Bound to leave a sour taste
The abnormally large number of candidates running for Trenton’s elected offices (the mayor and seven city council seats) has raised the specter of a messy campaign season.
Mix in the totally incompetent way the current council went about replacing Acting City Clerk Juanita Joyner with a temporary, non-resident, Deputy Clerk and you have a recipe for complete electoral meltdown.
Even hiring in former city clerk Anthony Conti as a consultant to help the clerk’s office get through the May 11 election appears to be too little, too late.
In an interview with the Trentonian, Conti allows that even with an all out push, the clerk’s office may not be able to certify all candidates by the March 18 deadline.
It’s a mess. A complete and utter mess. A true case of “too many cooks spoiling the broth.”
Appointed Acting Municipal Clerk after Conti retired in 2007; Ms. Joyner has apparently completed all the required course work for the position but has yet to take the certification exam. Suddenly, this past fall, there was a big push to replace Joyner.
On the surface there appeared to be some questions about her competency, but there was also the coincidence of Councilwoman Cordelia Staton expressing interest in the position. (After serving two terms on council, Staton is not running for re-election this year).
This raised some eyebrows because the City Clerk oversees the election process on behalf of the city (the County Clerk and the County Board of Elections also have a role in the process, but the City Clerk is the primary authority). If Staton had been named clerk, her council seat would most likely have remained vacant until after the election. In the meantime she would be called upon to “referee” a Mayoral race featuring three of her council colleagues as candidates.
Many people were uneasy with the idea of Ms. Staton…who twice ran, and won, on the Palmer ticket with Paul Pintella and Manny Segura. Both are running for Mayor, but Segura has positioned himself as far from his former slate mates as possible.
There was reportedly considerable infighting amongst council regarding the suggested removal of Joyner just to replace her with Staton. After a couple of false starts to the process Staton withdrew her name from consideration.
Still, council suddenly and abruptly decided to not extend Joyner’s appointment. At the same time it was wisely and correctly pointed out that the incoming council should be the ones to appoint the next City Clerk.
One reasonable solution might have been to extend Joyner’s appointment through Labor Day at the latest. A certified, experienced individual…such as Mr. Conti, could then have been hired as a consultant through the elections to ensure a fair, transparent process.
Instead, council voted to end Joyner’ tenure as Acting Municipal Clerk effective Feb. 28 and retained the services of an Acting Deputy Municipal Clerk starting March 1...a mere three working weeks before the candidate certification deadline.
The person hired, Leona Baylor, is certified and has worked in the clerks office in Hightstown Borough. Baylor is not a city resident and that has raised some questions about the legality of her contract appointment.
Not to oversimplify, but if she is an appointee, she needs to be a resident; if she is truly a contract employee, she might be exempt. It all depends upon how you define the Acting Deputy Municipal Clerk position? And that definition may ultimately have to come from the courts…and cost the city more of our tax dollars to defend the case, not to mention possibly delaying the election process.
Candidates…many of which are running for office for the first time, are wondering where this all leaves them.
If the clerk’s office staff can’t adequately and accurately complete the certification process by the March 18th deadline, what will happen?
Legal sources have suggested that the courts can and probably would extend the certification deadline.
But even that may not be enough for some of the candidates. Especially in the city wide races where 385 certified signatures are required for a candidate’s name to appear on the ballot. Trenton voters can only sign one petition for Mayoral candidates and there are 10 running. That’s 3,850 separate individuals required to sign if all candidates are to get on the ballot. Not likely under any circumstances..
In the At Large Council race, voters can sign petitions for up to three individuals…one for each of the seats. With 11 people running for the three seats, odds are a little better that the candidates can get the number of required signatures. It will still be a daunting task.
What this really means is that, under the best of situations there would have been some attrition in the number of candidates come certification deadline day.
The screw-ups, fumbles and delays by council in filling of the City Clerk position almost guarantees a far from fair and even-handed election process.
The candidates will lose out. But more importantly, the city will lose out, yet again.
Monday, March 08, 2010
Tuesday, March 02, 2010
Hamilton Mayor gets it right
Hamilton Township Mayor John Bencivengo has taken his name off the list of people slated to get a salary increase if a proposed ordinance is passed tonight. And that's good.
Mayor Bencivengo also proposed the raise for himself and his department directors and other township employees in a specific and very public ordinance. That is also good.
The proposed salary increases have generated a lot of anger and backlash from the taxpayers.
Sound familiar?
At least Mayor Bencivengo has been open and above board with the way he has gone about proposing the salary increase. Mayor Bencivengo has also realized that by taking his raise off the table he shows he understands the feelings of the taxpayers.
Let's point out right now that Mayor Bencivengo oversees the operation of a municipality more than five times the size of the city of Trenton. Hamilton's population is at least 10% greater than Trenton's and growing while Trenton's is shrinking. Hamilton's bond rating was recently improved due to it's sound financial management.
And one last point, Mayor Bencivengo (and Mayor Gilmore before him as the salary hasn't increased in a decade) earns about 78% of what Doug Palmer takes home forruining running the city of Trenton.
Are you paying attention, Doug? Or is it all the state's fault?
Mayor Bencivengo also proposed the raise for himself and his department directors and other township employees in a specific and very public ordinance. That is also good.
The proposed salary increases have generated a lot of anger and backlash from the taxpayers.
Sound familiar?
At least Mayor Bencivengo has been open and above board with the way he has gone about proposing the salary increase. Mayor Bencivengo has also realized that by taking his raise off the table he shows he understands the feelings of the taxpayers.
Let's point out right now that Mayor Bencivengo oversees the operation of a municipality more than five times the size of the city of Trenton. Hamilton's population is at least 10% greater than Trenton's and growing while Trenton's is shrinking. Hamilton's bond rating was recently improved due to it's sound financial management.
And one last point, Mayor Bencivengo (and Mayor Gilmore before him as the salary hasn't increased in a decade) earns about 78% of what Doug Palmer takes home for
Are you paying attention, Doug? Or is it all the state's fault?
Friday, February 26, 2010
Snow storm or snow job
It’s been all over the news for the past couple of days: Monster storm set to descend upon us! Prepare for the worst.
Every year, the same thing: big storm coming!
Truth is, this winter has been an exceptionally “harsh” one with multiple, large storms. But in the end, its winter and we live in Trenton, NJ not some tropical paradise.
Most people recognize that the weather is colder, there is a chance of snow (and snow storms) and we adjust our activities and plans accordingly.
We don’t plan picnics or a lot of outdoor activities for the winter months. We dress warmly; wear gloves and hats to prevent the dire consequences of frostbite. In short, we take the steps necessary to not freeze to death.
We manage.
What we don’t do is stand out in the street or park or ball field in Bermuda shorts and t-shirts yelling up at the sky to stop the snow and begging for higher temperatures.
That would not be normal, right?
Then is it normal for Doug Palmer to spend money the city doesn’t have a hope of getting from State coffers and then complain loudly when it doesn’t come?
He does this every opportunity he gets, year in and year out. He knows there is a structural deficit in the city’s budget…a blizzard of red ink if you will, yet he consistently acts as if there isn’t. He complains when the state won’t. Palmer budgets for a lavish banquet knowing that he’s only going to be dining at the soup kitchen.
And then he stands in the middle of State Street yelling for more money.
Insane.
Every year, the same thing: big storm coming!
Truth is, this winter has been an exceptionally “harsh” one with multiple, large storms. But in the end, its winter and we live in Trenton, NJ not some tropical paradise.
Most people recognize that the weather is colder, there is a chance of snow (and snow storms) and we adjust our activities and plans accordingly.
We don’t plan picnics or a lot of outdoor activities for the winter months. We dress warmly; wear gloves and hats to prevent the dire consequences of frostbite. In short, we take the steps necessary to not freeze to death.
We manage.
What we don’t do is stand out in the street or park or ball field in Bermuda shorts and t-shirts yelling up at the sky to stop the snow and begging for higher temperatures.
That would not be normal, right?
Then is it normal for Doug Palmer to spend money the city doesn’t have a hope of getting from State coffers and then complain loudly when it doesn’t come?
He does this every opportunity he gets, year in and year out. He knows there is a structural deficit in the city’s budget…a blizzard of red ink if you will, yet he consistently acts as if there isn’t. He complains when the state won’t. Palmer budgets for a lavish banquet knowing that he’s only going to be dining at the soup kitchen.
And then he stands in the middle of State Street yelling for more money.
Insane.
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
And then there were 40
Former Cop tosses hat in ring
Michael "Mickey" Forker has added his name to the list of potential candidates for elected office in the City of Trenton. Forker, who Doug Palmer decided to engage in a shout down at last week's council meeting, will seek one of the three At-Large Council seats.
There are now an average of five candidates for each of the eight possible seats (mayor and seven council) up for grabs in the May 11 city election. The abundance of choice has left many observers scratching their heads and asking "why so many?"
We have to wonder as well.
Yes, it's guaranteed to be a new configuration of public officials since too-long Mayor Doug Palmer is not seeking re-election. But with three current Councilpersons (Lartigue, Pintella, Segura) seeking to replace Palmer, voters need to ask themselves just how different will things be if one of them gets elected.
With those three seeking higher officer, and Councilpersons Bethea, Melone, and Staton not seeking re-election, the door has opened for a cadre of wannabes and hangerson to take a shot at one of the seats.
Never mind that some have never been heard from prior to the start of "silly season" or that others only pop up every four years or so; all seem to think they have the answers.
We just hope whoever is sworn in on July 1 is given a hard hat because we don't think it will be too much later that the roof on city hall will start to cave in as the real truth about the mismanagement of the past two decades comes to light.
Good luck, Trenton.
Michael "Mickey" Forker has added his name to the list of potential candidates for elected office in the City of Trenton. Forker, who Doug Palmer decided to engage in a shout down at last week's council meeting, will seek one of the three At-Large Council seats.
There are now an average of five candidates for each of the eight possible seats (mayor and seven council) up for grabs in the May 11 city election. The abundance of choice has left many observers scratching their heads and asking "why so many?"
We have to wonder as well.
Yes, it's guaranteed to be a new configuration of public officials since too-long Mayor Doug Palmer is not seeking re-election. But with three current Councilpersons (Lartigue, Pintella, Segura) seeking to replace Palmer, voters need to ask themselves just how different will things be if one of them gets elected.
With those three seeking higher officer, and Councilpersons Bethea, Melone, and Staton not seeking re-election, the door has opened for a cadre of wannabes and hangerson to take a shot at one of the seats.
Never mind that some have never been heard from prior to the start of "silly season" or that others only pop up every four years or so; all seem to think they have the answers.
We just hope whoever is sworn in on July 1 is given a hard hat because we don't think it will be too much later that the roof on city hall will start to cave in as the real truth about the mismanagement of the past two decades comes to light.
Good luck, Trenton.
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Don't blame this on Trenton
Fried fractures facts
Robbinsville, NJ Mayor David Fried proudly announced that his township will be having a St. Patrick’s Parade* on Sunday March 14.
As part of the rationale behind the move, Fried claims that Robbinsville has never been asked to join in Trenton’s parade…the largest in Mercer County.
The parade in Trenton, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, is not a city function. If it was, it would most likely not be as large, well attended or successful. The Trenton event is organized and produced by the St. Patrick’s Day Parade and Scholarship Committee,* a non-profit corporation.
The argument that Trenton’s Mayor never invited Robbinsville to participate is completely without merit. Fried should know better and so should the Trentonian reporters who contributed to the staff report.
If Robbinsville wants its own parade…and wants Fried to serve as Grand Marshall, so be it. But let’s not suggest that the city of Trenton has in any way slighted Robbinsville or Mayor Fried by not inviting the suburban township to participate.
Mayor Fried should apologize for his patently false insinuation that the City of Trenton has anything to do with selecting participants for the annual St. Patrick’s Parade.
*Let’s be totally accurate…if any parade, Trenton’s or Robbinsville’s…doesn’t take place on March 17, it is not a St. Patrick’s DAY Parade. It is a St. Patrick’s Parade, period.
Robbinsville, NJ Mayor David Fried proudly announced that his township will be having a St. Patrick’s Parade* on Sunday March 14.
As part of the rationale behind the move, Fried claims that Robbinsville has never been asked to join in Trenton’s parade…the largest in Mercer County.
“We’ve never been invited to march in the Trenton parade,” Mayor Fried said. “I don’t know why. Mayor Palmer and I get along great; I think maybe it’s just a distance issue.”Mayor Fried is point blank wrong.
The parade in Trenton, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, is not a city function. If it was, it would most likely not be as large, well attended or successful. The Trenton event is organized and produced by the St. Patrick’s Day Parade and Scholarship Committee,* a non-profit corporation.
The argument that Trenton’s Mayor never invited Robbinsville to participate is completely without merit. Fried should know better and so should the Trentonian reporters who contributed to the staff report.
If Robbinsville wants its own parade…and wants Fried to serve as Grand Marshall, so be it. But let’s not suggest that the city of Trenton has in any way slighted Robbinsville or Mayor Fried by not inviting the suburban township to participate.
Mayor Fried should apologize for his patently false insinuation that the City of Trenton has anything to do with selecting participants for the annual St. Patrick’s Parade.
*Let’s be totally accurate…if any parade, Trenton’s or Robbinsville’s…doesn’t take place on March 17, it is not a St. Patrick’s DAY Parade. It is a St. Patrick’s Parade, period.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
More good news for Trenton?
New bill could help save Trenton High
State Senator Diane Allen (R – District 7) has introduced a bill in the legislature that would require “schools facilities projects” to maintain the historic character of the buildings.
The bill, S980, would support the efforts of those who wish to see Trenton’s current high school building preserved and upgraded rather than razed and a new one built.
Here’s hoping even the rabid partisans will swallow their spit and support this bill. And that it gets a swift passage before the SDA funds evaporate.
State Senator Diane Allen (R – District 7) has introduced a bill in the legislature that would require “schools facilities projects” to maintain the historic character of the buildings.
The bill, S980, would support the efforts of those who wish to see Trenton’s current high school building preserved and upgraded rather than razed and a new one built.
Here’s hoping even the rabid partisans will swallow their spit and support this bill. And that it gets a swift passage before the SDA funds evaporate.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Trenton makes the list
Now if we can just keep the developers with Eminent Domain dreams at bay.
This Old House magazine has just spotlighted Trenton's Greenwood-Hamilton Historic District as one it's "Best Old House Neighborhoods for 2010:the Northeast."
The inclusion demonstrates what many have said for so long: Trenton's housing stock is an underappreciated asset. The historic flavor and quality of construction cannot be matched today. The city needs to encourage the restoration and marketing of these homes and neighborhoods as a way to bring Trenton back.
