You can take your endorsements and ...

In the Times of Trenton’s Thursday, February 27, 2014 edition, local consultant Irwin Stoolmacher offered up an opinion on how to elect better candidates in Trenton’s local elections.

Under the headline “Trenton residents need endorsements and voting records to guide election of next mayor”, Stoolmacher advises that endorsements are similar to campaign war chests. He implies that the more of either a candidate receives raises them to higher level than their opponents.

“However, endorsements, like campaign money raised, are significant as they can help to separate the top-tier from the bottom-tier candidates in a race with many candidates, such as the eight at present: Wiley Fuller, Jim Golden, Patrick Hall, Eric Jackson, Oliver ‘Bucky’ Leggett, Kathy McBride, Paul Perez and Walker Worthy.”

Stoolmacher asserts that sorting “can be helpful to the electorate” and requests many local officials to issue endorsements.

“For this reason, I’d strongly urge County Executive Brian Hughes, Rep. Rush Holt, Sen. Shirley Turner, Assemblyman Reed Gusciora, Assemblywoman Bonnie Watson Coleman, county clerk Paula Sollami-Covello, county surrogate Diane Gerofsky and the freeholders not to sit on the sidelines in the upcoming race for mayor. They should each make their views known as to which candidate they believe is best equipped to lead the city into the future and the reasons for their assessments.”

We suggest that Mr. Stoolmacher has not been paying attention. If he has, he would certainly know that Mercer County Deputy Clerk Walker Worthy has been endorsed by many of the very people he has named.

Endorsements are, indeed, coveted by candidates. Unfortunately, they really don’t give any evidence of a candidate’s qualifications or likelihood of getting elected. Nor are endorsements any kind of indication of how the successful candidate will perform in office. We only have to look at those who endorsed our recently convicted and removed from office mayor, Tony Mack.

The fact is elected officials offering up endorsements only give the electorate an excuse to not do their homework on the candidates.

Stoolmacher as much as admits this when he tries to place the weight of endorsements on the continuum of candidates’ qualifications for the office sought.

“I’m not suggesting that endorsements are more important than a candidate’s experience, position on key issues or performance in debates but, because they often garner significant press coverage, they can be significant.”

Because they often garner significant press coverage, they can be significant.

There you have it. Endorsements are a PR tool. Nothing more. Nothing less. And they let the electorate off of the hook by providing a shortcut to choosing who to vote for.

The voter’s thinking might be something along the lines of “Oh. If the newspaper/county executive/assemblywoman etc. thinks so-and-so is good, that’s all I need!”

To his credit, Stoolmacher does state that when elected officials endorse a candidate they should explain why. He says the endorsements should include the candidate’s skill set, experience, temperament, education, etc.

What about the candidate’s plans? What about who they associate with; surround themselves with; take contributions from?

These are important things to know. Why doesn’t Stoolmacher encourage the electorate to access the public information available via campaign report filings? Why doesn’t he suggest ways and means for the voters to research and evaluate for themselves? Better informed voters will get us the best choices.

The second suggestion in Stoolmacher’s opinion piece is for Trenton City Council to provide voters with objective information that would help them decide whom to vote for.

“I’d suggest it consider making candidates’ voter participation records available. Voting is a clear indicator of concern and interest in government. If a person believes in government, other than incapacitating illness, there is no good explanation for not voting.”

Stoolmacher’s reasoning is that “It takes a lot of chutzpah to ask constituents to vote for you when you have not taken the time to vote in the past.”

Agreed, but why is it up to the city council to provide this information to voters?

It is public information available from the county board of elections. It comes as part of the data set when you purchase the list of registered voters in the city. The data is extremely easy import into and manipulate with a spreadsheet program.

Yes, there is a cost associated with obtaining it, but any individual or group can purchase it, parse it, and publish it. Why does it have to be the city council? It is not in their job description. Or is the author suggesting that each candidate provide their own voting history as part of their campaign resume?

This doesn’t make a lot of sense and it really doesn’t matter.

We need an engaged, enlightened electorate. We do not need more spoon-fed, “show-up-at-the-polls-and-push-the-buttons-I’m-told-to-push”voters.

If, as Stoolmacher closes out with, the Mayor Tony Mack fiasco has taught us anything, it’s that who is elected really matters.

Relying on the same elected officials to tout their favorites, as they have done in the past, is not going to improve our outcome. Choosing based on somebody else’s recommendation is how the city of Trenton got to where it is today.

Looking at and critically evaluating what a candidate proposes, what they’ve done, and who they choose to surround themselves with is what the voters need to do.

What are they thinking?

We have a relative who is intellectually disabled. Her late parents did everything they could to make her as independent as her abilities allow. Her siblings continue that. The struggles, the triumphs and the tribulations of the situation have sometimes given rise to humorous stories.

One such event was when our cousin received her collection envelopes for the month from the local parish.

The next week, our cousin dutifully placed her weekly tithe in the provided envelope. Unbeknownst to anyone she also included a note.

A day or two later, the parish priest called our uncle. He explained that there had been something "extra" in the week's envelope and proceeded to read the note:

"Ok. I'll give you more money this one time, but it is the last!"

This week, Trenton's city council squawked and fussed but then approved a $500,000 cash call to keep the Marriott at Lafayette Yard solvent for another few months. The hotel, which has been drowning in red ink all but one out of the ten years it has been open, is a white elephant owned and financed by city taxpayers.

Trentonians not only have to pay about $1.5 million a year in debt service (interest on the $60 million in bonds floated to build the facility); we are on the hook for the operating costs.

When there is not enough cash generated by the hotel, the city kicks in some to cover expenses.

