Breakdown in Newark

Carmine Casciano, a personable, young junior-high school teacher, acts as my guide to Newark’s “predominantly white” North Ward. He is a district leader and president of the North Ward Young Democrats—immersed in the politics of his time and place. We first pass through tree-lined streets, a neighborhood of substantial homes and lawns, and this year’s cars parked in the driveways. “The strength of the Republican party is here in Forest Hills,” Casciano tells me. “The other parts of the Ward are Democratic.” But not altogether; as Casciano noses his car into a narrow, brick-paved street, he says, “Now we’re in Imperiale City, basically a Republican area.” This is a neighborhood of short blocks, tiny plots, and small frame houses—”$6,000–$7,000-a-year people.” “Imperiale City” is named for State Assemblyman Anthony Imperiale, elected in November 1971 on an Independent ticket. Imperiale firs...