Small scale redevelopment makes so much more sense than the large, subsidized projects that will envariably require the taking of private property and the loss of some great buildings.
All prospective developers and elected official wannabes need to take note and adjust their plans and schemes accordingly.
This Old House magazine has just spotlighted Trenton's Greenwood-Hamilton Historic District as one it's "Best Old House Neighborhoods for 2010:the Northeast."
The inclusion demonstrates what many have said for so long: Trenton's housing stock is an underappreciated asset. The historic flavor and quality of construction cannot be matched today. The city needs to encourage the restoration and marketing of these homes and neighborhoods as a way to bring Trenton back.
Small scale redevelopment makes so much more sense than the large, subsidized projects that will envariably require the taking of private property and the loss of some great buildings.
All prospective developers and elected official wannabes need to take note and adjust their plans and schemes accordingly.
Saturday, February 06, 2010
Is there something in the water?
If we weren't so busy running around fighting the rest of the population of the eastern seabord for our fair share of bread and milk we would have posted this yesterday.
What in the hell was Mr. Irwin Stoolmacher thinking when he included the following line in his op ed about Trenton's Mayoral race that appeared in the Friday's Times:
Why else would citizens have had to sue to get the administration to enforce its own residency ordinance?
Who else but a corrupt administration would hide their own salary increases in a resolution accepting a contract with one of the city employee unions, again forcing the citizens to take legal action?
Wouldn't a corrupt administration be likely to play favorites amongst developers and contractors, especially those who make sizable campaign contributions (pre-Pay to Play ordinance---which, by the way, the administration fought against)?
What's worse than Mr. Stoolmacher's assertion that this administration is not "seen by its citizen's as corrupt" is the comparison of Mr. Palmer's way of doing business with that of the late Art Holland.
We're not suggesting that Mayor Holland was pefect during his tenure as the city's CEO. But no one can question his integrity. The man was "open and fair" long before that became a catch phrase.
Mr. Palmer's tenure, on the other hand, has been marked by repeated examples of administrative sleights of hand that raise many questions about ethics and legalities.
We suggest that Mr. Stoolmacher revisit his thinking on the issue of a corrupt Trenton political seen. Or at least revisit his physician to have his medications adjusted.
What in the hell was Mr. Irwin Stoolmacher thinking when he included the following line in his op ed about Trenton's Mayoral race that appeared in the Friday's Times:
Any Trenton citizen who hasn't questioned the accountability, ethics and/or transparency of the current administration just hasn't been paying attention."Trenton politics is not seen by its citizens as corrupt."
Why else would citizens have had to sue to get the administration to enforce its own residency ordinance?
Who else but a corrupt administration would hide their own salary increases in a resolution accepting a contract with one of the city employee unions, again forcing the citizens to take legal action?
Wouldn't a corrupt administration be likely to play favorites amongst developers and contractors, especially those who make sizable campaign contributions (pre-Pay to Play ordinance---which, by the way, the administration fought against)?
What's worse than Mr. Stoolmacher's assertion that this administration is not "seen by its citizen's as corrupt" is the comparison of Mr. Palmer's way of doing business with that of the late Art Holland.
We're not suggesting that Mayor Holland was pefect during his tenure as the city's CEO. But no one can question his integrity. The man was "open and fair" long before that became a catch phrase.
Mr. Palmer's tenure, on the other hand, has been marked by repeated examples of administrative sleights of hand that raise many questions about ethics and legalities.
We suggest that Mr. Stoolmacher revisit his thinking on the issue of a corrupt Trenton political seen. Or at least revisit his physician to have his medications adjusted.
Thursday, February 04, 2010
Are we talking about the same place?
Recent public relations attempts play fast and loose with the facts
Readers of the Times earlier this week were treated to a comforting story about how the new ownership of Roman Hall were taking great pains to keep restaurant and catering hall just as it has always been.
Neighbors of the venerable establishment on Whitaker Avenue were invited to tour the place and see how nothing has changed.
The décor, the menu, the ambiance, the article assures us, will stay just as it was.
Right.
Then can anyone explain these postcards that were distributed widely throughout Chambersburg in December?
Readers of the Times earlier this week were treated to a comforting story about how the new ownership of Roman Hall were taking great pains to keep restaurant and catering hall just as it has always been.
Neighbors of the venerable establishment on Whitaker Avenue were invited to tour the place and see how nothing has changed.
The décor, the menu, the ambiance, the article assures us, will stay just as it was.
Right.
Then can anyone explain these postcards that were distributed widely throughout Chambersburg in December?These advertisements for Infinity Lounge “The Biggest and Elegant [sic] Club in Trenton” don’t remind me of Roman Hall. And the website, http://www.infinitylounge.net/, doesn’t show anything about the food at this restaurant.
Since the postcards, the website and the advertisements are in both English and Spanish and the DJ’s and Performers being promoted are Latino, we have to assume the target market for this establishment is NOT the former, traditional Roman Hall clientele.
And before anyone gets all hot and bothered, we are not in anyway suggesting that the ‘Burg of old is alive and well and can support the Roman Hall of days gone by. Nor are we denying the rising and welcome Latino presence in the greater Trenton community.
What we are saying is that the new owners might be a tad disingenuous in suggesting that only the name has changed.
And shame on the Times for reporting the fluff without even scratching the surface on the real story here.
-----
Apparently the new owners of Infinity Lounge aren't the only ones around here who like to play with the facts.
Recently, this post appeared on the Trenton Speaks forum:
Posted: Mon Feb 01, 2010 5:20 pm Post subject: Townhouses on Champale Site
"Have you noticed that the newspaper ads for the new townhouses being built on the Champale site, indicate that they are within walking distance of the train station on Clinton Ave? I guess you'd have to walk the entire length of Centre St to S. Broad, then through Mill Hill. Close reading of the Hovnanian web site admits "The station is within 2 miles of The Villages at Delaware Run." I guess walking four miles a day through a ghetto will appeal to a certain class of commuter? "
"Their web site also promotes 'Shopping', which includes dining. Were you aware that we're known for our Scandinavian restaurants? How about the "several" "five star gourmet restaurants" in Chambersburg? Here's the quote:
Good catch! KHov sure does tell the truth. Makes me want to run right over and buy one of their "tunnel-front" townhomes."Trenton is noted for its pottery, china, and fine porcelain from makers such as Lenox, Boehm, Cybis, and Ispanky, which may be found at outlets and showrooms throughout the area. Trenton's principal downtown shopping district encompasses four blocks on State Street and five blocks on Broad Street, within 2 miles of The Villages at Delaware Run."Wondering how they approach the subject of our school system? The best they can come up with is to mention its sheer size and mayoral control, and then suggest the "pretigious day and boarding schools" in Princeton:
"Trenton's culinary fare reflects the city's eclectic heritage; it is famous for its pizza and hoagies. Other ethnic cuisine includes the dishes of Mexico and Scandinavia. Several Italian eateries in the Chambersburg neighborhood, within 2 miles of the community, are highly acclaimed five-star gourmet restaurants"
For more entertaining and misleading sales information, visit the hovnanian "Villages at Delaware Run " web site: http://www.khov.com/Home/NJ/D0ME/_Properties_AUTH.htm
"Trenton's school district is the largest in Mercer County. The mayor appoints a nine-member Board of Education for three-year terms. The district is in the midst of a several-year project involving the construction of several new schools as well as renovation of many existing buildings."
"Additionally, several parochial and private elementary and secondary schools supplement the public system in Trenton. A number of prestigious day and boarding schools are found in the Princeton area."
Monday, February 01, 2010
Where did they go?
Has the City of Trenton mysteriously reduced its payroll by hundreds of people?
We were doing a little online research last week for a project and discovered something odd on the Data Universe site run by the Asbury Park Press.
On this particular site, you can do searches on NJ Public Employees to check salary records as they relate to the public pensions.
In the past, if we wanted to see…for instance…how much Mr. Palmer was paid, you could plug his name and Trenton City into the appropriate boxes on the search form and within moments up would pop a grid with the information you wanted. It’s all legit and all public information.
The other day when we checked, we couldn’t find that information any longer. In fact, we could only find information on 19 city employees contributing to the Public Employees Retirement System. Four of them were Councilpersons Annette Lartigue, Cordelia Staton, Gino Melone and Paul Pintella.
Gone was the Mayor, Chief of Staff, Department Heads, etc. And we plugged in names of Division Directors and Staff people, still no information.
Checking further…we could find 574 Trenton employees enrolled in the Police and Fire Retirement System.
At the Board of Education, there are the records of 799 employees who pay into the Public Employees Retirement System available. Another 1173 school employees are in the Teachers Pension and Annuity Fund.
Similarly, the Trenton Community Charter School has 85 employees show up on the listing.
The Trenton Housing Authority has 58 employees on the books and eight show up under the Trenton Parking Authority records.
But where are the Mayor and the bulk of the City of Trenton employees?
Why aren’t their records available online?
Is this part of the legal tussle over the allegedly illegal raises that city council unquestioningly/unknowingly approved for the Mayor and his administration staff in a questionable resolution in 2008?
Has the administration taken all the public employee (with the exception of the 19 names we found) somehow out of the public record in an effort to hide what certain people were being paid? Was this done, in part, to cover up the fact that the Mayor and Department Director salaries were no longer published in the ordinances as they had been prior to the raise granted in 2003? Or in part to hide the fact that these same salaries were not fixed by ordinance but rather a salary range had been adopted…possibly illegally, with the Mayor approving salaries at his discretion…without council’s knowing consent?
We think this stinks of very fishy business and the city administration needs to make sure this information is publicly available.
And all those wannabes vying for the big chair in the office on the second floor of City Hall should take heed. A pledge to return the city to fixed salaries (not ranges) adopted by ordinance and published is required if you want the citizens of Trenton to vote for you.
We were doing a little online research last week for a project and discovered something odd on the Data Universe site run by the Asbury Park Press.
On this particular site, you can do searches on NJ Public Employees to check salary records as they relate to the public pensions.
In the past, if we wanted to see…for instance…how much Mr. Palmer was paid, you could plug his name and Trenton City into the appropriate boxes on the search form and within moments up would pop a grid with the information you wanted. It’s all legit and all public information.
The other day when we checked, we couldn’t find that information any longer. In fact, we could only find information on 19 city employees contributing to the Public Employees Retirement System. Four of them were Councilpersons Annette Lartigue, Cordelia Staton, Gino Melone and Paul Pintella.
Gone was the Mayor, Chief of Staff, Department Heads, etc. And we plugged in names of Division Directors and Staff people, still no information.
Checking further…we could find 574 Trenton employees enrolled in the Police and Fire Retirement System.
At the Board of Education, there are the records of 799 employees who pay into the Public Employees Retirement System available. Another 1173 school employees are in the Teachers Pension and Annuity Fund.
Similarly, the Trenton Community Charter School has 85 employees show up on the listing.
The Trenton Housing Authority has 58 employees on the books and eight show up under the Trenton Parking Authority records.
But where are the Mayor and the bulk of the City of Trenton employees?
Why aren’t their records available online?
Is this part of the legal tussle over the allegedly illegal raises that city council unquestioningly/unknowingly approved for the Mayor and his administration staff in a questionable resolution in 2008?
Has the administration taken all the public employee (with the exception of the 19 names we found) somehow out of the public record in an effort to hide what certain people were being paid? Was this done, in part, to cover up the fact that the Mayor and Department Director salaries were no longer published in the ordinances as they had been prior to the raise granted in 2003? Or in part to hide the fact that these same salaries were not fixed by ordinance but rather a salary range had been adopted…possibly illegally, with the Mayor approving salaries at his discretion…without council’s knowing consent?
We think this stinks of very fishy business and the city administration needs to make sure this information is publicly available.
And all those wannabes vying for the big chair in the office on the second floor of City Hall should take heed. A pledge to return the city to fixed salaries (not ranges) adopted by ordinance and published is required if you want the citizens of Trenton to vote for you.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
The early line
Interesting twists and turns on the road to the May 11 Trenton elections.
Wednesday marked the formal announcements of Freeholder Keith Hamilton for Mayor and South Ward resident Christine Donahue for Council At Large.
Hamilton, who apparently moved back into Trenton specifically to run for Mayor, has had a relatively undistinguished tenure as a County Freeholder.
Donahue is little known outside of the South Ward where she worked to help get George Muschal elected in November’s special election to fill the vacancy left by Jim Coston. She was also involved in some of the work to halt the sell off of part of the Trenton Water Works to NJ American Water.
At the same time as Hamilton is officially adding his name to the list of Mayoral wannabes, Wiley Fuller has dropped out of that race and opted to run for one of the three Council At large seats. Fuller ran for Mayor in 2006 and had a rather poor showing.
These moves bring the total of candidates to ten for Mayor and eight for the three Council At Large seats.
Doug Palmer has not signed up to endorse any candidate yet. He's no doubt waiting so he can play the role of "king maker."
The Trentonian reported yesterday that there is a move afoot to reduce the number of black candidates in the mayoral race. We here at the stoop are wondering why only the black candidates for mayor are being scrutinized when they all need serious vetting.
Some early handicapping
Let’s face it; this year’s cohort of candidates is pretty weak in the qualification department.
We have two current council people (Pintella and Segura), both of whom were elected largely due to outgoing Mayor Doug Palmer’s long coat tails and fat checkbook.
To be fair, Segura did have some strong financial support from North Jersey businessmen and his Dominican ancestry garnered political help from Democratic Party bosses who are salivating at the specter of getting a Hispanic mayor elected in Trenton. (Anyone remember the roll call of Dem biggies from then Senator Bob Torricelli, Representative Rush Holt, and on down through State Senator Shirley Turner, Assemblywoman Bonnie Watson Coleman, Assemblyman Reed Gusciora and various elected county officials present at Segura’s 2002 headquarters opening?)
Pintella has always been Doug’s water carrier on council and Segura has played along for all but the last 18 – 24 months of his two terms. Why would we want either of them to serve as Mayor? They should both drop out, now.
Outgoing West Ward Councilwoman Annette Lartigue has long had her eye on the mayor’s office. Now she’s making her move. As a member of council for the past 12 years, she shares some accountability for the many blunders of the current administration (not to mention a few of her own…anyone remember “Stand down officer!”?). She has no business thinking she’s qualified to run this city and should herself, stand down. But she won’t. So the people will decide for her.
Local businessman Frank Weeden is running again. It’s a shame. Frank would probably make an ok councilman. He’s been an outspoken critic of the waste and excesses of the current administration. But that doesn’t mean he’s up to the Mayor thing. This run could cost him his business, ANA Design candles, and that would be a shame for all concerned. Ego is an expensive mistress, Frank.
Right there, we’ve eliminated four of the contenders, one woman, one Hispanic, one white and two blacks. And we have only just begun.
