New Jersey will never be the same according to nework Mayor Ras Baraka because he's seeking to be the state's next Governor the mayor of New Jersey's largest city this week said despite a crowded field for the 2025 gubernatorial election his entrance to the race will leave an impression in part because of his legacy as an unabashed Progressive who's LED Newark through a decade of resurgence affirming to both his critics and supporters that he could do the job as an outsider Baraka made the unexpected announcement on Monday in front of an electrified audience during a Black History Month event in Trenton he joins at least two other high-profile Democrats in the primary race and sat down with me earlier today for his first TV interview since announcing the campaign Mr Mayor welcome uh really happy to have this opportunity with you I have to ask off the bat did you surprise even yourself with the announcement on Monday because I saw Bonnie Watson Coleman come up on that stage and smack you in the shoulder like I didn't see that coming yeah no absolutely I wasn't sure if I was going to do that I don't nobody else knew that you know uh but there were Rumblings for a long time that you were thinking about this absolutely lot of a lot of folks I mean it was a lot of excitement I know it was a lot of anticipation people came down there you know I prayed on it you know I uh you know speech was was riveting I was in it you know and then it just came out uh because that's what's in my heart I mean you know that's what I feel so it came out to a warm reception to a surprisingly overe excited reception yeah why surprising yeah you know I thought you know the folks in the room would uh be supportive of the idea but uh I just didn't know to what extent you know and uh a lot of people seemed you know excited that this was happening in the days sense we've got a little hint through some other interviews you've done about what a Baraka Administration would Champion it things like bringing back the CBT uh the the corporate business tax search charge affordable housing desegregating schools baby bonds that's right um these are a lot of social programs that I think when people see them whether they're on board or not also see dollar signs of course how would you go about them without raising taxes which as you say is a big issue if not one of the biggest issues for average families well I think the tax problem in New Jersey is that is uneven I don't think everybody's paying their fair share uh that we have to begin thinking about getting the richest new jerseyans to pay their fair share whether it's Mansion tax or state tax beginning to figure out what that looks like uh to help us fund transportation to help us fund affordable housing all those things that are necessary uh to get rid of the loopholes that allow companies and corporations to take their profits to other states we have to bring the profits back here to New Jersey uh you live here we and uh you know shoulder the responsibility of your family of everything you have here we give you everything we have and we ought to get something in return these are issues that you're working on within the city of Newark absolutely you see them translating to a Statewide level well everything that we fight for in nework are state issues whether it's affordable housing uh reducing violence and crime in our city uh reducing the cost of living making it uh easier for people to live in New York to live in New Jersey all those things are important I think housing is the number one issue across the state of New Jersey making kids get make sure kids get a decent education these are things all new jerseyans uh want uh for their families I'm thinking back to 2015 covering Phil Murphy on the campaign Trail a very Ultra unabashed Progressive Phil Murphy who then in the year since has had to walk back some of that to work with the moderate wing of the party are you going to be willing to compromise on some of this in order to get it done which tends to be the key word once you get to Trenton well I know how to collaborate let me say that I mean I think most of the things we did in fact most of the things we've done in Newark that we successful at has been about collaboration I mean people didn't think uh the business district would be this booming you know when a mayor comes in you know with my background activism school teacher principal a radical mayor as you were called that's right and uh we actually had the reverse so I I look forward to working with all of the people in Trenton and around the state that want to do the right thing but I'm not going to walk moderately or slow I think that's the problem with New Jersey is we've had this slow moderate pace towards Progressive uh progressiveness and at the end of the day what has happened is we walked so slow that it's almost not moving at all it's not working in your eyes right but how do you do it when you've got a state like New Jersey where we do have a lot of moderate voters you have to put your shoulders in it right and and and be able to convince people why this is necessary uh you have to be able to talk to Residents and talk to people about and sell what it is that you're doing the same way you did when you were running for office you have to sell these ideas while you're in office and Market them and I and and you'll be surprised I don't think new jerseyans are as moderate as people want them to be right I think when new the the real issue is people want to be able to live in this city they want in the state they want to be able to afford it uh they want to be able to send their kids to decent schools uh that we have great services in New Jersey but everybody's not paying for them fairly when that's laid out to people and they begin to understand that some people are paying more than others how do we even that out right how do we lower people's taxes how we give people lower people's housing why is necessary to build more housing and build more affordable housing that just not doesn't help people who need affordable housing it also helps other folks who are middle inome folks or middleclass folks in the in the state of New Jersey uh because it reduces or lowers or stabilizes the the rents uh and the mortgages when you build more housing what's the difference between a progressive Baracka Administration and I'll use Steve FIP because he's the only other who's tatted himself as a progressive who's so far thrown his hat into the Democratic primary the mayor of the the second largest city Jersey City what's the difference there and are you concerned that this is going to become a very crowded field um with uh some ideals that seem to be on the same page well we we should have ideals on the same uh that are close uh because we all Democrats uh and we should be believing basically the same things we should have a big tent a blanket that warms everybody uh we should be Progressive on immigrants rights union rights making sure that we building affordable housing uh alternatives to violence and crime in our community all these things should be things Democrats are talking about right the the difference is we have a record in challenging and facing these problems head on when you get on a plane if the pilot comes to you and says this is my first flight you might be a little scared especially because you think turbulence is coming because turbulence is going to come we fly in a storm in New York every single day I've been in a storm and turbulence is what I wake up to what I go to sleep to so at the end of the day these issues that we're fighting in New York are state issues and we have experienced and not only facing them but facing them down New York mayor Ras Baraka thank you so much for coming in thank you for having me