Last week, city council acted like our cousin and scolded the hotel board and management company about asking for money, but gave it to them anyway.

We understand the limitations our cousin is dealing with.

What is council's excuse?

Technical foul.

Does anyone really know what is going on?

 

A few weeks back, the city announced it was going to institute temporary layoffs (furloughs) for all departments except police and fire. The furloughs would take place every week for 13 weeks starting in April.

 

This announcement bothered those seemingly few people who were paying attention because it meant the virtual shutdown of the Trenton Water Works (TWW) for one day each week. Considering the facts that

 

1. the water utility operates on its own budget; employees are paid from rates charged for water usage, not tax dollars so any cost savings from the furloughs would NOT save the city money
2. the majority of the customers of the water utility are located outside of the city and thus would be penalized by the weekly furloughs
3. all customers would be put at risk because the furloughs would mean no one was minding the water treatment plant, pumping stations, etc. on those days

The problem comes from civil service rules that state furloughs must apply to entire departments. Since TWW operates under the umbrella of the Public Works Department, any layoffs affecting Public Works must apply to TWW.

 

Fortunately, the state of NJ through the DEP recognized the potential problems and squelched the furlough idea.

 

Before that occurred, a plan was drawn up to make TWW along with the Sewer Authority their own department, thus isolating (like Police and Fire) from the furloughs. It was a good idea…for a lot of reasons.

 

However, the city is only allowed to have 10 departments and our current structure has us maxed out. In order to create a Water and Sewer department, room has to be made in the organization chart. Part and parcel to creating the new department was the idea of making the current department of Inspections a division of the department of Housing and Economic Development. This would actually be a return to the way things once were.

 

This all needs to be accomplished by an ordinance introduced and passed by the governing body (city council). Predictably, with this administration and council, the plan has stalled.

 

Some object to moving Inspections back under Housing and Economic Development. Some don’t understand or object to creating a Water and Sewer department.

 

A workable solution languishes because the governing body seems unable to get its act together to do anything positive and the administration can’t think its way out of a paper bag.

 

Now here’s an interesting twist…

 

In November, the Mayor rearranged the former department of Recreation, Natural Resources and Culture (RNRC). Recreation and Culture were brought under the Mayor’s office directly and Natural Resources were moved to the Public Property Division of the Department of Public Works. In some respects the consolidation of departments is a good thing. Eliminating a director’s salary and merging functions are ways to economize.

 

And doing away with the department of RNRC frees up a space on the organization chart that could be filled by a newly created Water and Sewer department. Right?

 

Well, it would IF the city’s administrative organization chart was properly amended by ordinance. The Mayor cannot arbitrarily do away with a department. That must be done by ordinance approved by the city council.

 

Guess the Mayor didn’t think about that.

 

Neither did the city law department…obviously because of their inexperience with municipal law.

 

And the City Clerk didn’t catch it, so the city council didn’t realize it either.

 

Technical foul charged to the whole lot of them for simple failure to operate according to the rules.

King me

Kudos to Checkers proprietor Tom Fowler for being the best provisioned and most professional participant in last night’s Trenton Sampler. The event was billed as a kick-off for the city’s first ever participation in the statewide restaurant week (Sept. 19-25). Mr. Fowler was on hand to personally greet and serve his chili to the participants. His food was hot and there appeared to be enough to go around.


The other participants chose to take a “dump and run” approach to the event and one didn’t even bother to show up. They left one or two trays of food on the tables. The stations were un-attended and many of the dishes were not even kept warm. We’re not the squeamish type, but this screams health code violation when food is left in the “danger zone” of above 40 and below 140 degrees F for any length of time. (To be honest, this was negated by the fact that there was so little food compared to the number of participants that it was mostly gone in the first hour).

Send in the clowns

Don't bother, they're here.

When we were younger one of the hallmarks of summer was the seemingly endless series of carnivals held on the grounds of area churches. Each week there were amusement rides, “games of skill” (as opposed to games of chance) like ring toss, softball throw, shooting gallery, and food available to one and all.

It was like going to the boardwalk or the midway at the state fair only in a church/church school parking lot. Every week, one carnival would close and another would open just down the road. We were never at a loss for entertainment.

So it appears to be with Trenton’s City Council-elect.

The outgoing council hasn’t quite left the building, but the replacements have already taken the stage and begun to amuse us.

This morning’s Trentonian reports South Ward Councilman and sole holdover George Muschal invited his colleagues-elect to a “get-to-know-you” dinner at Amici Milano Monday night. The story states that two of the new council people, Kathy McBride and Alex Bethea did not attend. McBride and Bethea are alleged to be balking at the fact that in a non-binding straw poll the five members present agreed to elect Mr. Muschal as Council President and Councilwoman-elect Phyllis Holly-Ward as Vice President.

“Muschal said all seven members had been invited, and that each received the same phone call from him asking that they attend a get-to-know-you get-together at the restaurant — “That’s a blatant lie!” said McBride, councilwoman-at-large — but that Bethea claimed not to know where the restaurant is, then called Muschal at 4 p.m. Monday to say he wasn’t coming.”

Great! McBride, known to be difficult to reach at times and a no show at some candidate forums seems to be inclined to remain elusive. Her choice but it is not a good trait for an elected official and she shouldn't criticize others for taking action in her self-imposed absence.

And Mr. Bethea, who has campaigned city-wide in the last three elections for a Council At Large seat should know where Amici Milano’s is by now. If he doesn't...what about searching the phone book or the internet or just asking someone where this place is.

Is this the overture to the soap opera that will be Trenton’s City Council for the next four years?