate in 2000 and 2008 , announced his candidacy on February 13 . Bell won the Republican primary and received support from the conservative American Principles Fund , which ran a direct-mail operation costing over $80,000 , and the National Organization for Marriage , an organization opposing same-sex marriage , which paid for $6,000 of automated calling . Booker defeated Bell in the general election with 55.8% of the vote to Bells 42.4% . 2020 election . In his reelection campaign , Booker faced Republican nominee Rik Mehta , a pharmaceutical executive and attorney . The election was primarily conducted by mail-in ballots , as mandated by Governor Phil Murphy in response to the COVID-19 pandemic . Booker and Mehta participated in a virtual debate sponsored by the New Jersey Globe , in which they sparred over issues including the Trump presidency , COVID-19 lockdowns , the nomination of Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court , and systemic racism . In the November 3 general election , Booker defeated Mehta , 57%–41% . Tenure . In November 2013 , Booker co-sponsored and voted for the Employment Non-Discrimination Act . In December 2013 , he was one of the original cosponsors of Bob Menéndezs Nuclear Weapon Free Iran Act of 2013 , which would toughen sanctions against Iran . He also voted for the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2014 and the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013 . In January 2014 , he cosponsored the Respect for Marriage Act . In February 2014 , Booker voted against the Federal Agriculture Reform and Risk Management Act of 2013 . In March , Booker pledged to meet with each of his Republican colleagues in the Senate in order to find common ground , and was spotted having dinner with Senator Ted Cruz in Washington . Leading up to the 2016 presidential election , Booker endorsed Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination . He was considered a potential vice-presidential candidate during the primary and as the general election began , though he said on June 16 that he was not being vetted . After the election , in which Donald Trump defeated Clinton , Booker testified on January 11 , 2017 , against Attorney General nominee Jeff Sessions , the first instance of a sitting senator testifying against another during a cabinet position confirmation hearing . Booker supported fellow New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez when Menendez faced trial on federal corruption and bribery charges . During the trial , Booker was a character witness for Menendez , giving him effusive praise . After the judge declared a mistrial , Booker argued that prosecutors ought not to take Menendez to trial again . When Menendez ran for reelection , Booker praised Menendez , saying he was so grateful for Bob Menendez and that I get to work with him and stand beside him . Booker downplayed the corruption allegations , saying to try to continue to try to throw this kind of mud at him , its not going to stick . It didnt stick when the government tried to do it and it should not stick now . In 2018 , Politico named Booker part of the Hell-No Caucus , along with Senators Kamala Harris , Kirsten Gillibrand , Elizabeth Warren , and Bernie Sanders , after he voted overwhelmingly to thwart his [ Trumps ] nominees for administration jobs , including Rex Tillerson , Betsy De Vos , and Mike Pompeo ; all the senators on the list were considered potential 2020 presidential contenders . In April 2018 , after the FBI raided the hotel room and offices of Trumps personal attorney , Michael Cohen , Booker , Chris Coons , Lindsey Graham , and Thom Tillis introduced new legislation to limit President Trumps ability to fire special counsel Robert Mueller . Termed the Special Counsel Independence and Integrity Act , the legislation would allow any special counsel , in this case Mueller , to receive an expedited judicial review in the 10 days following being dismissed to determine if said dismissal was suitable . If not , the special counsel would be reinstated . At the same time , according to The Hill , the bill would codify regulations that a special counsel could be fired by only a senior Justice Department official , while having to provide reasons in writing . On September 5 , 2018 , during the Senate Judiciary Committees confirmation hearings for Brett Kavanaugh ( nominated by Trump to replace retiring Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy on the Supreme Court ) , Booker questioned Kavanaugh on a series of emails marked committee confidential dating to Kavanaughs time in the office of the White House Counsel during George W . Bushs presidency . The emails , which Bookers office released to the public the next day , show Kavanaugh and others in the Counsels office discussing racial profiling as a means to combat terrorism , particularly after 9/11 . Booker said that he was violating Senate rules in releasing the documents , with the penalty including possible expulsion from the Senate ; he nonetheless defended his decision , referring to the process of producing documents for the hearing as a sham and challenging those who warned him about the consequences to bring it on . Booker also described the release as probably the closest Ill ever have in my life to an I am Spartacus moment , referring to a line in the 1960 film Spartacus . Committee chairman Chuck Grassley said the documents had already been cleared for public release the night before , and that Booker was not violating any rules , leading some Republicans to accuse Booker of engaging in theatrics and histrionics . Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas mocked Booker in comments the following week , saying , Honorable—if we could use that word about more people who are in public life , people who actually ask the questions at confirmation hearings , instead of Spartacus . In November 2018 , Booker co-sponsored the Israel Anti-Boycott Act ( S.270 ) , which made it a federal crime , punishable by a maximum sentence of 20 years imprisonment , for Americans to encourage or participate in boycotts against Israel and Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories if protesting actions by the Israeli government . Booker played a leading role in the push to pass the First Step Act , a bipartisan criminal justice reform bill . He has introduced the Marijuana Justice Act , which would legalize cannabis in the United States on the federal level , defund some law enforcement in jurisdictions that have shown racial bias in marijuana arrests , and increase funding to communities affected by the war on drugs . Booker announced his candidacy for the Democratic nomination for president in the 2020 election on February 1 , 2019 . Booker was participating in the certification of the 2021 United States Electoral College vote count on January 6 , 2021 , when Trump supporters stormed the U.S . Capitol . Minutes after rioters breached the Capitol , Booker and his fellow senators were evacuated from the chambers . Booker blamed Trump for inciting the attack . After the attack , Booker called for the invocation of the Twenty-fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution and/or impeachment to remove Trump . Committee assignments . Current . - Committee on Agriculture , Nutrition , and Forestry ( 2021-present ) - Subcommittee on Conservation , Climate , Forestry , and Natural Resources - Subcommittee on Food and Nutrition , Specialty Crops , Organics , and Research ( Chair ) - Subcommittee on Livestock , Dairy , Poultry , Local Food Systems , and Food Safety and Security - Committee on Foreign Relations ( 2017-present ) - Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health Policy - Subcommittee on Multilateral International Development , Multilateral Institutions , and International Economic , Energy , and Environmental Policy - Subcommittee on State Department and USAID Management , International Operations , and Bilateral International Development ( Ranking ) - Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship - Committee on the Judiciary ( 2018-present ) - Subcommittee on Antitrust , Competition Policy and Consumer Rights - Subcommittee on Border Security and Immigration - Subcommittee on Crime and Terrorism Previous . - Committee on Commerce , Science , and Transportation ( 2013-2018 ) - Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs ( 2015-2017 ) - Committee on Environment and Public Works ( 2013-2021 ) Caucus memberships . - Congressional Black Caucus - Congressional NextGen 9-1-1 Caucus 2020 presidential campaign . On February 1 , 2019 , Booker announced his campaign for the Democratic nomination for President of the United States in the 2020 presidential election . Before his announcement , it was widely speculated that he would run for president but he expressed uncertainty about it . Within a month after Booker announced his candidacy , Governor Phil Murphy , Bob Menendez , and every Democratic member of the House of Representatives from New Jersey endorsed him . Booker held a campaign kickoff rally in Newark on April 13 . After qualifying for the first five Democratic Party presidential debates , he failed to meet the polling thresholds to participate in the sixth debate in December 2019 . On January 13 , 2020 , Booker announced that he was suspending his campaign . In March 2020 , Booker endorsed former Vice President Joe Biden for president . Political positions . Booker has been called a liberal and progressive Democrat . As a senator , he has a liberal voting record . In a July 2013 Salon interview , Booker said , theres nothing in that realm of progressive politics where you wont find me . In a September 2013 interview with The Grio , when asked whether he considered himself a progressive , he said he was a Democrat and an American . According to the Humane Society , Booker has had the most pro-animal welfare voting record in the Senate year after year . Booker supports long-term deficit reduction efforts to ensure economic prosperity , cap and trade taxation to combat climate change , and increased funding for education . He has spoken in favor of creating a federal job guarantee and baby bonds ( low-risk savings accounts that