NEWARK: Mayor Cory Booker received a C average on his administration's handling of individuals' rights in the city, according to a report released today by the New Jersey American Civil Liberties Union.

The ACLU criticizes the Booker administration for not making enough progress on police internal affairs reforms, and also calls for change to the city's free speech policies, according to the report.

Currently, protest organizers must pay liability insurance and pay a percentage of security and cleanup costs.

Booker, ACLU officials said, made promises to uphold civil liberties when he was elected in 2006, but the report card proves he has yet to deliver on them.

"Booker came in saying he has high standards and told the public to hold him accountable, and his actions have not lived up to his words," said Edward Barocas, legal director of the state ACLU.

Booker last week said he welcomed, "constructive input on how to get better," but said the report card failed to recognize progress that was being made in addressing ACLU concerns. He noted that ACLU had been given a level of access to city officials the agency never had under his predecessor, former Mayor Sharpe James.

"We think we've made some pretty incredible strides," Booker said.

The report card is the first prepared by the ACLU on a specific city, and focused on Newark, because it is the state's largest city. The city also has a large volume of civil rights complaints, Barocas said.

Booker received both B's on immigrant rights and access to government records. The mayor received a D and a C- respectively on police reform and free speech protections.

The Booker administration is facing two ACLU lawsuits on police practices, and has filed notice to sue on another police case. A fourth lawsuit on free speech has already been settled by the city, according to attorneys for the ACLU and city.

Barocas noted the ACLU has no more than one lawsuit filed against other New Jersey towns, and recalled only two suits filed against the James administration.

The ACLU has been pushing for the creation of an independent board to monitor the police.

Julian Neals, Newark's Corporation Counsel, said the low grade on police practices alone was unwarranted because the lawsuits remain unresolved.

"It's like giving somebody a final grade during mid-term season," he said. "I think it's a little bit premature."

Booker said a B grade for open government was "outrageous," after he pushed for reinstatement of a citizen's right to speak at city council meetings.

The city, also under the Booker administration, the mayor said, created a constituent concerns office, has heard residents at open-office-hour events around the city, established the state's first "4311," information line, for non-emergency citizen issues, and even has used the social networking website, Twitter.com, to communicate with residents.

Barocas said Booker has done well in speaking on civil liberties, but, "needs to dig in and fix problems on a ground level."