“Concerned” clergy endorse Martinez for South Ward Council

But who are they?

A press release dated 10/28 (Wednesday) landed on the stoop this morning.

It tells of a press conference held at city hall wherein "approximately 15" unspecified clergy members are alleged to have given their nod to Juan Martinez as their choice to fill the south ward council seat vacated by Jim Coston this past summer.

The only clergyman identified in the press release is Rev. Wayne Griffith who spoke glowingly about Martinez.

Lest we forget, Reverend Griffith was the spiritual leader of the assault on the south ward known as the Leewood development back in 2003. This was the ill-conceived project that would have leveled some six square blocks of the south ward and displaced the current residents so they would then have the opportunity to purchase new homes built by Leewood in partnership with the Concerned Pastors Economic Development Corporation.

Mr. Martinez was hired by this (and other) ostensibly "concerned" pastors along with Michael Fink to do community outreach for the proposed development.

We would like to know exactly how many clergy were part of this endorsement and who they are (how does one get an endorsement from an approximate number of people?). Or is this some amorphous group, much like Mr. Martinez’s oft mentioned civic group, PROS (People for the Revitalization of South Trenton)?

In all the years we’ve been sitting on the stoop, no one has ever been able to tell us who the membership of this organization is; when and where it meets; or anything else concrete about this entity.

It is our considered opinion that this endorsement and the mystical group who made it are no more substantial than the fantasy civic group PROS; just another figment of his imagination.

Just ignore it and maybe Mr. Martinez, Rev. Griffith and their imaginary playmates will all go away.

Take a hike, E-Path

Southward Councilman Jim Coston reported the following on his February 27 blog entry:

E-Path. A copy of the resolution from last November granting E-Path "right-of-way" is on the Articles of Interest page. The $250,000 contract that was pulled from the docket last week had some contingencies as part of it. I am told that it amounted to nothing more than a guarantee that the City would pay $250,000 to E-Path for wireless network service once the network was built, not before. The guarantee is to help E-Path secure a loan to actually build the thing.
This course[sic] begs its own questions. Why can't E-Path get its own financing without locking the City into a deal? Why wasn't Council given a copy of the contract? What has E-Path been doing since it got "right-of-way" several months ago? The biggest question, the one that most concerns me, centers on their track record heretofore.

Let it be pointed out that those of us gathered on the front stoop said all along that this was most likely the case. The City of Trenton was being asked to commit to this contract so that it could help E-Path secure funding to do the job.

The City of Trenton doesn’t need to commit to anything. E-Path said they could do this on their own. Trenton should not agree to anything further until a system is up and running and its capabilities have been thoroughly demonstrated.

The administration can back pedal, sing, dance and spin this any way it wants but one fact remains clear: without a commitment of City money, E-Path will not build this unproven, unneeded network.

And the word from the stoop is still “No.”

Bye-bye, E-Path.

Have you noticed?

City Council voted in December that Police Director Santiago should comply with the Trenton’s residency ordinance.

There was some chest beating by the Administration: Mr. Palmer declared he had the power to grant a residency waiver. If Council didn’t agree, let them do what they have to do.

Then we heard the somewhat conciliatory, “Maybe it’s time to change the ordinance to allow waivers.”

Hmmm. Could it be, on further review, Mr. Palmer’s stance wasn’t as firmly rooted as he thought?

Then, just after the holidays were over, nine city residents filed a legal complaint against the city for allowing Mr. Santiago to continue on in his position of Police Director without complying with the residency requirement.

Then, towards the end of January, it was announced that the Police Department would be bringing its ComStat meeting out on the road to the residents. Appearances at the various Citizen Police Advisory Council (CPAC) meetings were scheduled. Billed as a chance for the public to see a scaled down version of the weekly command meetings, the events suddenly also included a “presentation by Police Director Santiago on the organizational structure and operation of the Trenton Police Department.”

Hmmm. Could this be a response to complaints that Mr. Santiago was remote, detached from and unavailable to the public that pays his salary?

Shortly into February the long dormant crime map on the City of Trenton website was suddenly updated (after three months) and a new one was posted this past week as well.

The local Chamber of Commerce is hosting the police director at an upcoming breakfast meeting, to explain his Crime fighting strategies for Trenton to the business community.

Hmmm. Could all of this, along with the ComStat road show, be an attempt to rehabilitate Mr. Santiago’s tarnished image?

And, he's apparently scheduled to appear before the Plainfield City Council to tell them the advantages of having a Police Director vs. a Police Chief. Strange, since they've already apparently put the changeover into motion, so why would he be making the case for a Civilian Police Director?

Hmm. Is Santiago auditioning for the Plainfield job?

Even the Palmer machine can’t be that transparent.

Or can they?