Newark City Hall Communications Director Anne Torres is resigning from her post.NEWARK — Newark City Hall Communications Director Anne Torres confirmed today that she is resigning from Cory Booker's administration effective immediately in the wake of Booker's disastrous appearance on "Meet the Press" last week.
"I just decided it is best if I pursued other opportunities," Torres said by phone. "We have very different views on how communications should be run."
While a crucial part of the administration's public face and dealings with the press, Torres' role is strictly confined to city business. It is unclear what role, if any, she would have had in preparing Booker's remarks on "Meet the Press", wherein the mayor said he had "personal" problems with President Obama's attacks on Bain Capital — problems he called nauseating.
"It has been a pleasure to serve in this administration for six years, and as a Newarker, there is no greater reward than to work for the city that you love," Torres said today in a statement. "I’ve had the opportunity to work with an amazing team, and wish the mayor the best."
Anne TorresBooker's chief of staff Modia Butler denied that Torres' sudden departure had anything to do with Booker's public relations fiasco last week.
"It has nothing to do with 'Meet the Press,'" Butler said. "It was an amicable decision reached by both the mayor and Anne Torres after working together to create a new Newark story over the last six years."
Press secretary Esmeralda Diaz Cameron will serve as communications director on an interim basis, Butler said.
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