VIDEO: Cory Booker council meeting ends in 'near riot,' pepper spray

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Cory Booker's heroic Hurricane Sandy efforts, enthusiastic social media presence and penchant for saving women from burning buildings hasn't completely shielded the energetic mayor from some passionate detractors. A meeting in Newark, N.J. erupted into chaos Tuesday after Booker stepped in to cast a deciding vote to appoint ally Shanique Davis Speight to the city council.

According to the Newark Star Ledger, the mayor can cast votes in the absence of a quorum, which occurred when a councilman supporting Speight's opponent tried to speak, and was not recognized by the acting chair.

The report describes the resulting chaos as a "near-riot," in which residents, led by local union leader Rahaman Muhammad, rushed to the dais and chanted "Cory's gotta go!"

Booker and his team had apparently planned the rare political maneuver ahead of time, and while his chief of staff emphasized that they had "abided by the rules and guidelines," his opponents' charges of partisan cronyism will no doubt come up in his -- unconfirmed but expected -- gubernatorial bid against Chris Christie.

Writes the Atlantic Wire:

[The Atlantic Wire/Newark Star Ledger)