minors get access to at age 18 ) . In the Senate , he has emphasized issues of racial and social justice . He played a leading role in the push to pass the First Step Act , a bipartisan criminal justice reform bill . He supports ending the War on Drugs . Booker supports abortion rights and affirmative action . He also supports a single-payer health care plan : in September 2017 , he joined Bernie Sanders and 14 other co-sponsors in submitting a single-payer health care plan to Congress called the Medicare for All bill . On foreign policy , Booker supports scaling down U.S . involvement in Afghanistan and opposes intervention in Syria . After the US strike on Syria in April 2017 , he criticized military action without a clear plan or authorization from Congress . He supports a two-state solution to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict . Booker has stated that Iran poses a direct threat to American and Israeli security and feels all options should be on the table for dealing with the conflict , but his decision to back the Iran nuclear deal framework damaged his long-term relationship with some Jewish voters and supporters . In an attempt to reduce the damage , he initiated an emergency summit for Jewish leaders , which some of his longstanding supporters did not attend . Other activities . Obama association . In 2009 , after Barack Obama became President of the United States , Booker was offered the leadership of the new White House Office of Urban Affairs . He turned the offer down , citing a commitment to Newark . Booker generated controversy on May 12 , 2012 , when he appeared on Meet The Press as a surrogate for Obamas reelection campaign and made remarks critical of that campaign . Booker said that the attacks on Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romneys record at Bain Capital were nauseating to me on both sides . Its nauseating to the American public . Enough is enough . Stop attacking private equity . Stop attacking Jeremiah Wright . The Romney campaign used the comments against Obama . Booker made follow-up comments clarifying that he believed Obamas attacks on Romneys record at Bain were legitimate but did not retract his point about attacking private equity in general . Two weeks later , Bookers communications director Anne Torres tendered her resignation , although she maintained it was unrelated to Meet the Press . Affiliations and honors . Booker sits on the board of advisers of the political action committee Democrats for Education Reform . He is a member of the board of trustees at Teachers College , Columbia University and was formerly a member of the Executive Committee at Yale Law School and the board of trustees at Stanford University . In 2010 , Booker received the U.S . Senator John Heinz Award for Greatest Public Service by an Elected or Appointed Official , an award given out annually by the Jefferson Awards . In May 2009 , Booker received an honorary doctor of humane letters degree from the Newark-based New Jersey Institute of Technology for his outstanding career in public service as the Mayor of Newark . In May 2009 , he received an honorary doctorate from Brandeis University and was a commencement speaker that year . Booker received another honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree in December 2010 from Yeshiva University for his bold vision for Newark and setting a national standard for urban transformation . In June 2011 , Booker received an honorary doctor of laws degree for the urban transformation of Newark and served as that years commencement speaker at Williams College . In May 2012 , Booker received an honorary doctor of laws degree from Bard College and gave the commencement speech . In 2010 , he delivered the commencement addresses at Pitzer College on May 15 ; at Columbia Universitys Teachers College on May 17 ; and at Suffolk University Law School on May 23 . Booker gave the commencement address to New York Law School graduates on May 13 , 2011 , at Avery Fisher Hall ( now David Geffen Hall ) at Lincoln Center . He gave the commencement address at the University of Rhode Island in May 2011 ; he also received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree . He delivered a commencement address to Stanford University graduates on June 17 , 2012 , at Stanford Stadium . He also received an honorary degree at Fairleigh Dickinsons 69th commencement ceremony in May 2012 . In May 2013 , Booker gave the commencement address at Washington University in St . Louis and received an honorary doctorate of law . On May 16 , 2014 , Booker gave the commencement speech at Ramapo College of New Jersey at the IZOD Center . During the 2016 presidential election , when Clinton had an illness described as pneumonia , Donna Brazile , the then-DNC interim chair considered that her ideal replacement ticket would consist of Biden and Booker . But the possibility of a divisive reaction and the possibility of allowing Trump to capture votes in confusion caused her to not entertain any more thoughts of replacing Hillary . Films . Filmmaker Marshall Curry chronicled Bookers 2002 mayoral