John Harmon, the charismatic former head of the Metropolitan Trenton African American Chamber of Commerce (MTAACC) is running again. His professional demeanor and business credentials had a lot of people pulling for him four years ago. Harmon’s campaign seemed to be overcome with inertia; he never moved it past his opening position, came in a distant third in 2006 and has hardly been heard from since.
Emmanuel Shahid Watson ben Avraham has changed names and persona more times than Brett Farve has come out of retirement. He was also revealed to be at the center of a questionable state contract that paid his company millions of dollars with little oversight or measured effect. We can cut him from the list for his perpetual posing and hazy ethics.
Two more off the list. Now we’re down to four: Tony Mack, Eric Jackson, Keith Hamilton, and Alexander Brown.
Hamilton, as noted above, is virtually undistinguished in his political career. And his perception as a carpetbagger who moved back into Trenton specifically to run for Mayor isn’t giving him any positive points. Hamilton’s done nothing neither egregiously wrong nor wonderfully outstanding as an elected county official. He’s a non-starter.
Alexander Brown has been on and off and on the school board a few times. He’s headed up the schools’ Facilities Advisory Board which, along with the Schools Development Authority (SDA) and its predecessor the School’s Construction Corporation (SCC), has fumbled the entire high school financing deal. Further, as an appointee of the current administration he shares in culpability for the mismanagement of our failing school system.
Considering Alexander Brown as a viable candidate for Mayor is like saying Shirley Turner should be made a member of the board of directors of Garden State Equality.
This leaves Mack and Jackson, who (along with Segura) are most likely among the top three vote getters.* But placing first, second or third in the race doesn’t mean they are what the city needs.
Jackson is gentlemanly and soft-spoken. He’s overseen the massive Public Works Department and took the reins of the Library Board of Trustees after Mrs. Hayling resigned. Is he Mayoral material? Depends upon whether or not you believe the failings of his department were his fault or predicated by the actions and demands of the vengeful administration troika of Palmer, Gonzalez and Haynes.
Tony Mack is a scrappy fighter who came within a few hundred votes of getting in a runoff with Palmer in 2006. Tony has held responsible positions in city government, union leadership and was a multi-term freeholder (until he fell from favor with the County Dem machine---itself a mismanaged and ineffective organization). Mack’s reticence to readily accept the outcome of the last election and the issue of some bad checks are haunting him about now.
None of the candidates except Mack have yet to put forth any real concrete platform pieces. It is also early in the campaign and most likely the candidates will wait for the policy arguments to be framed by public opinion before going out on a limb and expressing themselves in detail on any topic.
The newspapers are right…there are too many people running for office. And too few real candidates.
*At this time. As with all contests, the betting line will most likely change overtime as the campaign progresses. Stay tuned for updates.
Wednesday marked the formal announcements of Freeholder Keith Hamilton for Mayor and South Ward resident Christine Donahue for Council At Large.
Hamilton, who apparently moved back into Trenton specifically to run for Mayor, has had a relatively undistinguished tenure as a County Freeholder.
Donahue is little known outside of the South Ward where she worked to help get George Muschal elected in November’s special election to fill the vacancy left by Jim Coston. She was also involved in some of the work to halt the sell off of part of the Trenton Water Works to NJ American Water.
At the same time as Hamilton is officially adding his name to the list of Mayoral wannabes, Wiley Fuller has dropped out of that race and opted to run for one of the three Council At large seats. Fuller ran for Mayor in 2006 and had a rather poor showing.
These moves bring the total of candidates to ten for Mayor and eight for the three Council At Large seats.
Doug Palmer has not signed up to endorse any candidate yet. He's no doubt waiting so he can play the role of "king maker."
The Trentonian reported yesterday that there is a move afoot to reduce the number of black candidates in the mayoral race. We here at the stoop are wondering why only the black candidates for mayor are being scrutinized when they all need serious vetting.
Some early handicapping
Let’s face it; this year’s cohort of candidates is pretty weak in the qualification department.
We have two current council people (Pintella and Segura), both of whom were elected largely due to outgoing Mayor Doug Palmer’s long coat tails and fat checkbook.
To be fair, Segura did have some strong financial support from North Jersey businessmen and his Dominican ancestry garnered political help from Democratic Party bosses who are salivating at the specter of getting a Hispanic mayor elected in Trenton. (Anyone remember the roll call of Dem biggies from then Senator Bob Torricelli, Representative Rush Holt, and on down through State Senator Shirley Turner, Assemblywoman Bonnie Watson Coleman, Assemblyman Reed Gusciora and various elected county officials present at Segura’s 2002 headquarters opening?)
Pintella has always been Doug’s water carrier on council and Segura has played along for all but the last 18 – 24 months of his two terms. Why would we want either of them to serve as Mayor? They should both drop out, now.
Outgoing West Ward Councilwoman Annette Lartigue has long had her eye on the mayor’s office. Now she’s making her move. As a member of council for the past 12 years, she shares some accountability for the many blunders of the current administration (not to mention a few of her own…anyone remember “Stand down officer!”?). She has no business thinking she’s qualified to run this city and should herself, stand down. But she won’t. So the people will decide for her.
Local businessman Frank Weeden is running again. It’s a shame. Frank would probably make an ok councilman. He’s been an outspoken critic of the waste and excesses of the current administration. But that doesn’t mean he’s up to the Mayor thing. This run could cost him his business, ANA Design candles, and that would be a shame for all concerned. Ego is an expensive mistress, Frank.
Right there, we’ve eliminated four of the contenders, one woman, one Hispanic, one white and two blacks. And we have only just begun.
John Harmon, the charismatic former head of the Metropolitan Trenton African American Chamber of Commerce (MTAACC) is running again. His professional demeanor and business credentials had a lot of people pulling for him four years ago. Harmon’s campaign seemed to be overcome with inertia; he never moved it past his opening position, came in a distant third in 2006 and has hardly been heard from since.
Emmanuel Shahid Watson ben Avraham has changed names and persona more times than Brett Farve has come out of retirement. He was also revealed to be at the center of a questionable state contract that paid his company millions of dollars with little oversight or measured effect. We can cut him from the list for his perpetual posing and hazy ethics.
Two more off the list. Now we’re down to four: Tony Mack, Eric Jackson, Keith Hamilton, and Alexander Brown.
Hamilton, as noted above, is virtually undistinguished in his political career. And his perception as a carpetbagger who moved back into Trenton specifically to run for Mayor isn’t giving him any positive points. Hamilton’s done nothing neither egregiously wrong nor wonderfully outstanding as an elected county official. He’s a non-starter.
Alexander Brown has been on and off and on the school board a few times. He’s headed up the schools’ Facilities Advisory Board which, along with the Schools Development Authority (SDA) and its predecessor the School’s Construction Corporation (SCC), has fumbled the entire high school financing deal. Further, as an appointee of the current administration he shares in culpability for the mismanagement of our failing school system.
Considering Alexander Brown as a viable candidate for Mayor is like saying Shirley Turner should be made a member of the board of directors of Garden State Equality.
This leaves Mack and Jackson, who (along with Segura) are most likely among the top three vote getters.* But placing first, second or third in the race doesn’t mean they are what the city needs.
Jackson is gentlemanly and soft-spoken. He’s overseen the massive Public Works Department and took the reins of the Library Board of Trustees after Mrs. Hayling resigned. Is he Mayoral material? Depends upon whether or not you believe the failings of his department were his fault or predicated by the actions and demands of the vengeful administration troika of Palmer, Gonzalez and Haynes.
Tony Mack is a scrappy fighter who came within a few hundred votes of getting in a runoff with Palmer in 2006. Tony has held responsible positions in city government, union leadership and was a multi-term freeholder (until he fell from favor with the County Dem machine---itself a mismanaged and ineffective organization). Mack’s reticence to readily accept the outcome of the last election and the issue of some bad checks are haunting him about now.
None of the candidates except Mack have yet to put forth any real concrete platform pieces. It is also early in the campaign and most likely the candidates will wait for the policy arguments to be framed by public opinion before going out on a limb and expressing themselves in detail on any topic.
The newspapers are right…there are too many people running for office. And too few real candidates.
*At this time. As with all contests, the betting line will most likely change overtime as the campaign progresses. Stay tuned for updates.
Saturday, January 23, 2010
GOTCHA, again!
Thursday's revelation that the Palmer Administration's hired gun Joe Alacqua cancelled a contract with a local insurance agent due to allegedly improper contributions to Manny Segura and Zachary Chester left a lot of people scratching their heads.
Segura has long gotten contributions from businesses and other politicians...directly or via the joint candidates committee that supported "the Palmer slate" of himself, Council President Paul Pintella and Cordelia Staton in 2002 and 2006. Some of these contributors, like former Senator Bob Torricelli or Stowell Fulton of Atlantic Associates end up doing lucrative business with the city. (In 2006, Torricelli and/or his ex-wife gave a over $10,000 to Palmer and his slate. In the same year, Stowell Fulton gave $2600 to the joint candidates committee, Trenton 2006 and Bernard Fulton, also affiliated with Atlantic Associates, gave $2500 to Palmer's campaign. This was prior to the enacting of the Pay-to-Play ordinance now in effect.)
Mr. Chester, on the other hand, is making his first run for public office. Along with his wife, Alysia, Chester was instrumental in getting the city's Pay-to-Play law adopted through referendum. A law, by the way, drafted and vetted through the Citizen's Campaign...a non-profit, non-partisan corporation working to clean up New Jersey's extremely corrupt political system. That neither of them completely understood the technicalities of the law they helped get passed is unfortunate.
But the real question was, how did this happen to come to light at this time.
Some of our operatives started digging around in the reports available from the NJ Election Law Enforcement Commission (NJ ELEC) website to see what they could find out about this situation. Strangely enough, the candidate reports readily available online didn't show anything about the specific campaign contributions referenced in the press reports.
Going back over the text of Friday's article in the Times (as opposed to Friday's reportage in the Trentonian) the Front Stoop staff got the sense that the information leading to Borden-Perlman's disqualification must have been found elsewhere.
Further research revealed that any business entity receiving more the $50,000 in aggregate from any public entity must provide a Business Entity Annual Statement (Form BE) detailing any and all contributions made to local, county or state candidates, PAC's or Political Committees. This form, once completed by the potential vendor, would be submitted to NJ ELEC.
BINGO!
Borden-Perlman has a long history of making political contributions. Apparently and appropriately the firm disclosed the campaign and political contributions they made in Trenton and Mercer County, assuming all the while they were within compliance of the law and eligible for the contract.
Even Alacqua seems to agree there was no intent to break the law. The Times reported:
Somebody in the business office at city hall must have been doing their due diligence and taken notice that there might be some questions about the legality of certain contributions and taken it upon him or herself to flag the contract.
But who would do such and thing and why?
Oh.
Wait.
Here's the scenario the conspiracy committee at From the Front Stoop has come up with:
The Acting (after more than a year!) Business Administrator for the City of Trenton is Dennis Gonzalez.
Reportedly, Dennis Gonzalez was brought to Trenton on the recommendation of Manny Segura. (They knew each other from Perth Amboy. Gonzalez's wife was the campaign treasurer for Segura's 2002 run). This was all "fine" until Manny decided to bolt from the Palmer sphere of influence and strike out on his own.
For his part, Gonzalez would remain a loyal Palmer soldier. (He'd probably be unemployed if he wasn't) What better way to maintain the master's favor than to take a shot at the defector.
And, as a bonus, Gonzalez got to throw some dirt on Zachary Chester who bested him in a battle of nerve and words a couple of years ago. Chester, you may recall, made a very public inquiry about the status of various development projects (then under the purview of Dennis Gonzalez as Housing and Economic Development Director). Gonzalez, never the statesman, threatened to sue Chester if there wasn't a retraction (retraction of what, no one was ever quite sure).
The information on what Borden-Perlman undoubtedly thought were perfectly legal campaign contributions was given to Special Counsel and Palmer Puppet Joe Alacqua.* No doubt accompanying the documentation was a strong suggestion to kill the Borden-Perlman contract. Should Chester and Segura have their integrity questioned or images smeared in the process...oh well, bonus for Gonzalez.
And should the contract go to another vendor, with deeper pockets and stronger ties to the Democratic party in New Jersey, so much the better for Palmer and company. (see POLITICKERNJ blog on the Battle for Trenton).
The denizens of the Front Stoop admit they don't have first hand knowledge of any of the above. It is offered up merely as a suggestion of what might have occurred.
We leave it to the reader to decided for him or herself.
*Let the record show that in Saturday's Times Mr. Alacqua was reported as saying he opposed the legislation when it was proposed because it was too strict.
He should have been happy to have the ordinance adopted as it would save him having to donate the $2850 to Palmer and company every few years as he did in 2006.
Segura has long gotten contributions from businesses and other politicians...directly or via the joint candidates committee that supported "the Palmer slate" of himself, Council President Paul Pintella and Cordelia Staton in 2002 and 2006. Some of these contributors, like former Senator Bob Torricelli or Stowell Fulton of Atlantic Associates end up doing lucrative business with the city. (In 2006, Torricelli and/or his ex-wife gave a over $10,000 to Palmer and his slate. In the same year, Stowell Fulton gave $2600 to the joint candidates committee, Trenton 2006 and Bernard Fulton, also affiliated with Atlantic Associates, gave $2500 to Palmer's campaign. This was prior to the enacting of the Pay-to-Play ordinance now in effect.)
Mr. Chester, on the other hand, is making his first run for public office. Along with his wife, Alysia, Chester was instrumental in getting the city's Pay-to-Play law adopted through referendum. A law, by the way, drafted and vetted through the Citizen's Campaign...a non-profit, non-partisan corporation working to clean up New Jersey's extremely corrupt political system. That neither of them completely understood the technicalities of the law they helped get passed is unfortunate.
But the real question was, how did this happen to come to light at this time.
Some of our operatives started digging around in the reports available from the NJ Election Law Enforcement Commission (NJ ELEC) website to see what they could find out about this situation. Strangely enough, the candidate reports readily available online didn't show anything about the specific campaign contributions referenced in the press reports.
Going back over the text of Friday's article in the Times (as opposed to Friday's reportage in the Trentonian) the Front Stoop staff got the sense that the information leading to Borden-Perlman's disqualification must have been found elsewhere.
Further research revealed that any business entity receiving more the $50,000 in aggregate from any public entity must provide a Business Entity Annual Statement (Form BE) detailing any and all contributions made to local, county or state candidates, PAC's or Political Committees. This form, once completed by the potential vendor, would be submitted to NJ ELEC.
BINGO!
Borden-Perlman has a long history of making political contributions. Apparently and appropriately the firm disclosed the campaign and political contributions they made in Trenton and Mercer County, assuming all the while they were within compliance of the law and eligible for the contract.
