Random thoughts on a saturday afternoon

Hey!  All you candidates in last week's elections, it's over!  Tuesday was four days ago, how about you send out your minions to collect your campaign signs.  Especially you winners...and especially the signs that were placed illegally on public property!  Your responsibilities didn't end when the polls closed my friends! 

And you know what...some of you losers (figurative and literal) from last spring's city election and runoff need to remove your signs too.  That includes you, Mr. Segura para Trenton!

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Does anybody remember the water crisis of a month ago?  Did anyone ever explain what really happened to cause the low pressure and brown water experienced by some customers of the Trenton Water Works?  We know it wasn't strictly a function of the high water level in the Delaware River at that time

And whatever became of Ron Lind?

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Nobody has anything to add to the razzle-dazzle fumbling of the city of Trenton layoff plan?  We all believe that Mayor Mack's manipulation of "the plan" is going to work, right?  The numbers said so.  At least that is what we were told.

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Now that we've visited the Mayoral Circus (Mayor Mack's Thursday morning press conference touting his "saving" of the public safety jobs; etc.) and wrung our hands in despair over those who did get laid off, are we going to get back to the predicament of having an unfit judge presiding over Trenton's Municipal Court?

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The library branches are still closed.  And the deadbeat jazz festival promoter is still on the Library Board.

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City Council meetings are rapidly turning into a side show of incompetence and in-fighting while the citizens of Trenton seem to be struck silent by the city's rapid descent from bad to worse.

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You're doing a heck of a job, Tony!

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.

Still waiting

As noted here previously and in Trenton Kat's blog, as part of the Police Director's Public Relations spin on keeping the citizenry informed a city-wide crime map was hastily posted to the city website last week. The intimation was that this was a regular part of the TPD effort to share information with residents.

(By the way, has anyone else noticed that the "Departments" link on the Trenton homepage (www.trentonnj.org) is mysteriously missing?)

Now that two ComStats (for which the weekly maps are prepared) have come and gone since that solitary posting, nothing new has appeared on the City website.

This is but the latest example of Police Director Santiago and Mayor Palmer's total disregard for maintaining open and honest communication with the people they are supposed to be serving.

You would think that they might have taken note of the downfall of neighboring Hamilton Township's Mayor Gilmore. It's an accepted fact that the two term incumbent lost his reelection bid largely due to his attempts to cover up things including, but not limited to the latest auditor's report on the municipal budget.

Apparently, the arrogance of Santiago and Palmer towards the populous of Trenton can not be stunted. Residents of the Capital City are doomed to suffer under the whims and misdirection of these petty tyrants until enough of us stand up and say, "NO MORE!"

Judging from the voter turnout on election day, that time may not yet be here. And even for those who do vote...be it in general or municipal elections, if we continue to reelect the same representatives who continue to fail us, we will continue to get the representation we deserve.

We can do better. The time to start is now.

VOTE!!!

Over the past several months there has been a recognized surge in people posting blogs about the goings on in and around Trenton, NJ. To some, the blogs have become a sport; a source of amusement. For others, the blogs have provided news, information and opinion not readily found in more traditional (and income dependent) media. And, for those who are the "featured players" in the various entries, the blogs have become (perhaps) an annoyance or irritation.

Still, despite the angle or subject, the bloggers have a common belief in the power of the people to change things. That power resides in the right (and privilege) to vote.

This year, the entire New Jersey Legislature is up for election. Who sits in the Mercer County Executive's Chair will be decided, as will two of the Freeholder seats.

There is a lot of work that needs to be done in this state to get things back on track and moving forward. You can truly have a say in just how and what gets accomplished in the next couple of years simply by going to the polls and voting.

It's very easy to criticize and second-guess those elected to public office. But they wouldn't be there if wasn't for the simple fact that the majority voted for them.* Sometimes, as in the City of Trenton in recent elections, the "majority of votes" did not come from a majority of those who could vote.

You'll have over 12 hours to get to the polls on Tuesday, November 6. Make the time to do your part. Politicians are a funny bunch, they hear the loudest what is said in the silence of the voting booth. Let them know what you want or be prepared for "more of the same."

You have got the power; You have the right; You have the privilege.

Use it!

VOTE!

*a few years ago I learned the disturbing fact that at any given time, up to one full third of elected offices are filled by appointees of one of the two main political parties. While the general public doesn't get to vote on filling these vacancies, party committee people do. Another reason to get involved....!