campaign in the documentary Street Fight . The film was nominated in 2005 for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature . Since 2009 , Booker has starred in the documentary series Brick City . The series focuses on Bookers efforts to improve Newark by reducing crime and bring about economic renewal . Brick City won a Peabody Award in 2009 and was nominated for a Primetime Emmy in 2010 . Booker contributed to the 2011 documentary Miss Representation and commented on the representations of women in politics in mass media . Booker appeared in a scene in the 2015 Parks and Recreation episode Ms . Ludgate-Dwyer Goes to Washington alongside Orrin Hatch . Conan OBrien feud . In the fall of 2009 , Tonight Show host Conan OBrien engaged in a satirical on-air and YouTube feud with Booker , with OBrien jokingly insulting Newark and Booker responding that he would ban OBrien from the Newark airport . Then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called for the feud to end during a prepared comedy skit , telling Booker to chalk it up to a head injury OBrien suffered less than two weeks earlier . Booker then appeared on OBriens show and assured viewers that the feud was over and that he was actually a big fan of OBrien , who agreed that every time he made a joke about Newark , he would donate $500 to the City of Newark , and also made a $50,000 donation to the Newark Now charity , which NBC Universal matched . Waywire . In 2012 , Booker and tech executives Sarah Ross and Nathan Richardson formed Waywire , a company focused on video sharing technology . Early investors included Oprah Winfrey , Eric Schmidt , Jeff Weiner , and Troy Carter . After Bookers relationship to Waywire was discussed in a front-page New York Times story , board member Andrew Zucker stepped down from his position . Shortly thereafter , Waywire CEO Richardson departed the business as the company shifted its focus from content creation to content curation . In August 2013 , Booker told NBC News he intended to resign from the Waywire board and put his holdings in a trust if elected to the Senate ; by September , he had resigned from the board and donated his share of the company to charity . Waywire was sold to another video curation business the next month . Book . In 2016 , Booker wrote an autobiography , United : Thoughts on Finding Common Ground and Advancing the Common Good . In an article in HuffPost , Shmuly Yanklowitz said of the book : Personal life . Booker regularly exercises and has been a vegetarian since 1992 , when he was a student at Oxford University . He abstains from alcohol and has no known vices or addictions other than coffee . In 2014 , Booker began practicing a vegan diet and has expressed his vegan ethical philosophy and advocacy for animals . As of June 2016 , Booker worshiped at the Metropolitan Baptist Church in Newark . Booker has never been married , and in 2013 he was named one of Town & Countrys Top 40 Bachelors . Although he has generally tried to keep his personal life private , Booker has in the past called himself as a straight male and said that he is trying to date more in hopes of finding someone to settle down with . He has been romantically linked to poet Cleo Wade . In March 2019 , actress Rosario Dawson confirmed to TMZ that she was in a relationship with Booker . In a 1992 column in The Stanford Daily , Booker admitted that as a teenager he had hated gays . He has himself been the target of rumors about being gay and has generally refused to address these on principle , as he explained in 2013 : Because I want to challenge people on their homophobia . I love seeing on Twitter when someone says Im gay , and I say , So what does it matter if I am ? So be it . I hope you are not voting for me because you are making the presumption that Im straight . In 1992 , Booker recounted in his column for The Stanford Daily that as a 15-year-old kissing a friend on New Years Eve , he reached for her breast , had his hand pushed away once and then reached [ his ] mark . The column described Bookers changed attitudes towards sexual relations and how skewed attitudes lead to rape . The Daily Caller and Fox News brought up the column during the Kavanaugh confirmation hearings in September 2018 . From 1998 to 2006 , Booker lived in Brick Towers , a troubled housing complex in Newarks Central Ward . In November 2006 , as one of the last remaining tenants in Brick Towers , Booker left his apartment for the top unit in a three-story rental on Hawthorne Avenue in Newarks South Ward , an area described as a drug- and gang-plagued neighborhood of boarded-up houses and empty lots . Brick Towers has since been demolished , and a new mixed-income development was built there in 2010 . Since 2013 , Booker has lived in a townhouse he owns in the Lincoln Park section of Newarks Central Ward , also known as the Coast for its arts , jazz , and nightlife history . Booker speaks Spanish ; he attended a Spanish immersion program in Ecuador . In 2020 , Booker learned that he and entertainer RuPaul are cousins , after both appeared on the TV show Finding Your Roots .