Even Alacqua seems to agree there was no intent to break the law. The Times reported:
The law bars violators from getting city contracts for four years, but Alacqua said it appeared that Borden Perlman did not deliberately break the law. He noted that the city discovered the violation only because the company voluntarily disclosed its campaign contributions in compliance with a state law that applies to insurance companies.
Somebody in the business office at city hall must have been doing their due diligence and taken notice that there might be some questions about the legality of certain contributions and taken it upon him or herself to flag the contract.
But who would do such and thing and why?
Oh.
Wait.
Here's the scenario the conspiracy committee at From the Front Stoop has come up with:
The Acting (after more than a year!) Business Administrator for the City of Trenton is Dennis Gonzalez.
Reportedly, Dennis Gonzalez was brought to Trenton on the recommendation of Manny Segura. (They knew each other from Perth Amboy. Gonzalez's wife was the campaign treasurer for Segura's 2002 run). This was all "fine" until Manny decided to bolt from the Palmer sphere of influence and strike out on his own.
For his part, Gonzalez would remain a loyal Palmer soldier. (He'd probably be unemployed if he wasn't) What better way to maintain the master's favor than to take a shot at the defector.
And, as a bonus, Gonzalez got to throw some dirt on Zachary Chester who bested him in a battle of nerve and words a couple of years ago. Chester, you may recall, made a very public inquiry about the status of various development projects (then under the purview of Dennis Gonzalez as Housing and Economic Development Director). Gonzalez, never the statesman, threatened to sue Chester if there wasn't a retraction (retraction of what, no one was ever quite sure).
The information on what Borden-Perlman undoubtedly thought were perfectly legal campaign contributions was given to Special Counsel and Palmer Puppet Joe Alacqua.* No doubt accompanying the documentation was a strong suggestion to kill the Borden-Perlman contract. Should Chester and Segura have their integrity questioned or images smeared in the process...oh well, bonus for Gonzalez.
And should the contract go to another vendor, with deeper pockets and stronger ties to the Democratic party in New Jersey, so much the better for Palmer and company. (see POLITICKERNJ blog on the Battle for Trenton).
The denizens of the Front Stoop admit they don't have first hand knowledge of any of the above. It is offered up merely as a suggestion of what might have occurred.
We leave it to the reader to decided for him or herself.
*Let the record show that in Saturday's Times Mr. Alacqua was reported as saying he opposed the legislation when it was proposed because it was too strict.
"It just doesn't make any sense. If you have a contract, you can't give anything," he said.
He should have been happy to have the ordinance adopted as it would save him having to donate the $2850 to Palmer and company every few years as he did in 2006.
Friday, January 22, 2010
GOTCHA!
Interesting news out of City Hall last night: an insurance vendor lost a sizable contract because of campaign contributions to At Large Councilman/Mayoral Candidate Manny Segura and West Ward Council Candidate Zachary Chester.
The ever vigilant (and hired gun) Special Counsel, Joseph Alacqua had City Council throw out the nearly $200,000 contract with Borden-Perlman Agency because they had made contributions that allegedly violate the city’s “Pay-to-Play” ordinance.
Segura received some $460 in campaign contributions in 2008 and 2009. Chester, a first time candidate in this year’s election, received $100 in 2009.
Borden-Perlman is a long-time area business with a solid track record of supporting the community and the many non-profits that operate here.
For all intents and purposes, it looks as though Borden-Perlman thought they were in compliance with the law and mindful of contribution thresholds that, if exceeded, would trigger such action as Alacqua initiated.
Segura, who originally voted against the Pay-to-Play measure when it was introduced by petition in 2006, told reporters that while he is in favor of such measures he thinks this is more politics than policy.
Unfortunately, the councilman seems to think due diligence upon the part of elected officials and/or candidates about who is contributing how much to their campaign funds is not required.
Chester and his wife, Alysia Welch-Chester, were amongst those who worked to get the city’s ordinance passed. After the City Council voted against the law, it went to a referendum and the public voted it in.
So far, only Welch-Chester has spoken out on the situation. She claims it’s a misinterpretation of the threshold portion of the law and is seeking legal clarification.
Whether the action taken by Alacqua was correct or not (and if not, what kind of sanctions will be levied against him and/or the City of Trenton?), there is another interesting side to this story.
The firm that got the insurance contract in place of Borden-Perlman is Atlantic Associates of Atlantic City, NJ.
One of the principles of that firm, Bernard Fulton, gave $2500 to Mayor Palmer’s re-election campaign in May of 2006. Another principle, Stowell Fulton, gave $2600 to the Trenton 2006 joint candidates committee that helped re-elect Segura to his council at large seat along with fellow at large councilpersons Paul Pintella and Cordelia Staton.
To be fair, Borden-Perlman contributed $2,150 to Palmer’s campaign in 2006.
But the Fulton’s appear to have a long history of contributing to Democratic candidates in the area including Bonnie Watson Coleman in 2001.
Why would an Atlantic City based insurance agency be interested in who gets elected in Trenton/Mercer County?
Let this situation serve as a warning to all contributors, candidates and incumbents. Be mindful of the laws governing campaign contributions. What might seem innocent and piddling today may not be so insignificant when it appears in the headlines tomorrow.
The ever vigilant (and hired gun) Special Counsel, Joseph Alacqua had City Council throw out the nearly $200,000 contract with Borden-Perlman Agency because they had made contributions that allegedly violate the city’s “Pay-to-Play” ordinance.
Segura received some $460 in campaign contributions in 2008 and 2009. Chester, a first time candidate in this year’s election, received $100 in 2009.
Borden-Perlman is a long-time area business with a solid track record of supporting the community and the many non-profits that operate here.
For all intents and purposes, it looks as though Borden-Perlman thought they were in compliance with the law and mindful of contribution thresholds that, if exceeded, would trigger such action as Alacqua initiated.
Segura, who originally voted against the Pay-to-Play measure when it was introduced by petition in 2006, told reporters that while he is in favor of such measures he thinks this is more politics than policy.
"It's funny it just happened at this time," said Segura, a frequent critic of Mayor Douglas H. Palmer. "For them to bring something like that is so pitiful."
“I agree with pay-to-play ordinances,” he continued, “but I think it’s very difficult to know everything about everybody who makes a contribution. I don’t think anyone would think that $460 could influence anybody. This is not right.”
Unfortunately, the councilman seems to think due diligence upon the part of elected officials and/or candidates about who is contributing how much to their campaign funds is not required.
“I would guess that all seven of the City Council members do not know about every political contribution made to us. It’s a shame that a reputable company loses a contract over a lousy small amount of money.”
Chester and his wife, Alysia Welch-Chester, were amongst those who worked to get the city’s ordinance passed. After the City Council voted against the law, it went to a referendum and the public voted it in.
So far, only Welch-Chester has spoken out on the situation. She claims it’s a misinterpretation of the threshold portion of the law and is seeking legal clarification.
“If what Mr. Alacqua is saying is correct, then this was not the intent of the ordinance. We just wanted transparency in government,” Welch-Chester said.
Whether the action taken by Alacqua was correct or not (and if not, what kind of sanctions will be levied against him and/or the City of Trenton?), there is another interesting side to this story.
The firm that got the insurance contract in place of Borden-Perlman is Atlantic Associates of Atlantic City, NJ.
One of the principles of that firm, Bernard Fulton, gave $2500 to Mayor Palmer’s re-election campaign in May of 2006. Another principle, Stowell Fulton, gave $2600 to the Trenton 2006 joint candidates committee that helped re-elect Segura to his council at large seat along with fellow at large councilpersons Paul Pintella and Cordelia Staton.
To be fair, Borden-Perlman contributed $2,150 to Palmer’s campaign in 2006.
But the Fulton’s appear to have a long history of contributing to Democratic candidates in the area including Bonnie Watson Coleman in 2001.
Why would an Atlantic City based insurance agency be interested in who gets elected in Trenton/Mercer County?
Let this situation serve as a warning to all contributors, candidates and incumbents. Be mindful of the laws governing campaign contributions. What might seem innocent and piddling today may not be so insignificant when it appears in the headlines tomorrow.
Friday, January 15, 2010
The wrong way to select a candidate
It is apparently not bad enough that we have nearly a dozen candidates vying for the Mayor’s chair in the upcoming Trenton city elections.
Now we have to add race and ethnicity into the mix.
An article in today’s Times, reports that Garvey School Principal, Baye Kemit, will hold a candidate’s forum but only for those candidates who he feels “have strong support among African-Americans.”
Here’s the problem.
The campaign season is upon us.
The last thing we need is this kind of thinking in the upcoming elections.
Trenton faces a myriad of problems, none of which are specific to any one race or ethnic group.
Every one of the candidates (city council included) has enough of a struggle ahead of them. Certainly there are individuals running for office who we can dismiss out of hand, but with good reason. Past performance, lack of experience or leadership skills, questionable ethics are all valid reasons to discount a candidate. But none of those are race or ethnicity specific.
Being arbitrarily disqualified because of their ethnic background and/or that of their (real or perceived) supporters is offensive and just plain wrong. In fact, excluding a candidate from an audience to which he “needs to make his agenda known” is totally the opposite of what needs to be done.
Our city is at a critical point in its history.
The leaders selected in the May election (and likely June runoff) will not only need to have a sensible plan to guide Trenton for the next four years, they will have to be prepared to pay the wages for the sins and omissions of the current administration.
Let us not select the next Mayor and Council by skin color; religious affiliation; gender or any other superficial identifiers.
We need to look beyond all of that to the role each candidate has played in shaping the city’s fortunes these past two or four or eight or 16 years. We need to hear their ideas and measure their solutions based solely on how they will impact all Trentonians. We need to judge the candidates on whether or not they will be effective representatives able to turn this city around and not on whom they look like, sound like, or pray with.
Now we have to add race and ethnicity into the mix.
An article in today’s Times, reports that Garvey School Principal, Baye Kemit, will hold a candidate’s forum but only for those candidates who he feels “have strong support among African-Americans.”
"Manny Segura, in the African-American community, has not pushed himself enough," Kemit said. "He is largely Latino-supported. It's been my contention that he needs to make his agenda known to African-Americans."
Here’s the problem.
The campaign season is upon us.
The last thing we need is this kind of thinking in the upcoming elections.
Trenton faces a myriad of problems, none of which are specific to any one race or ethnic group.
Every one of the candidates (city council included) has enough of a struggle ahead of them. Certainly there are individuals running for office who we can dismiss out of hand, but with good reason. Past performance, lack of experience or leadership skills, questionable ethics are all valid reasons to discount a candidate. But none of those are race or ethnicity specific.
Being arbitrarily disqualified because of their ethnic background and/or that of their (real or perceived) supporters is offensive and just plain wrong. In fact, excluding a candidate from an audience to which he “needs to make his agenda known” is totally the opposite of what needs to be done.
Our city is at a critical point in its history.
The leaders selected in the May election (and likely June runoff) will not only need to have a sensible plan to guide Trenton for the next four years, they will have to be prepared to pay the wages for the sins and omissions of the current administration.
Let us not select the next Mayor and Council by skin color; religious affiliation; gender or any other superficial identifiers.
We need to look beyond all of that to the role each candidate has played in shaping the city’s fortunes these past two or four or eight or 16 years. We need to hear their ideas and measure their solutions based solely on how they will impact all Trentonians. We need to judge the candidates on whether or not they will be effective representatives able to turn this city around and not on whom they look like, sound like, or pray with.
Friday, January 01, 2010
I know I didn't have that much to drink
From the Times, January 1, 2010, page A12:
What can anyone say about this poor misguided man's thought process?
Mayor Palmer is the best choice to lead Trenton
Trenton without Doug Palmer is an unfinished symphony. The man can do more for any citizen in this city. He is educated, super street smart, well-liked by almost everyone and is the best the city has ever had. Do not let him go. Choose to run, Doug. Trenton needs you.
Gregory Bilecki
Trenton
What can anyone say about this poor misguided man's thought process?
Old Doug, no new tricks
Happy New Year! His Lame-Duckness, Doug Palmer, has released the annual report for the City of Trenton (fiscal year 2009). For the second year in a row, there was no big show in City Council Chambers where Palmer delivers his State of the City speech.
Instead, the annual report has been posted on the city website (www.trentonnj.org) where only those too few members of the public who read the Times of Trenton might discover its existence.
An article headlined “Palmer sees Trenton making progress” treats readers to a rose-colored fairy tale about Trenton’s successes despite our nation’s tough economic times.
Palmer must not have reviewed the statistics or at least interpreted them as we have. Nor has he taken a real good look around town. If he had, how could he possibly say that he is “…proud of the record…” he’s accomplished.
The half-hearted attempt at image preservation (myth building?) might just be an indication that even Douglas H. Palmer has a hard time swallowing the empty calories of the artificially sweetened annual report. No wonder he’s opting out of another run.
Happy New Year, indeed!
Instead, the annual report has been posted on the city website (www.trentonnj.org) where only those too few members of the public who read the Times of Trenton might discover its existence.
An article headlined “Palmer sees Trenton making progress” treats readers to a rose-colored fairy tale about Trenton’s successes despite our nation’s tough economic times.
Palmer must not have reviewed the statistics or at least interpreted them as we have. Nor has he taken a real good look around town. If he had, how could he possibly say that he is “…proud of the record…” he’s accomplished.
The half-hearted attempt at image preservation (myth building?) might just be an indication that even Douglas H. Palmer has a hard time swallowing the empty calories of the artificially sweetened annual report. No wonder he’s opting out of another run.
Happy New Year, indeed!
Tuesday, December 08, 2009
Palmer has had enough
He will run no more forever
Ending months (years?) of speculation, Doug Palmer announced yesterday that he would not seek a 6th term as Trenton’s Mayor.
Citing a decision made in concert with family and a desire to leave on his own terms (not get voted out), Palmer stated he was comfortable with the accomplishments of his 19+ years in office.
Palmer vowed to continue working hard during the last seven months of his term and hand his successor a Trenton in better shape than what it was in 1990. He clicked off some of his notable achievements: lowered crime rate, increased housing/home ownership opportunities, economic development.
Maybe all those years of applying that “spray on hair” to his scalp has damaged his thinking.
Increase in home ownership opportunities? Has he looked at these stats compiled from US Census and American Community Survey (2006-2008) data?
No matter how you look at it, during the Palmer years Trenton:
It is apparent that Trenton lost home owning residents. And the loss of those residents was followed by the loss of businesses and services.
In other words, economic development failed during the Palmer years.
Doug is truly going to have to work hard in the next seven months just to leave his successor with a Trenton as good as it was in 1990.
Ending months (years?) of speculation, Doug Palmer announced yesterday that he would not seek a 6th term as Trenton’s Mayor.
