Photo by Chris Sykes East Orange Mayor Lester Taylor, center, explains why he is not seeking re-election in this year's Democratic primary election during a press conference on the front steps of City Hall in City Hall Plaza on Thursday, Feb. 2, as his wife, Bibi, right, and Essex County Democratic Committee and East Orange Democratic Committee Chairman Leroy Jones, left, stand beside him. Taylor said he is not running for re-election because he wants to spend more time with his family.
East Orange Mayor Lester Taylor, center, explains why he is not seeking re-election in this year’s Democratic primary election during a press conference on the front steps of City Hall in City Hall Plaza on Thursday, Feb. 2, as his wife, Bibi, right, and Essex County Democratic Committee and East Orange Democratic Committee Chairman Leroy Jones, left, stand beside him. Taylor said he is not running for re-election because he wants to spend more time with his family.
EAST ORANGE, NJ — East Orange Mayor Lester Taylor held a press conference on the front steps of City Hall on Thursday, Feb. 2, to announce he will not be seeking re-election for a second term.
Taylor’s announcement came three months after he initially said he would seek re-election, on the same day he and the other members of the Essex County Democratic Party organization endorsed gubernatorial candidate Phil Murphy on the steps of the Essex County Courthouse in Newark.
“As I said in the State of the City speech last week, ‘This is our shot East Orange; this is our time to shine,’” Taylor said Thursday, Feb. 2, to the crowd that filled City Hall Plaza to hear him speak. “When I was asked to run for public office four years ago, I was committed to, and campaigned on, a platform of transformational and generational change — change that I knew would be difficult but required to ensure that my children and all of our children and families in this great city, all of our residents, would be proud to call East Orange home. Establishing that vision for our city and having that vision embraced by residents, our employees, by young people and those who are young at heart was indeed a transformational but also a personally humbling experience for me. East Orange will set the standard for urban excellence and become a destination city.”
Taylor said that, while there is still much to be done, he is proud of the progress made toward that end during the past three years. He said his choice to step aside was bittersweet for personal reasons.
“We’re resilient: You asked for change and change is what you got,” Taylor said. “However, after almost four years of working to change our city for the better, I have come to the conclusion that my family always did, but I must especially recognize now, must come first. The proudest moments of my life are as husband and father. During the past four years, there hasn’t been a night that my children didn’t ask: ‘Daddy, will you be home for dinner; Daddy, will you be home before we go to bed; Daddy, can you take us ice skating or to the park; Daddy, can you go on my field trip?’ And more often than not, the answer has been ‘No.’ ”
But Taylor said he can no longer afford to put his family and familial responsibilities on hold any longer.
“So, after many sleepless nights, after many conversations with the love of my life, Bibi, … I have decided that, although I love the opportunity to serve and to have served as the 13th mayor in the history of this great city, while I appreciate the opportunity that the voters of this great city have given me, I do not intend to seek another term in office,” said Taylor. “There’s still much that we must do before my remaining days in office come to a conclusion. I promise that I will spend every day from this day until Dec. 31, 2017, 11:59 p.m., working as if it were my first day in office to continue bringing about transformational change in the city of East Orange.”
Later in the evening, Taylor proved he was as good as his word when he showed up at the 5th Ward community meeting held by council members Alicia Holman and Mustafa Brent at the Norman Towers apartment complex, along with several department heads, including police Chief Phyllis Bindi, fire Chief Andre Williams, Recreation Department Director Osner Charles and East Orange Public Library Director Carolyn Ryan-Reed.
Taylor’s ongoing dedication to his role as mayor and commitment to East Orange impressed both Holman and Brent.
“I just want to honestly and truthfully thank the mayor for his tremendous job that he’s done over the time that he’s been here,” Brent said Thursday, Feb. 2. “He and I share a few things in common and one of the things that we share in common is our love of family; our love and our passion for this great city. And in a lot of ways, us coming into this city as being presumptuous outsiders and we were welcomed by a phenomenal City Council, a phenomenal Democratic Party, but I myself was welcomed by him and his family. I just want to comment him and thank him for the phenomenal job that he has done”
Holman agreed with Brent, saying, “Mayor Taylor had a vision; he brought that vision to the city and I will be the first to say that Mayor Taylor has done a phenomenal job over these past four years that he’s been here with us in the city of East Orange.
“Your heart and soul went into East Orange and the platform that you presented. But I understand; I started this when my daughter was young and I get it. These are their best years, so I understand when you say about your family.”
Historical Society of East Orange President Goldie Burbage also said she understands how important family is to Taylor, who happens to be a member of her group, and put his unprecedented decision not to seek re-election to a second consecutive term in office into historical perspective.
“I can’t ever remember it happening, and this goes back to before we had African-Americans as mayors; not in my memory,” Burbage said Tuesday, Feb. 7. “I’ve been in the city since 1956. I can’t recall anything like this ever happening. But then again, I can’t recall a mayor who’s ever had children as young as his. I can understand why he’s doing what he’s doing. But in my personal opinion, I believe he’s done an admirable job.”
According to Burbage, “There are big shoes to fill for the next person who is considering running for mayor.”
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