Bankston says he'll be back in the South Ward
By Max Pizarro, PolitickerNJ.com ReporterVanquished by the Essex County Democratic Party machine this 
After failing to secure party line, Terrance Bankston bows out of freeholder raceweek, Terrance Bankston said he regards the leadership’s rejection of his freeholder at-large candidacy as a direct snub of Mayor Cory Booker, and a failure to reward hard work.
But no matter, he says now that his candidacy is over - he means to return to Newark’s South Ward to labor on behalf of district leader candidates as part of an effort to provide an alternative to the machine of U.S. Rep. Donald Payne (D-12) and Payne ally Essex County Chairman Phil Thigpen.
“It was disrespectful to the mayor, and what was even more insulting about the situation was we didn’t just go to the table expecting to get put on the slate, we went out and worked for it,” said the 25-year old employee of the Booker administration.
Bankston lost the party’s nod to Rufus Johnson for the right to run on the organization line to fill an at-large vacancy on the Board of Chosen Freeholders. Johnson serves as chief of staff to Sen. Ronald Rice (D-Essex), who lost to Booker in the 2006 mayoral contest.
“Sen. Rice has a significant relationship with the chairman,” said Bankston. “We have to stop doing politics like that in this county.”
Bankston said Rice and Johnson were never straight with him about which seat Johnson’s was angling for: the at-large vacancy created by Johnny Jones’s retirement, or the at-large seat currently held by Rice foe Bilal Beasley of Irvington. He said Johnson told him once on the campaign trail that he wasn’t running against him, and only on Tuesday at the 4 p.m. filing deadline did Bankston know for certain that Johnson had edged him for the vacant seat.
“I was the only candidate who declared his intention to run for the vacant freeholder-at large seat,” said Bankston. “This is something I’ve been working on for the past year.”
Disappointed, Bankston nonetheless said he’s optimistic about the chance that 80 Booker-backed candidates for district leader slots have against the Payne machine in the South Ward. His own efforts going forward will include backing community activist Karim Arnold for South Ward chairman as an alternative to Payne ally and current South Ward Party chairman Lee Fisher.
“Remember, Donald Payne and Phil Thigpen endorsed Hillary Clinton for president while voters in the South Ward went for Barack Obama by a 4-1 margin,” said Bankston. Booker served as co-chair of the Obama campaign in New Jersey.
Having raised $25,000 on his own toward running for freeholder, Bankston the ex-candidate as of today officially, said he intends to put that money in the bank for another run for freeholder in 2010.
“I’m 25 years old,” he said. “I’m going to be the future whether you give me the opportunity today or tomorrow.”
Johnson was not available for comment.
U.S. Rep. Donald Payne (D-10) and his son Freeholder and Councilman Donald Payne, Jr.
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The Political Machine
This is an example of how political machines work. The man in charge designates who gets the "elected" after someone else retires. And this newly "elected" person owes their loyalty to the boss who put him there. This is why things won't change.
Sean Colon,
Editor, NJ Libertarian News, www.njlibertariannews.com
Misguided
While I admire Mr. Bankston for what he's accomplished, he's got it all wrong. Mr. Booker was afforded an unprecidented # of legislative candidates during last years election cycle. Cory whent after very solid people like Assemblyman Craig Stanley and Sen. Ron Rice & supported Cleo Tucker & Bilal Beasly--2 marginal individuals at best. He campaigned as a reformer, and has yet to live up to that standard. Meanwhile his policy and admin efforts are being thwarted by incompitence and indifference.
Terrance's affiliation with the Mayor worked against him not for him. Part of winning an election is luck & timing. All Terrance has to do is be patient, work hard & stay visible. Most importantly, he should tone down his rhetoric and be mindful that the political can shift without warning.
Bankston
This guy is unbelievable, thinking that he deserved a freeholder seat because he's one of Cory's employees. I have no problem with his age or anything about his background, but having had a conversation with him, I'll say he's less than a stellar representative of the mayor, and he could use a few more years and a lot more experience under his belt. I know many far more impressive 25 year olds.
He sounds like a spoiled child
Bankson sounds like a spoiled kid and not like a future leader, which I thought the Booker machine was supposed to produce. He had one opportunity to showcase why the "machine" failed the voters of the county and instead he chose to attack rather than rise above and explain the rationale for his would be candidacy. Time out little man!
On The Contrary
I must respectively disagree with the last two comments. Bankston is not the first or the last politician to expose or reveal matters of fact in these cases. Therefore because he is in his 20’s does not make him a “brat”. I found the manner in which he ran his campaign, the decision to withdraw, and his response, impressive, mature, and appropriate. Lastly, not to deny any other young women or man on the move their due credit-to state that Bankston is not an impressive young man is a false and nonsensical statement. Clearly the success of his campaign up until the decision (which many find to not be a failure regardless of the decision) made clear that many supporters from throughout the county found Bankston to be a viable candidate. Unfortunately Mr. Thigpen and the Congressman of that respective district chose to support a different candidate out of spite for the Mayor of Newark. If I remember correctly it was the Booker Machine that secured a seat for the Congressman’s son as a member of the town’s council in 2006. Good luck Bankston…keep pressing forward.