Citing a decision made in concert with family and a desire to leave on his own terms (not get voted out), Palmer stated he was comfortable with the accomplishments of his 19+ years in office.
Palmer vowed to continue working hard during the last seven months of his term and hand his successor a Trenton in better shape than what it was in 1990. He clicked off some of his notable achievements: lowered crime rate, increased housing/home ownership opportunities, economic development.
Maybe all those years of applying that “spray on hair” to his scalp has damaged his thinking.
Increase in home ownership opportunities? Has he looked at these stats compiled from US Census and American Community Survey (2006-2008) data?
Population 1990 = 88675
Population 2000 = 85403
Population 2008 = 79435
Net change 1990 - 2008 -10%
# Housing Units 1990 = 33578
# Housing Units 2000 = 33843
# Housing Units 2008 = 32743
Net change 1990 - 2008 -2%
# Vacant Housing Units 1990 = 2834
# Vacant Housing Units 2000 = 4406
# Vacant Housing Units 2008 = 6535
Net change 1990 - 2008 +90%
Average 2006 - 2008 Occupied housing units 26,208 or 80.0%
US Average = 88.0%
Average 2006 - 2008 Owner Occupied units 11,340 or 43.3%
US Average = 67.1%
Average 2006 - 2008 Renter Occupied units 14,868 or 56.7%
US Average = 32.9%
Average 2006 - 2008 Vacant housing units 6,535 or 20.0%
US Average = 12.0%
New housing units built:
2005 or later 257
2000 to 2004 339
1990 to 1999 1,079
Total Houses Built 1990 – 2008 1,675
No matter how you look at it, during the Palmer years Trenton:
• lost 10% of its population
• lost 2% of its housing units overall even as almost 1700 new units were built
• saw a 90% increase in the number of vacant housing units
• saw owner occupied housing units drop to just over 43%
• saw renter occupied housing units increase to almost 57%
It is apparent that Trenton lost home owning residents. And the loss of those residents was followed by the loss of businesses and services.
In other words, economic development failed during the Palmer years.
Doug is truly going to have to work hard in the next seven months just to leave his successor with a Trenton as good as it was in 1990.
Sunday, December 06, 2009
Just another typical week in T-town.
Trenton continues to spin out of control
We managed to cross paths with a few folks who attended the Beautiful Trenton meeting Tuesday night. To a person, no one has yet been able to tell us anything about the evening indicating the initiative will generate anything concrete that will improve things in Trenton. While all agreed that there were some new and unfamiliar faces amongst the 150 or so that gathered, there was also acknowledgement that several elected official wannabes were also in attendance.
The general consensus seems to be that when all was said and done at the evening, more was said than done.
Who’s surprised?
At the same time that all these well intentioned souls were setting out to right Trenton’s course, the state of New Jersey threw another curve by announcing a freeze on financial aide to dependent municipalities.
And how did Trenton’s City Council deal with the news? Well by hiring an outside contractor to perform some work as the Assistant Business Administrator, of course.
Apparently, the Palmer Administration, through its toady, Dennis Gonzalez, made enough of a case (twisted some arms) to get four of the seven council people to pass a resolution that had been previously tabled. The action taken Tuesday approves paying one Lawrence Pollex $75 per hour with a maximum of $75,000 for work performed through the end of the current fiscal year (June 30, 2010).
Gonzalez, who has been the “Acting Business Administrator” for about a year now, was turned down in his request to hire Pollex back in September. Citing the need to fill other positions and the city’s budget woes, Council balked at the approving the contract. In response, Mr. Gonzalez apparently went into protest mode and initiated a work slowdown that resulted in public defenders and some health workers not being paid.
To their credit, Councilmen Bethea and Segura along with newly elected South Ward Councilman George Muschal exhibited a grasp of the fiscal mess the city is in and voted against the contract. Their three votes were not enough, however, to overcome the “go along to get along” gang of Lartigue, Melone, Pintella and Staton.
So, Trenton, where we are short qualified inspectors in our Technical Services department; where last week the Planning Department and the Director of the Recreation, Natural Resources and Culture each lost their key administrative staffers to retirement; and where the city animal shelter is critically short staffed, has hired itself a part-time, non-resident Assistant Business Administrator.
Maybe if Mr. Gonzalez was better at “acting” like a competent Business Administrator we could apply that $75,000 to filling some of those vacancies that are a higher priority to fill.
If last week’s happenings weren’t entertaining enough, we can’t wait for the coming week.
Former Freeholder Tony Mack will formally announce his candidacy for mayor Tuesday at the Marriott.
And the rumor mill is suggesting that Doug Palmer himself will make some important announcement about his future plans in the next few days.
Place your bets, ladies and gentlemen.
We managed to cross paths with a few folks who attended the Beautiful Trenton meeting Tuesday night. To a person, no one has yet been able to tell us anything about the evening indicating the initiative will generate anything concrete that will improve things in Trenton. While all agreed that there were some new and unfamiliar faces amongst the 150 or so that gathered, there was also acknowledgement that several elected official wannabes were also in attendance.
The general consensus seems to be that when all was said and done at the evening, more was said than done.
Who’s surprised?
At the same time that all these well intentioned souls were setting out to right Trenton’s course, the state of New Jersey threw another curve by announcing a freeze on financial aide to dependent municipalities.
And how did Trenton’s City Council deal with the news? Well by hiring an outside contractor to perform some work as the Assistant Business Administrator, of course.
Apparently, the Palmer Administration, through its toady, Dennis Gonzalez, made enough of a case (twisted some arms) to get four of the seven council people to pass a resolution that had been previously tabled. The action taken Tuesday approves paying one Lawrence Pollex $75 per hour with a maximum of $75,000 for work performed through the end of the current fiscal year (June 30, 2010).
Gonzalez, who has been the “Acting Business Administrator” for about a year now, was turned down in his request to hire Pollex back in September. Citing the need to fill other positions and the city’s budget woes, Council balked at the approving the contract. In response, Mr. Gonzalez apparently went into protest mode and initiated a work slowdown that resulted in public defenders and some health workers not being paid.
To their credit, Councilmen Bethea and Segura along with newly elected South Ward Councilman George Muschal exhibited a grasp of the fiscal mess the city is in and voted against the contract. Their three votes were not enough, however, to overcome the “go along to get along” gang of Lartigue, Melone, Pintella and Staton.
So, Trenton, where we are short qualified inspectors in our Technical Services department; where last week the Planning Department and the Director of the Recreation, Natural Resources and Culture each lost their key administrative staffers to retirement; and where the city animal shelter is critically short staffed, has hired itself a part-time, non-resident Assistant Business Administrator.
Maybe if Mr. Gonzalez was better at “acting” like a competent Business Administrator we could apply that $75,000 to filling some of those vacancies that are a higher priority to fill.
If last week’s happenings weren’t entertaining enough, we can’t wait for the coming week.
Former Freeholder Tony Mack will formally announce his candidacy for mayor Tuesday at the Marriott.
And the rumor mill is suggesting that Doug Palmer himself will make some important announcement about his future plans in the next few days.
Place your bets, ladies and gentlemen.
Monday, November 30, 2009
Beautiful Trenton
Warming up for another chorus of Kumbaya
Tuesday night a group of concerned citizens will gather at Thomas Edison College on W. State Street to begin a dialogue about Trenton.
Reportedly, organizers of the event want to bring people together to identify concerns and issues that would then be placed in front of all the city council and mayoral candidates in the May 2010 municipal election.
Now don’t get us wrong. Anytime citizens come together with the intent to make things better is good. However, this most recent initiative leaves us scratching our head.
Aren’t there already groups in place that are or should be dealing with this? There are a variety of neighborhood based civic associations and the umbrella Trenton Council of Civic Associations who would seem naturals at generating the conversation.
There is the North Ward Citizen’s Action Coalition and Trenton Residents Action Coalition who have, whether you agree with them or not, spearheaded some pretty serious activity over the past couple of years. Fighting flagrant violations of Trenton’s residency ordinance, challenging the division and sell-off of part of the municipal water system are just two of the initiatives these groups have taken on.
Don’t we already know what the concerns are in this town? Do we need to convene another meeting to talk about issues that we are already familiar with and are (or should be) discussing?
Let’s be serious…talking about stuff we are already talking about and have been talking about for at least a decade or two is a waste of time if you don’t offer up some real concrete proposals aimed at making needed changes. We don’t need more questions; we need answers...and action.
Beautiful Trenton sounds like a civic version of a marriage encounter session. You can talk all you want, but if that discussion doesn’t lead to action, what is the point.
We suggest the first order of business on the Beautiful Trenton agenda should be to change its name. Beauty, as we have been taught, is but skin deep. Superficial would be another word.
Beautiful dreamers, take heed. Action, as we know, speaks louder than words and that is what is needed now.
Tuesday night a group of concerned citizens will gather at Thomas Edison College on W. State Street to begin a dialogue about Trenton.
Reportedly, organizers of the event want to bring people together to identify concerns and issues that would then be placed in front of all the city council and mayoral candidates in the May 2010 municipal election.
Now don’t get us wrong. Anytime citizens come together with the intent to make things better is good. However, this most recent initiative leaves us scratching our head.
Aren’t there already groups in place that are or should be dealing with this? There are a variety of neighborhood based civic associations and the umbrella Trenton Council of Civic Associations who would seem naturals at generating the conversation.
There is the North Ward Citizen’s Action Coalition and Trenton Residents Action Coalition who have, whether you agree with them or not, spearheaded some pretty serious activity over the past couple of years. Fighting flagrant violations of Trenton’s residency ordinance, challenging the division and sell-off of part of the municipal water system are just two of the initiatives these groups have taken on.
Don’t we already know what the concerns are in this town? Do we need to convene another meeting to talk about issues that we are already familiar with and are (or should be) discussing?
Let’s be serious…talking about stuff we are already talking about and have been talking about for at least a decade or two is a waste of time if you don’t offer up some real concrete proposals aimed at making needed changes. We don’t need more questions; we need answers...and action.
Beautiful Trenton sounds like a civic version of a marriage encounter session. You can talk all you want, but if that discussion doesn’t lead to action, what is the point.
We suggest the first order of business on the Beautiful Trenton agenda should be to change its name. Beauty, as we have been taught, is but skin deep. Superficial would be another word.
Beautiful dreamers, take heed. Action, as we know, speaks louder than words and that is what is needed now.
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
'Tis the season
January 4 is the first business day of the New Year and the first opportunity for individuals to “pull the paperwork” and declare their candidacy for the mayor and seven city council seats up for grabs in the May municipal election. The four month period between is often referred to as “silly season” because of the never-ending, ever-escalating stunts and stumbles of the candidates.
The November special election to fill the vacated South Ward council seat was but a tease for what is about to come. Now, just as the year-end holiday season is cranking up, we hear the first rumblings of the political war to come.
Earlier this week, Evites were sent out for a “Warm Holiday Celebration” hosted by Juan Martinez and the Hispanic Democratic Caucus. The event costs $10 per person and should be made payable to “Friends of Juan Martinez.” If you can’t make it, you are asked to consider donating to the same entity.
Gadflies and local political junkies were probably tipped off to Martinez’ intent to run again by his “I didn’t lose, I just didn’t win” letter to the editor published in the Times last week. (Note to Mr. Martinez: there is only one winner and by definition, if you didn’t win, you lost. So your statement to the contrary is just plain incorrect).
The invite to the Holiday Celebration and the designated payee pretty much clinches the deal…Juan hasn’t given up his hope of holding elected office. The only question remaining…which office?
Will Juan be content to try again in the South Ward or is he setting his sights on one of the citywide offices?
And speaking of citywide offices…an interesting note was distributed by intended Mayoral Candidate, Tony Mack. Mr. Mack has advised supporters of a new slogan for his upcoming campaign.
Do you think it is an intentional use of the phrase “Trenton First,” the name of Doug Palmer’s “foundation?”
‘Tis the season!
The November special election to fill the vacated South Ward council seat was but a tease for what is about to come. Now, just as the year-end holiday season is cranking up, we hear the first rumblings of the political war to come.
Earlier this week, Evites were sent out for a “Warm Holiday Celebration” hosted by Juan Martinez and the Hispanic Democratic Caucus. The event costs $10 per person and should be made payable to “Friends of Juan Martinez.” If you can’t make it, you are asked to consider donating to the same entity.
Gadflies and local political junkies were probably tipped off to Martinez’ intent to run again by his “I didn’t lose, I just didn’t win” letter to the editor published in the Times last week. (Note to Mr. Martinez: there is only one winner and by definition, if you didn’t win, you lost. So your statement to the contrary is just plain incorrect).
The invite to the Holiday Celebration and the designated payee pretty much clinches the deal…Juan hasn’t given up his hope of holding elected office. The only question remaining…which office?
Will Juan be content to try again in the South Ward or is he setting his sights on one of the citywide offices?
And speaking of citywide offices…an interesting note was distributed by intended Mayoral Candidate, Tony Mack. Mr. Mack has advised supporters of a new slogan for his upcoming campaign.
Thank you for being a part of a movement that will bring change to the City of Trenton. The new slogan for the campaign is "Trenton First - That's The Change We Need". I am dedicated to making Trenton First in everything that I do as your mayor. This is a city that I grew up in, raised a family in, and love with all of my heart. Trenton has a storied history and is blessed with an amazing citizenry. Trenton must regain its position as one of America's leading cities and I am committed to doing just that as your Mayor.
I need your help. Join the team to make Trenton First.
Sincerely,
Tony Mack
Trenton First - That's The Change We Need
Do you think it is an intentional use of the phrase “Trenton First,” the name of Doug Palmer’s “foundation?”
‘Tis the season!
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
What state are we in?
Whatever happened to Doug's annual pep talk to the people?
Each year, come late October or early November, Doug Palmer used to stand in city council chambers and give his state of the city address. To a packed house of invited guests, media, his cabinet and the full council, Mr. Palmer would tell the story of the city’s progress thus far that year and paint a rosy portrait of where it was going in the coming one.
Some years there were slick “annual report” style booklets published and handed out to attendees. Mostly filled with a collection of “photo op” style pictures and glowing prose extolling the ‘successes’ of the current administration.
The speeches were choreographed affairs. There were shout outs to various administration officials, an acknowledgement of some sort to each council member (unless one happened to be “on the outs” with Mr. Palmer at the particular time), and maybe even the singling out of a member of the public or two that were in attendance. There were also designated “applause points” where the language was crafted to create a pause to be filled with at least polite if not always enthusiastic applause.
At the conclusion of the hour long speech, the crowd would be invited to reconvene at a nearby establishment for free finger food and a cash bar.
That was the routine.
Last year, however, that changed. There was no big “state of the city address” at city hall. No big soiree afterwards.
