Thursday, January 01, 2009

Happy New Year everyone from our front stoop to yours.

Here are some wishes for us all in 2009

We wish that Doug Palmer would stop the charade and tell us when he plans to leave his position as Mayor in the City of Trenton. There is too much at stake for the guessing game to continue. Be straight with us, Doug, stop hedging your bets and tell us exactly what you intend to do and when you intend to do it.

We wish those considering a campaign to replace Mr. Palmer, whether this year or next, would ask themselves a few questions:
Do you now or have you ever held elected office in the City of Trenton before?

Are you a current member of city council?

Have you run for Mayor of Trenton before?

Do you think you can control, deflect or escape from the looming fiscal and organizational collapse of Trenton’s city government in the wake of Doug Palmer’s exit?

Do you believe that your particular age, gender and/or ethnic background is reason enough for you to be elected Mayor?
If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, save your money and our time and don’t run. You are not what Trenton needs in its next Mayor.

We wish that the electorate of this city would get its act together and think about who it elects locally as well as at all levels of government. It’s time to stop voting for the “first gender/ethnicity” and elect the best possible candidate(s) to lead us out of the mess we are in. Qualifications should include, but not be limited to: general intelligence; quantity of common sense possessed; the ability to communicate clearly with at least a minimum of mispronunciation, grammatical errors, and such; willingness to operate in an open and transparent fashion not beholden to self- or special-interests. It is also time to stop re-electing the same people who have been failing us term after term after term.

We wish that our elected officials, current and future, follow the letter and intent of the laws and ordinances on the books (as in the residency issues of the past year) and not allow themselves to bend or disregard the rules for self-serving reasons.

We wish that the city would adopt a policy of 100% compliance with and enforcement of all ordinances, equally and for everyone. From building codes, to historic preservation; parking and traffic to zoning, the rules must be enforced so that the quality of life in Trenton improves thus making it more attractive for residents and businesses to locate here.

We wish each and every one of you a healthy, joyous and prosperous new year.

3 comments:

Nicholas Stewart said...

Cheers to that! Happy New Year, my best for 2009 and beyond.

Mistër Cleän said...

I'm voting for the first candidate to give me a Food Bazaar gift certificate and a ride to the polling place. So there!!!

Old Mill Hill said...

Ah, Mr. Clean, such cynicism so early in the year and all.

Sad to say, though, you are probably not too far off in your estimation of how some candidates will ultimately influence the electorate.