By JIM HUNT
For the Harrison County Journal
One of the joys of my many years associated with the National League of Cities has been the interesting people I have had the opportunity to meet. Some are mayors, some are councilmembers, some are city managers, and some are community leaders who simply care deeply about the places they call home.
One very special person I have known for many years is Luis Quintana, a veteran councilmember from Newark, New Jersey.
Luis has an infectious personality. At National League of Cities conferences, he is rarely seen standing alone. There always seems to be a crowd gathered around him, with people laughing, talking, taking pictures, or catching up on the latest news from Newark. He has that rare ability to make people feel like old friends, even if they have just met him.
Luis has served for more than three decades in Newark city government, which is no small feat. Newark is a great American city, but it is also a tough political city. To enter public life there is difficult. To stay in public life there for thirty-two years says something about a person’s stamina, relationships, and connection to the community.
A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to attend a community awards breakfast in Newark during Luis’s campaign for an unprecedented ninth term on the Newark City Council. I attended with my colleague, Cathy Spain of Bearing Advisors, and we were both impressed by what we saw.
The event was held at the historic Robert Treat Hotel in downtown Newark. Before and after the breakfast, Cathy and I had time to walk around downtown and take in the city. We had dinner at an Irish pub near the Newark branch of Rutgers University, and we noticed how active the downtown was on a Saturday night.
One thing that caught my attention was the Whole Foods grocery store downtown. In many large urban cities, grocery access has become a real challenge, with neighborhoods becoming what are often called food deserts. Newark appears to be pushing back against that trend. The store was busy, and it felt like the community had embraced it as part of downtown life.
The awards breakfast itself was held in the beautiful ballroom at the Robert Treat Hotel, and people began arriving early. The atmosphere was festive, warm, and filled with the kind of energy that only a true community gathering can create.
Cathy and I were welcomed with kindness, and more than a few people seemed impressed that Luis’s friends had traveled from out of state to be there. We heard stories from community members about Luis as a young boy working on city council campaigns, long before he would become one of Newark’s best-known public servants. Those stories reminded me that politics, at its best, is not just about campaigns and elections. It is about relationships, neighborhoods, families, and trust built over many years.
There are few things more American than events that bring politics and community together. In cities like Newark, people gather at breakfasts, parades, fairs, church halls, and community celebrations to support candidates they know personally. Children attend with their parents and grandparents. Meeting the mayor or a councilmember becomes part of a family tradition.
As we left Newark, we could see the skyline of New York City and the activity around Newark Liberty International Airport. Large cities get their share of criticism. To those who live on quiet streets or acre lots in the suburbs, the density and pace of a city like Newark can seem overwhelming.
But there is also something powerful about that energy. Big cities have a rhythm, a history, and a spirit that cannot be duplicated.
Luis Quintana represents that spirit. He is not just a councilmember. He is a reminder that public service is built one handshake, one conversation, and one relationship at a time.
As a postscript, Luis Quintana was elected to his ninth term on the Newark City Council, leading the at-large ticket. For his friends in Newark and across the country, it was a victory worth celebrating.