Ostensibly, Mr. Palmer was too involved in last year’s presidential campaign to make time for facing his colleagues and constituents to report on the state of the city. (Right and we all remember who he originally backed in that horse race.). Oh, there was some sort of “report” given to council in January or February that covered the nuts and bolts of the city’s status. But where was the public presentation? The big whoop-tee-do?
There wasn’t one.
And so far, it doesn’t look like there is going to be a big shindig this year either.
Does anyone wonder why?
Could it be that the state of the city is so poor; so fraught with bad news that Mr. Palmer would rather not have to stand at the podium and looks us in the eye and tell us that he has failed miserably?
Does he not want to tell us, yet again, how good a job he has done, despite the fact that the state controls much of the city’s land and won’t fund us accordingly?
Maybe he doesn’t want to face questions about our still failing school system and the yet to be resolved stalemate over rehabbing or building a new high school.
Maybe he doesn’t want to talk anymore about the layoffs of the inspectors or the fact that his acting Business Administrator is refusing to pay people for the work they have done.
Or is it the tenuous predicament of the city library system and the board that continues to do his ill-bidding even after they retired their scapegoat, long-time President Adrienne Hayling?
And there are the silly legal entanglements Palmer continues to get the city into simply because he refuses to acknowledge he’s wrong. Residency cases, illegal pay raises, referendum on the water utility situation.
How could he possibly put a positive spin on any of this?
He can’t. And so there probably won’t be a formal “state of the city” address this year. And no celebratory cocktail party afterwards.
But, hey! There will be a Thanksgiving parade!
Each year, come late October or early November, Doug Palmer used to stand in city council chambers and give his state of the city address. To a packed house of invited guests, media, his cabinet and the full council, Mr. Palmer would tell the story of the city’s progress thus far that year and paint a rosy portrait of where it was going in the coming one.
Some years there were slick “annual report” style booklets published and handed out to attendees. Mostly filled with a collection of “photo op” style pictures and glowing prose extolling the ‘successes’ of the current administration.
The speeches were choreographed affairs. There were shout outs to various administration officials, an acknowledgement of some sort to each council member (unless one happened to be “on the outs” with Mr. Palmer at the particular time), and maybe even the singling out of a member of the public or two that were in attendance. There were also designated “applause points” where the language was crafted to create a pause to be filled with at least polite if not always enthusiastic applause.
At the conclusion of the hour long speech, the crowd would be invited to reconvene at a nearby establishment for free finger food and a cash bar.
That was the routine.
Last year, however, that changed. There was no big “state of the city address” at city hall. No big soiree afterwards.
Ostensibly, Mr. Palmer was too involved in last year’s presidential campaign to make time for facing his colleagues and constituents to report on the state of the city. (Right and we all remember who he originally backed in that horse race.). Oh, there was some sort of “report” given to council in January or February that covered the nuts and bolts of the city’s status. But where was the public presentation? The big whoop-tee-do?
There wasn’t one.
And so far, it doesn’t look like there is going to be a big shindig this year either.
Does anyone wonder why?
Could it be that the state of the city is so poor; so fraught with bad news that Mr. Palmer would rather not have to stand at the podium and looks us in the eye and tell us that he has failed miserably?
Does he not want to tell us, yet again, how good a job he has done, despite the fact that the state controls much of the city’s land and won’t fund us accordingly?
Maybe he doesn’t want to face questions about our still failing school system and the yet to be resolved stalemate over rehabbing or building a new high school.
Maybe he doesn’t want to talk anymore about the layoffs of the inspectors or the fact that his acting Business Administrator is refusing to pay people for the work they have done.
Or is it the tenuous predicament of the city library system and the board that continues to do his ill-bidding even after they retired their scapegoat, long-time President Adrienne Hayling?
And there are the silly legal entanglements Palmer continues to get the city into simply because he refuses to acknowledge he’s wrong. Residency cases, illegal pay raises, referendum on the water utility situation.
How could he possibly put a positive spin on any of this?
He can’t. And so there probably won’t be a formal “state of the city” address this year. And no celebratory cocktail party afterwards.
But, hey! There will be a Thanksgiving parade!
Monday, November 16, 2009
Dennis the Menace rides again
Acting BA throws a tantrum and refuses to pay city bills.
In yet another demonstration of the spiteful ways of the Palmer administration, Acting Business Administrator Dennis Gonzalez has not gotten around to paying the city’s public defenders, as well as other contract workers and consultants since city council denied his request for a part-time, $75,000 assistant some six weeks ago.
Kudos to the Trentonian’s Joe D’Aquila for breaking this story in last Friday’s paper and for the follow ups on Saturday and today. D’Aquila’s reporting once again demonstrates how Gonzalez and others feel they can selectively follow the rules when it is convenient or is to their advantage.
Whether in making payments to favored parties without contracts (ala Barry Colicelli in his first go-round as the so called “Special Assistant” to the Mayor) or selectively enforcing the residency requirements for some employees while prosecuting others, this kind of double standard is a hallmark of Doug Palmer’s reign.
And, if that is not enough, there are rumors that Larry Pollex, the person Gonzalez targeted as his assistant, was working in city hall prior to the vote and continues to do so even after the contract was denied by council.
Let’s hope newly elected South Ward Councilman George Muschal picks up where his predecessor Jim Coston left off and serves as the conscience on council. Here’s hoping he kicks off his term by asking straight up what Mr. Pollex’s status is.
And maybe Councilman Muschal should also inquire about just how long an individual can hold the post in an “acting” capacity. Seems to us, Mr. Gonzalez has been “acting” Business Administrator for about a year now and that would be about four times longer than the 90 day limit.
In yet another demonstration of the spiteful ways of the Palmer administration, Acting Business Administrator Dennis Gonzalez has not gotten around to paying the city’s public defenders, as well as other contract workers and consultants since city council denied his request for a part-time, $75,000 assistant some six weeks ago.
Kudos to the Trentonian’s Joe D’Aquila for breaking this story in last Friday’s paper and for the follow ups on Saturday and today. D’Aquila’s reporting once again demonstrates how Gonzalez and others feel they can selectively follow the rules when it is convenient or is to their advantage.
Whether in making payments to favored parties without contracts (ala Barry Colicelli in his first go-round as the so called “Special Assistant” to the Mayor) or selectively enforcing the residency requirements for some employees while prosecuting others, this kind of double standard is a hallmark of Doug Palmer’s reign.
And, if that is not enough, there are rumors that Larry Pollex, the person Gonzalez targeted as his assistant, was working in city hall prior to the vote and continues to do so even after the contract was denied by council.
Let’s hope newly elected South Ward Councilman George Muschal picks up where his predecessor Jim Coston left off and serves as the conscience on council. Here’s hoping he kicks off his term by asking straight up what Mr. Pollex’s status is.
And maybe Councilman Muschal should also inquire about just how long an individual can hold the post in an “acting” capacity. Seems to us, Mr. Gonzalez has been “acting” Business Administrator for about a year now and that would be about four times longer than the 90 day limit.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
And here we are again
We see the Trenton Department of Parks, Recreation and Natural Resources is again seeking groups interested in participating in that annual display of despair and despondency, the Thanksgiving Parade.
Scheduled for Saturday, November 21 the truncated parade route will run up State Street to Warren, around the Battle Monument and down Broad back to State and on to City Hall. Interesting, since East State Street from Broad to Montgomery is currently torn up for a much needed resurfacing job (at the loss of our classic red brick pavement).
More interesting is that for the second year in a row, with the city budget nowhere in sight, Mr. Palmer has declared that it's OK to spend money that we the taxpayers don't have on this feeble vestige of parades past. We wrote about this last year in an entry titled "Oh, Deer!" and nothing has changed.
The city is still broke. The city is likely to remain broke for awhile.
So why do we continue to waste money on things like Thanksgiving parades?
It is time for the administration to pull back and focus on the important things in this city (economic development and public safety are but two that come readily to mind) and stop wasting money and effort on this parade.
Thankfully, the Jazz Festival was cancelled this year...at least as far as city involvement was concerned. The festival formerly known as Heritage Days became Heritage Day this year. OK, a compromise but a move in the right direction.
But the city is still going to try to put on a Thanksgiving Parade in the face of an economic downtown. It makes no sense.
Mr. Palmer, give Sam Frisby and his staff a break and tell them to call off the parade. There is no good reason under the sun for the city to expend time and manpower and money on this event. Spare the police and public works departments the overtime. Save the fuel and cut the emissions from the dozens of idling vehicles used in and around the parade route.
Until such a time as an outside group wants to stage a well-financed, organized and executed event (as with the St. Patrick's Parade), or until the city has money to burn, put this turkey of a parade to rest.
Scheduled for Saturday, November 21 the truncated parade route will run up State Street to Warren, around the Battle Monument and down Broad back to State and on to City Hall. Interesting, since East State Street from Broad to Montgomery is currently torn up for a much needed resurfacing job (at the loss of our classic red brick pavement).
More interesting is that for the second year in a row, with the city budget nowhere in sight, Mr. Palmer has declared that it's OK to spend money that we the taxpayers don't have on this feeble vestige of parades past. We wrote about this last year in an entry titled "Oh, Deer!" and nothing has changed.
The city is still broke. The city is likely to remain broke for awhile.
So why do we continue to waste money on things like Thanksgiving parades?
It is time for the administration to pull back and focus on the important things in this city (economic development and public safety are but two that come readily to mind) and stop wasting money and effort on this parade.
Thankfully, the Jazz Festival was cancelled this year...at least as far as city involvement was concerned. The festival formerly known as Heritage Days became Heritage Day this year. OK, a compromise but a move in the right direction.
But the city is still going to try to put on a Thanksgiving Parade in the face of an economic downtown. It makes no sense.
Mr. Palmer, give Sam Frisby and his staff a break and tell them to call off the parade. There is no good reason under the sun for the city to expend time and manpower and money on this event. Spare the police and public works departments the overtime. Save the fuel and cut the emissions from the dozens of idling vehicles used in and around the parade route.
Until such a time as an outside group wants to stage a well-financed, organized and executed event (as with the St. Patrick's Parade), or until the city has money to burn, put this turkey of a parade to rest.
Friday, November 06, 2009
Just another nightmare...
Once upon a time there was a city run by ego maniacal joker in expensive suits. He hand picked all the representatives to the various boards and commissions in that city, including the trustees for the library system.
The library system was the first in the state, founded by a local leader some 250 years ago with money that came out of his own pocket. It was such an enlightened and selfless gesture that a branch of that very library system was named in that individual's honor.
Now the well-dressed joker had allowed an old family friend to run the board of trustees of the library for way too long. She ran off some very competent professional library directors as well as concerned and dedicated members of the board of trustees.
Finally, with the library system on the brink of collapse, the woman retired from the board.
A few months later it was announced that there would be a grand celebration thanking this woman for her years of dedicated service to the libraries; the very same libraries that came to be in total disarray under her tenure. And to further honor her, the very branch of the library named for the founder of the system would be changed to the name of the woman who nearly destroyed them.
Now it comes to pass that invitations to the party were sent to a specific list of people by one of the board members, who happens to be the sister of the sharply attired ego (aka "the Mayor"). The date of the party listed on the invitation was different than the one originally touted in the press reports. And the invitation stated that there was a $40, cash only fee to attend the party. (Better than having the cash-strapped library and/or city pay for the fete, we suppose).
More importantly, the phone number listed for the RSVP was incorrect. It was a non-working number.
After trying the phone number unsuccessfully several times, a potential attendee called the library to get a correct phone number. The ever diligent library staff put the caller through a background and credentials check worthy of the deepest recesses of the Pentagon before passing the call along to someone "who could help."
It was at this point that the caller learned that the event had been postponed until a future, as yet undetermined date.
Could it be there was too little interest in "honoring" the retired board chair?
Was there too much grumbling and grousing from the public about celebrating this failure of the system?
Only in Trenton, my friends. Only in Trenton.
The library system was the first in the state, founded by a local leader some 250 years ago with money that came out of his own pocket. It was such an enlightened and selfless gesture that a branch of that very library system was named in that individual's honor.
Now the well-dressed joker had allowed an old family friend to run the board of trustees of the library for way too long. She ran off some very competent professional library directors as well as concerned and dedicated members of the board of trustees.
Finally, with the library system on the brink of collapse, the woman retired from the board.
A few months later it was announced that there would be a grand celebration thanking this woman for her years of dedicated service to the libraries; the very same libraries that came to be in total disarray under her tenure. And to further honor her, the very branch of the library named for the founder of the system would be changed to the name of the woman who nearly destroyed them.
Now it comes to pass that invitations to the party were sent to a specific list of people by one of the board members, who happens to be the sister of the sharply attired ego (aka "the Mayor"). The date of the party listed on the invitation was different than the one originally touted in the press reports. And the invitation stated that there was a $40, cash only fee to attend the party. (Better than having the cash-strapped library and/or city pay for the fete, we suppose).
More importantly, the phone number listed for the RSVP was incorrect. It was a non-working number.
After trying the phone number unsuccessfully several times, a potential attendee called the library to get a correct phone number. The ever diligent library staff put the caller through a background and credentials check worthy of the deepest recesses of the Pentagon before passing the call along to someone "who could help."
It was at this point that the caller learned that the event had been postponed until a future, as yet undetermined date.
Could it be there was too little interest in "honoring" the retired board chair?
Was there too much grumbling and grousing from the public about celebrating this failure of the system?
Only in Trenton, my friends. Only in Trenton.
Friday, October 30, 2009
“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.
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.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Now first
Recently, TrentonKat spent some time musing about the differences between Trenton Mayor Douglas H. Palmer and Newark Mayor Corey Booker. In last Saturday’s post, she included a link to Mayor Booker’s Newark Now initiative.
A link! To a functioning website! Can you imagine?
Trenton First doesn’t have one of those website things. Guess that’s something they are not spending money on.
After posting yesterday about the somewhat askew operating ratios for Trenton First, we decided to look up Newark Now on the state charities website. We wanted to see what kind of ratios they operate under. We were at first a little saddened, it seems that the latest report available online is for 2007.
Still we went ahead and checked out the numbers.
Newark Now reported revenue of $2,750,549.00 that year. That is more than 60 times the revenue of Trenton First, but of course, Newark is a larger city.
Reported expenses for the year were $2,314,555.00 or 50 times that of Trenton First. In addition, Newark Now appears to have held more than $400,000 (about 15% of its revenue) in reserve.
Trenton First spent every dime it took in, and then a little more.
How did the money Newark Now spend break down?
Over $1.8 million (78%) was spent on programming.
Only 7% ($150,526.00) was spent on management. Newark Now has full time, paid staff, a building, equipment, etc. Trenton First has none of that and spent 20% of its money on management expenses.
