Following up on the themes of last week's State of the City speech Newark Mayor Cory Booker was at the New School in Manhattan last night, wowing the packed house there to hear him deliver the Barbara Jordan lecture on the state of American democracy.

While the speech was more personal and thematic than substantial, mostly a recounting of how Booker's own experiences living in Newark's infamous Brick Towers (a terribly noir name, that) brought him from tenant organizing to political office, it made clear Booker's gifts as a speaker and politician. Even so, it had a clear implicit policy thrust—that Newark can't be turned around unless crime is brought under control.

He also spent some time on the city's political dysfunction, detailing how as a councilman the heat was locked on in his office in July, and no one would fix it, how his car was ticketed no matter where he parked, and that the police followed him around town and tapped his phones.

City hall's dysfunction can be seen as the flip side of the crime coin. In both cases, one group dominates public space at the expense of all others, and in the process ensures a dysfunctional environment that creates huge obstacles for people looking to advance themselves or improve their environment.

Given the chance to deliver a big-thought speech, Booker kept his eye on the prize—making Newark safe for the many people looking to better themselves and their communities. To do this, he needs to bring crime down, and to to that, he'll need to bring city hall to heel. He's off to a promising start, but it's no easy task, and much work remains.