At Time’s Influentials dinner, Newark mayor Cory Booker was worrying about being a bad influence. “I’ve allowed myself to gain too much weight, and as mayor of the city, I’m setting a bad example, especially when obesity is such a problem,” he said. So he bought a treadmill and an elliptical machine for his house. His influence doesn’t stop there. While laying out plans to make Newark more green, Booker realized that he wasn’t recycling in his personal life. “Now I’m very conscious,” he said, and he makes sure his staff is, too. “I’m going in the trash and showing them how we must put things in the proper can. In a humble way.”

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Related:

• Archive: “Intelligencer”
• Articles by Jada Yuan
• Table of Contents: May 21, 2007 issue of New York | Subscribe!