Fundraising costs were 15% of Newark Now’s operating budget as opposed to Trenton First’s 68%
Oh, and for the record, Newark Now states on its website that it was founded in 2002. Mayor Palmer’s Trenton First Initiative (full legal name) was filed in July of 1994.
Still think contributing to Trenton First is a good idea?
A link! To a functioning website! Can you imagine?
Trenton First doesn’t have one of those website things. Guess that’s something they are not spending money on.
After posting yesterday about the somewhat askew operating ratios for Trenton First, we decided to look up Newark Now on the state charities website. We wanted to see what kind of ratios they operate under. We were at first a little saddened, it seems that the latest report available online is for 2007.
Still we went ahead and checked out the numbers.
Newark Now reported revenue of $2,750,549.00 that year. That is more than 60 times the revenue of Trenton First, but of course, Newark is a larger city.
Reported expenses for the year were $2,314,555.00 or 50 times that of Trenton First. In addition, Newark Now appears to have held more than $400,000 (about 15% of its revenue) in reserve.
Trenton First spent every dime it took in, and then a little more.
How did the money Newark Now spend break down?
Over $1.8 million (78%) was spent on programming.
Only 7% ($150,526.00) was spent on management. Newark Now has full time, paid staff, a building, equipment, etc. Trenton First has none of that and spent 20% of its money on management expenses.
Fundraising costs were 15% of Newark Now’s operating budget as opposed to Trenton First’s 68%
Oh, and for the record, Newark Now states on its website that it was founded in 2002. Mayor Palmer’s Trenton First Initiative (full legal name) was filed in July of 1994.
Still think contributing to Trenton First is a good idea?
Monday, October 19, 2009
Caveat emptor
Are you getting what you pay for?
All you folks lining up with your open checkbooks to rub elbows with former President Bill Clinton at the Trenton First “fundraiser” might want to check this out first.
Seems the Trenton First initiative ran a $1300 deficit last year according to the report filed with the State of NJ Charitable Registration Directory.
While a non-profit running a loss in this economy is not such a big deal…and the loss is not a huge amount (about 3% of the reported operating budget) a look at the rest of the numbers tells an interesting story.
Trenton First reported $43, 280 in direct public contributions and $44,583.00 in total expenses. However, only a little more than $5,138.00 was spent on program expenses (the “good works” of the non-profit). That is only 12% of the operating budget spent delivering on the organization’s mission. The other 88% of expenses came in two chunks: $8,875 (20%) for management and a whopping $30,570 (68%) in fundraising expenses.
So remember folks, as you write your checks tomorrow night, only 12 cents of every dollar you give to Trenton First goes towards it alleged purpose. Twenty cents of each dollar you give goes to “management” and the rest goes to cover the costs of convincing you to hand over your hard-earned bucks.
Edited after posting to remove a broken link.
All you folks lining up with your open checkbooks to rub elbows with former President Bill Clinton at the Trenton First “fundraiser” might want to check this out first.
Seems the Trenton First initiative ran a $1300 deficit last year according to the report filed with the State of NJ Charitable Registration Directory.
While a non-profit running a loss in this economy is not such a big deal…and the loss is not a huge amount (about 3% of the reported operating budget) a look at the rest of the numbers tells an interesting story.
Trenton First reported $43, 280 in direct public contributions and $44,583.00 in total expenses. However, only a little more than $5,138.00 was spent on program expenses (the “good works” of the non-profit). That is only 12% of the operating budget spent delivering on the organization’s mission. The other 88% of expenses came in two chunks: $8,875 (20%) for management and a whopping $30,570 (68%) in fundraising expenses.
So remember folks, as you write your checks tomorrow night, only 12 cents of every dollar you give to Trenton First goes towards it alleged purpose. Twenty cents of each dollar you give goes to “management” and the rest goes to cover the costs of convincing you to hand over your hard-earned bucks.
Edited after posting to remove a broken link.
Thursday, October 15, 2009
What a revolting development!
Library board disses founder in favor of failed former leader.
Wednesday’s Trentonian reported that the Board of Trustees was going to consider naming a branch of the Trenton Free Public Library system after Adrienne Hayling. Hayling resigned this past summer as President of the Library Board after serving on that body for 30 plus years.
Thursday’s edition of the publication confirms that the Board has agreed to honor Mrs. Hayling for her long years of service by renaming the Cadwalader Branch of the library system after her.
As the long time chair of the board charged with overseeing the operation of the library system, Hayling is responsible…along with the various members of the body who couldn’t or wouldn’t override her iron-clad rule…for a fiscal mess that has yet to be unraveled.
In the final decade of her reign, Hayling drove away at least a half dozen different library directors; stifled the once vibrant “Friends of the Library” group; and presided over staff reductions and severe cutbacks in operation hours in order to keep the main library and four branches open at all. Additionally, the Hayling lead board failed to obtain proper financial audits for several years running…a situation that is still in the process of being rectified.
Hayling offered nothing but indifference and interference to a group that came together to form a non-profit foundation with the sole intention of raising money to help the library system develop a long term funding plan above and beyond the annual appropriation from the city. Only after stringing the fledgling foundation along for over half a year was it announced that Hayling would step down from the board.
It is a shame that the very branch named in honor of the gentleman who funded and founded the Trenton Library Company in 1750 will soon be named after the woman who presided over the decline and near collapse of the venerable institution.
The actions of the board in recognizing Mrs. Hayling's questionable contribution to the library system would better be directed at the East Trenton Branch of the Library. It is the only one of the four branches not named after someone.
As noted the Cadwalader branch recognizes Dr. Cadwalader who organized and funded the first public library in New Jersey. The Briggs Branch recognizes the leadership of Mayor Frank Briggs, during whose term in office the modern library system was established. The Skelton branch is named for local educator and philanthropist Dr. Skelton who left an endowment for the library system as part of his estate.
All of these individuals made significant contributions to the development of Trenton’s historic library system. It is criminal to even consider swapping any one of their names for Mrs. Hayling’s.
This leaves only the “unnamed” East Trenton Branch as a possibility for bearing the Hayling moniker. And, if one thinks about it just a little bit harder, it may be an appropriate choice.
Recalling the flap created a year ago about the lack of restroom facilities readily accessible to the public at this branch, what could be more fitting than to rename the North Clinton Avenue facility after the woman who left the library without the proverbial “pot to piss in?”
Wednesday’s Trentonian reported that the Board of Trustees was going to consider naming a branch of the Trenton Free Public Library system after Adrienne Hayling. Hayling resigned this past summer as President of the Library Board after serving on that body for 30 plus years.
Thursday’s edition of the publication confirms that the Board has agreed to honor Mrs. Hayling for her long years of service by renaming the Cadwalader Branch of the library system after her.
As the long time chair of the board charged with overseeing the operation of the library system, Hayling is responsible…along with the various members of the body who couldn’t or wouldn’t override her iron-clad rule…for a fiscal mess that has yet to be unraveled.
In the final decade of her reign, Hayling drove away at least a half dozen different library directors; stifled the once vibrant “Friends of the Library” group; and presided over staff reductions and severe cutbacks in operation hours in order to keep the main library and four branches open at all. Additionally, the Hayling lead board failed to obtain proper financial audits for several years running…a situation that is still in the process of being rectified.
Hayling offered nothing but indifference and interference to a group that came together to form a non-profit foundation with the sole intention of raising money to help the library system develop a long term funding plan above and beyond the annual appropriation from the city. Only after stringing the fledgling foundation along for over half a year was it announced that Hayling would step down from the board.
It is a shame that the very branch named in honor of the gentleman who funded and founded the Trenton Library Company in 1750 will soon be named after the woman who presided over the decline and near collapse of the venerable institution.
The actions of the board in recognizing Mrs. Hayling's questionable contribution to the library system would better be directed at the East Trenton Branch of the Library. It is the only one of the four branches not named after someone.
As noted the Cadwalader branch recognizes Dr. Cadwalader who organized and funded the first public library in New Jersey. The Briggs Branch recognizes the leadership of Mayor Frank Briggs, during whose term in office the modern library system was established. The Skelton branch is named for local educator and philanthropist Dr. Skelton who left an endowment for the library system as part of his estate.
All of these individuals made significant contributions to the development of Trenton’s historic library system. It is criminal to even consider swapping any one of their names for Mrs. Hayling’s.
This leaves only the “unnamed” East Trenton Branch as a possibility for bearing the Hayling moniker. And, if one thinks about it just a little bit harder, it may be an appropriate choice.
Recalling the flap created a year ago about the lack of restroom facilities readily accessible to the public at this branch, what could be more fitting than to rename the North Clinton Avenue facility after the woman who left the library without the proverbial “pot to piss in?”
Monday, October 05, 2009
Same old tired song
The face of Trenton’s feckless leader appeared on the front page of the Trentonian this morning along with the headline:
Which of course begs the question; just who does Mr. Palmer think he is to demand anything of anyone?
The article goes on to explain that Palmer, and other urban mayors, want to talk to President Obama’s key money men about more funding for their cities.
In a prepared statement available on the City of Trenton website, Palmer makes the case for federal funding for “Main Street” just as it bailed out Wall Street during the financial crisis of the last year.
“I understand the importance of stabilizing financial institutions. My point is, Main Street is where the innovations and jobs are – and we will need some focused support to get the economic benefit of the green economy and create jobs now.”
The problem in Trenton at least is that the city’s situation is actually the result of Palmer’s ineffective governance and policies over the past two decades.
For starters, there was the long time acceptance of Regional Contribution Agreements (RCAs) that allowed suburban community to buy their way out of affordable housing requirements by paying money to urban centers like Trenton. The net result was the development of various types of subsidized housing within the city that concentrated residents with the lowest incomes and highest need for services here instead of in the suburbs where the jobs are.
Then there is Palmer’s favorite complaint…”the state isn’t paying its share.” While the actual payments in lieu of taxes the State of New Jersey makes to Trenton may be calculated at less than the value the city would charge a private property owner, it is not the only state funding the city gets. Some people have estimated that 80%- 85% or more of Trenton’s fiscal budget comes from state and county government in one way or another. That means that the business entity of the City of Trenton is already living well above its means on the “largesse” of the taxpayers throughout the state.
An increasingly bloated and spendthrift administration and a dysfunctional school board appointed solely by the mayor have both contributed to Trenton’s woes.
Yes, the economic downtown has hit cities and hit them hard. But imprudent fiscal management prior to the recession was what weakened Trenton.
Before Mr. Palmer demands anything of the Federal Government, he ought to look at what his lack of leadership has contributed to Trenton’s woes and make the necessary cuts and corrections to the budget. (Which…three months into the fiscal year has yet to be submitted/approved).
As a couple of the wags commenting on the Trentonian website said:
PALMER DEMANDS OBAMA’S ATTENTION.
Which of course begs the question; just who does Mr. Palmer think he is to demand anything of anyone?
The article goes on to explain that Palmer, and other urban mayors, want to talk to President Obama’s key money men about more funding for their cities.
In a prepared statement available on the City of Trenton website, Palmer makes the case for federal funding for “Main Street” just as it bailed out Wall Street during the financial crisis of the last year.
“I understand the importance of stabilizing financial institutions. My point is, Main Street is where the innovations and jobs are – and we will need some focused support to get the economic benefit of the green economy and create jobs now.”
The problem in Trenton at least is that the city’s situation is actually the result of Palmer’s ineffective governance and policies over the past two decades.
For starters, there was the long time acceptance of Regional Contribution Agreements (RCAs) that allowed suburban community to buy their way out of affordable housing requirements by paying money to urban centers like Trenton. The net result was the development of various types of subsidized housing within the city that concentrated residents with the lowest incomes and highest need for services here instead of in the suburbs where the jobs are.
Then there is Palmer’s favorite complaint…”the state isn’t paying its share.” While the actual payments in lieu of taxes the State of New Jersey makes to Trenton may be calculated at less than the value the city would charge a private property owner, it is not the only state funding the city gets. Some people have estimated that 80%- 85% or more of Trenton’s fiscal budget comes from state and county government in one way or another. That means that the business entity of the City of Trenton is already living well above its means on the “largesse” of the taxpayers throughout the state.
An increasingly bloated and spendthrift administration and a dysfunctional school board appointed solely by the mayor have both contributed to Trenton’s woes.
Yes, the economic downtown has hit cities and hit them hard. But imprudent fiscal management prior to the recession was what weakened Trenton.
Before Mr. Palmer demands anything of the Federal Government, he ought to look at what his lack of leadership has contributed to Trenton’s woes and make the necessary cuts and corrections to the budget. (Which…three months into the fiscal year has yet to be submitted/approved).
As a couple of the wags commenting on the Trentonian website said:
TRENTON DEMANDS PALMER’S ATTENTION
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Thanks for sharing
Another party heard from.
Juan Martinez sent out what appears to be the second press release of his campaign. Martinez is a candidate for the south ward council seat vacated by Jim Coston.
Sunday, the Times published an announcement listing Martinez’s campaign staffers. The release names a Campaign Manager (Rafael Valentin), Deputy Campaign Manager ( Carmen Melendez) and Second Deputy Campaign Manager (Tina Roach). Six other team members are named in the release.
Previously, Martinez refused to participate in the September 8 candidate forum sponsored by the Jersey Street Community Association because it was held two day before the City Clerk certified all the candidates. Martinez also complained that the forum was unfair because two officers of the organization had, as individuals, already endorsed one of the candidates.
It was noble that, in this latest release, Mr. Martinez didn’t embroil himself in the controversy over rival candidate Paul Harris’s bogus posting on the Trentonian website. But it would have been more beneficial to the voters, not to mention to Mr. Martinez’s campaign to have used the press release to outline some positions.
You would think that at least one of the more than half dozen campaign staffers mentioned in the press release could have advised Juan of that.
Juan Martinez sent out what appears to be the second press release of his campaign. Martinez is a candidate for the south ward council seat vacated by Jim Coston.
Sunday, the Times published an announcement listing Martinez’s campaign staffers. The release names a Campaign Manager (Rafael Valentin), Deputy Campaign Manager ( Carmen Melendez) and Second Deputy Campaign Manager (Tina Roach). Six other team members are named in the release.
Previously, Martinez refused to participate in the September 8 candidate forum sponsored by the Jersey Street Community Association because it was held two day before the City Clerk certified all the candidates. Martinez also complained that the forum was unfair because two officers of the organization had, as individuals, already endorsed one of the candidates.
It was noble that, in this latest release, Mr. Martinez didn’t embroil himself in the controversy over rival candidate Paul Harris’s bogus posting on the Trentonian website. But it would have been more beneficial to the voters, not to mention to Mr. Martinez’s campaign to have used the press release to outline some positions.
You would think that at least one of the more than half dozen campaign staffers mentioned in the press release could have advised Juan of that.
