There’s much less said about his work in Newark, the largest city in New Jersey, which has been plagued by unrelenting crime and a struggle to pay for police officers after having to cut more than 10 percent of the force after Christie-backed state budget cuts in 2011.
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Without new laws, Obama is limited in what he can to do. Later, he’s expected to convene a roundtable discussion and make a statement at the Center for Law and Justice at Rutgers University’s Newark campus. Seven states, including New Jersey, have removed the box from applications for private employers, as well.
President Obama visiting the El Reno Federal Correctional Institution in July, 2015.
President Obama toured a drug rehab center and met with former inmates Monday in the rough-and-tumble city of Newark, calling on the nation to ensure those regaining their freedom get a second chance instead of a return ticket to prison.
James Stewart Jr., head of the union representing Newark’s officers, said that Christie’s goal since he came into office has been to “slash decades worth of negotiations with one pen stroke”. There, Obama said that Black Lives Matter activists, who have been aggressive in protesting police killings, had legitimate complaints.
The steps Obama announced Monday were all relatively modest.
The reforms the White House announced Monday – meant to help certain formerly incarcerated citizens convicted of felonies find jobs after they have completed their sentences – range from the helpful to the useless to the distracting.
The president went on to talk about his support for the “ban the box” campaign, which seeks to change the hiring process so that ex-cons are no longer required to include their criminal history on a job application.
The president acknowledged that the steps were small. “Treatment works. And it takes a whole community to help people re-enter society and to overcome their addiction to drugs”, he said. During his speech he pointed out that nearly 70 million Americans have a criminal record of a few sort, and that “a lot of time that record disqualifies you from being a full participant in our society even if you’ve fully paid your debt to society”.
“There are 2.2 million Americans behind bars”.
And it will have the long-term goal of reducing crime, Obama said.
“That’s bad not only for those individuals, but for our economy”, he said.
“Everything we do should be designed toward that goal”. Overall, the violent crime rate is still near the historic lows. “That’s our goal, that everyone has a chance to contribute”.
Obama was talking about people like Terry Williams, 23, who ended up at Integrity House after entering a jail-diversion program following a drug-distribution arrest.
Mr. Christie’s criticism contrasted with his praise for Mr. Obama in 2012 when the president visited New Jersey after the damage caused by Superstorm Sandy at the tail end of his election campaign against Republican rival Mitt Romney.
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“I just think he’s had nothing to do with the successes that are here”, Christie said. He doesn’t plan on blowing it. “This is now or never for me, honestly, because I’ve been down the road before”.