Friday, September 18, 2009
City council asks why? How?
Balk at hiring extra administrator.
Trenton’s City Council members don’t often get praised for the job they are doing. And there may be reasons for that, but last night they put the brakes on another excursion of the Doug Palmer express as the administration tried to ram through approval of a $75,000 contract to pay for an assistant business administrator.
Good for the members of city council for standing up and saying, “What!?!? NO!!!”
For those who missed it, the Times’ Meir Rinde wrote it up in this morning’s edition.
The long and the short of it is this:
At a time when the city has laid off employees, including much needed inspectors in the technical services division, the administration wants to contract with a person to perform “assistant business administrator” duties to ease the load of one Dennis Gonzalez who was “promoted” last year when former Business Administrator Jane Feigenbaum left to take a job in Perth Amboy.
Interestingly, the administration’s rationale for needing to hire this consultant is so the city can draft policies and manage assets in accordance with suggestions from auditors. Specifically, the adoption of whistle blower and conflict of interest policies as well as updating and maintaining a current inventory of city assets are needed and would be the responsibility of the consultant retained to serve as assistant business administrator.
Bearing the above in mind, we ask:
What did Mr. Gonzalez do when he served as acting business administrator? Wouldn’t these policies and the inventory have fallen under his responsibilities?
If Mr. Gonzalez failed to complete the required work as assistant BA, how and why did he get tapped to move into the “Acting” Business Administrator position?
And that’s another thing: isn’t the title “acting” a provisional one good for only 90 days after which time the appointment is to be brought before council for approval? If that’s the case, does anyone remember Mr. Gonzalez’s appointment coming before council for final approval anytime since, oh say, last February?
Voting citizens of Trenton take heed. Your current city administration continues to run roughshod over the rules and procedures of the laws that govern our city. Watch closely what they do in the next few months and watch even more closely those currently on council and all who seek your favor to gain office in the coming elections.
Their actions will speak much louder than their words.
Last night, Council made an excellent point.
Trenton’s City Council members don’t often get praised for the job they are doing. And there may be reasons for that, but last night they put the brakes on another excursion of the Doug Palmer express as the administration tried to ram through approval of a $75,000 contract to pay for an assistant business administrator.
Good for the members of city council for standing up and saying, “What!?!? NO!!!”
For those who missed it, the Times’ Meir Rinde wrote it up in this morning’s edition.
The long and the short of it is this:
At a time when the city has laid off employees, including much needed inspectors in the technical services division, the administration wants to contract with a person to perform “assistant business administrator” duties to ease the load of one Dennis Gonzalez who was “promoted” last year when former Business Administrator Jane Feigenbaum left to take a job in Perth Amboy.
Interestingly, the administration’s rationale for needing to hire this consultant is so the city can draft policies and manage assets in accordance with suggestions from auditors. Specifically, the adoption of whistle blower and conflict of interest policies as well as updating and maintaining a current inventory of city assets are needed and would be the responsibility of the consultant retained to serve as assistant business administrator.
Bearing the above in mind, we ask:
What did Mr. Gonzalez do when he served as acting business administrator? Wouldn’t these policies and the inventory have fallen under his responsibilities?
If Mr. Gonzalez failed to complete the required work as assistant BA, how and why did he get tapped to move into the “Acting” Business Administrator position?
And that’s another thing: isn’t the title “acting” a provisional one good for only 90 days after which time the appointment is to be brought before council for approval? If that’s the case, does anyone remember Mr. Gonzalez’s appointment coming before council for final approval anytime since, oh say, last February?
Voting citizens of Trenton take heed. Your current city administration continues to run roughshod over the rules and procedures of the laws that govern our city. Watch closely what they do in the next few months and watch even more closely those currently on council and all who seek your favor to gain office in the coming elections.
Their actions will speak much louder than their words.
Last night, Council made an excellent point.
Tuesday, September 08, 2009
As I was saying
Alexander Brown announces Mayoral bid and launches website
Last week, we started to comment on the candidacy of Alexander Brown for Mayor in the 2010 municipal elections. Unfortunately, the Trentonian's on-line glitch distracted us from the point we wanted to make.
Here is what we wanted to say at that time:
According to his website, Mr. Brown was elected to the school board twice in the 1980's. He was appointed to two consecutive terms on that body by Mayor Palmer, serving from 1990 -1996. In 1998 Mr. Brown became the Chairman of the Facilities Advisory Board: the body charged with overseeing the state funding for school construction under the Abbott Ruling. And Brown was reappointed to the Trenton School Board in 2007.
How did the schools fare during Mr. Brown's intermittent tenure on the school board?
How well did the Facilities Advisory Board handle their responsibilities under Mr. Brown? (still no resolution to the TCHS restore or build new question, the false-start of the Jefferson School project)
Yes, he's only one man. But he does not appear to be a man with any sort of workable, practical plan.
And one other thing...Mr. Brown announced his candidacy with a press release and conference on May 27 of this year. The Trentonian announced the launch of his campaign website a week ago. Yet, the Election Law Enforcement Commission website does not show any paperwork filed for his candidacy.
Mr. Brown is just another example of the kind of empty suit that hack mayors like Mr. Palmer pull out of the closet and prop up with appointments. Now Brown wants us to believe he has the goods to change Trenton for the better, but he hasn't shown us he's even capable of following the most basic of regulations for running a campaign, let alone running a city.
Alexander Brown should change his slogan from "A New Way a New Day" to "Nothing new, different day."
Last week, we started to comment on the candidacy of Alexander Brown for Mayor in the 2010 municipal elections. Unfortunately, the Trentonian's on-line glitch distracted us from the point we wanted to make.
Here is what we wanted to say at that time:
Anyone considering Mr. Brown as a viable candidate and agent for positive change in Trenton need only look at his track record of "public service" to realize he is not up to the task.
According to his website, Mr. Brown was elected to the school board twice in the 1980's. He was appointed to two consecutive terms on that body by Mayor Palmer, serving from 1990 -1996. In 1998 Mr. Brown became the Chairman of the Facilities Advisory Board: the body charged with overseeing the state funding for school construction under the Abbott Ruling. And Brown was reappointed to the Trenton School Board in 2007.
How did the schools fare during Mr. Brown's intermittent tenure on the school board?
How well did the Facilities Advisory Board handle their responsibilities under Mr. Brown? (still no resolution to the TCHS restore or build new question, the false-start of the Jefferson School project)
Yes, he's only one man. But he does not appear to be a man with any sort of workable, practical plan.
And one other thing...Mr. Brown announced his candidacy with a press release and conference on May 27 of this year. The Trentonian announced the launch of his campaign website a week ago. Yet, the Election Law Enforcement Commission website does not show any paperwork filed for his candidacy.
Mr. Brown is just another example of the kind of empty suit that hack mayors like Mr. Palmer pull out of the closet and prop up with appointments. Now Brown wants us to believe he has the goods to change Trenton for the better, but he hasn't shown us he's even capable of following the most basic of regulations for running a campaign, let alone running a city.
Alexander Brown should change his slogan from "A New Way a New Day" to "Nothing new, different day."
Friday, September 04, 2009
Duck Season! Rabbit Season!
Silly season is upon us.
South Ward Council hopeful and professional cry baby Juan Martinez is stirring the pot once again. An article in this morning’s Trentonian airs Martinez’s gripes about upcoming candidate forums.
Mr. Martinez doesn’t feel its right that “debates” should include candidates who have not been certified by the city clerk’s office. The first candidate’s night is scheduled for September 8, two days before the certification deadline of September 10.
Apparently, Martinez has forgotten that once “silly season” opens, every group and collective under the sun puts the call out to candidates to appear before them and state their case for election. In the spring election cycle, candidates are on the stump long before the mid-March certification cutoff.
Further, Mr. Martinez is complaining about the lack of neutrality of the hosting organization for the September 8 forum. He is confusing the official position of the organization, the Jersey Street Community Association, with those of individual members.
As a third complaint, only hinted at in the Trentonian piece but delved into in an email circulated by Mr. Martinez, the issues of the having a candidate’s forum in a licensed liquor establishment has been raised. The Trenton Council of Civic Associations, in conjunction with the League of Women Voters and the NAACP are co-sponsoring a candidate’s night at Katmandu and this somehow worries Mr. Martinez.
He seems to forget that a Latino social club on South Broad Street (licensed premise) hosts candidate forums during the regular election cycle. The Trenton Polish American Democratic Club (TPAD, a licensed premise) on Olden Avenue hosts candidate nights. And the Old Mill Hill Society holds their meetings, and candidate nights, at the Mill Hill Saloon (a licensed premise).
All of this points to one conclusion.
Mr. Martinez has no platform and no credentials supporting him as a valid candidate for South Ward Councilman. Instead, he has to resort to diversionary tactics in order to duck the issues.
Shame on him. And shame on anyone who takes his candidacy seriously.
NOTE: We'll address the brief mention that young Mr. Carlos Avila, former Councilman Coston's handpicked successor, has yet to commit to appearing at the Jersey Street forum later.
And we'll also get back to Mr. Alexander Brown's candidacy for Mayor at some point.
South Ward Council hopeful and professional cry baby Juan Martinez is stirring the pot once again. An article in this morning’s Trentonian airs Martinez’s gripes about upcoming candidate forums.
Mr. Martinez doesn’t feel its right that “debates” should include candidates who have not been certified by the city clerk’s office. The first candidate’s night is scheduled for September 8, two days before the certification deadline of September 10.
Apparently, Martinez has forgotten that once “silly season” opens, every group and collective under the sun puts the call out to candidates to appear before them and state their case for election. In the spring election cycle, candidates are on the stump long before the mid-March certification cutoff.
Further, Mr. Martinez is complaining about the lack of neutrality of the hosting organization for the September 8 forum. He is confusing the official position of the organization, the Jersey Street Community Association, with those of individual members.
As a third complaint, only hinted at in the Trentonian piece but delved into in an email circulated by Mr. Martinez, the issues of the having a candidate’s forum in a licensed liquor establishment has been raised. The Trenton Council of Civic Associations, in conjunction with the League of Women Voters and the NAACP are co-sponsoring a candidate’s night at Katmandu and this somehow worries Mr. Martinez.
He seems to forget that a Latino social club on South Broad Street (licensed premise) hosts candidate forums during the regular election cycle. The Trenton Polish American Democratic Club (TPAD, a licensed premise) on Olden Avenue hosts candidate nights. And the Old Mill Hill Society holds their meetings, and candidate nights, at the Mill Hill Saloon (a licensed premise).
All of this points to one conclusion.
Mr. Martinez has no platform and no credentials supporting him as a valid candidate for South Ward Councilman. Instead, he has to resort to diversionary tactics in order to duck the issues.
Shame on him. And shame on anyone who takes his candidacy seriously.
NOTE: We'll address the brief mention that young Mr. Carlos Avila, former Councilman Coston's handpicked successor, has yet to commit to appearing at the Jersey Street forum later.
And we'll also get back to Mr. Alexander Brown's candidacy for Mayor at some point.
Tuesday, September 01, 2009
A funny thing happened on the way to this morning’s blog…
Trentonian online editorial glitch says it all
This was going to be an entry about Trenton mayoral hopeful Alexander Brown. Mr. Brown, currently Vice-President of the School Board, has launched the website for his upcoming run for the city’s top seat in 2010.
The Trentonian had an article in this morning’s edition about the website and we went to the online version of the paper to reference it as we began composing this post.
Unfortunately, when we clicked on the link to the story, this is what came up:
This was going to be an entry about Trenton mayoral hopeful Alexander Brown. Mr. Brown, currently Vice-President of the School Board, has launched the website for his upcoming run for the city’s top seat in 2010.
The Trentonian had an article in this morning’s edition about the website and we went to the online version of the paper to reference it as we began composing this post.
Unfortunately, when we clicked on the link to the story, this is what came up:
Mayoral hopeful’s site offers great expectationsNot the story we expected, but perhaps by some twist of editorial fate (or incompetence) it is still apropos to the point about Mr. Brown’s candidacy: it’s a joke!
Published: Tuesday, September 1, 2009
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By Trentonian Staff
TRENTON — That nitwit, grinning, needle-toothed alligator that has taken up residence in the pond on the Island’s Stacy Park is making us all look like fools!
Friday, August 14, 2009
Back to school
Some random thoughts on the TCHS mess
The state has announced (yet again) a plan for building a new Trenton Central High School (TCHS) on the site of the current structure on Chambers Street.
The new plan has a price tag of about $150 million and would save the existing clock tower, façade and entranceway while demolishing the rest of the building. Schools Development Authority (SDA) head Kris Kolluri says that renovating the current building would take $30 million more and two years longer to get the oft-delayed project done.
Of course, if the SDA and its failed predecessor the Schools Construction Corporation (SCC) hadn’t played games with the equally ineffectual Trenton School Board for the past nine years, the project could have been done by now. Instead, the fate of the iconic and once highly regarded TCHS has been a frequently fumbled political football.
Here’s an admittedly heretical thought, let’s forget about doling out federal stimulus money to the Trenton Club and the yet-to-be-realized new Trenton YMCA and other non-infrastructure projects and put it towards restoring/renovating TCHS. And yes, we know, the projects have to be “shovel ready” and all that. If only the SCC/SDA and the School Board had dealt with this problem realistically from the outset, it might have been.
And, for the record, there is no offense or affront meant to the venerable Trenton Club or the Y. The former is one of the oldest social institutions in the city. The latter does good work in its existing facility and the new building has been the dream of many good people. Unfortunately they are both “private” organizations…as in non-government…and as such shouldn’t benefit from the stimulus funding over something as necessary as a public high school.
Further, in the case of the YMCA we have to say that if the public truly felt the need for this oft-relocated, re-imagined facility, they would have found ways to fund it without government assistance.
Sorry. It’s just the way we feel.
And then there was this letter to the editor in the Times, Friday August 14, 2009:
Upon first reading the letter this one sentence practically leapt off of the page:
As distinct as it is, the building now is in obvious disrepair.
Huh?!?!? And whose administration and whose appointed school board oversaw the lack of maintenance that lead to this “obvious disrepair?”
And notices, too, that he brings "visitors BY" but not into the school to show it off.
That got us to thinking…what if we rewrote that letter just slightly:
Same old BS, same old “spin and spend my way out of trouble” Doug.
Trentonians, at this stage the best course of action to follow is probably just the opposite of whatever Mr. Palmer proposes.
The state has announced (yet again) a plan for building a new Trenton Central High School (TCHS) on the site of the current structure on Chambers Street.
The new plan has a price tag of about $150 million and would save the existing clock tower, façade and entranceway while demolishing the rest of the building. Schools Development Authority (SDA) head Kris Kolluri says that renovating the current building would take $30 million more and two years longer to get the oft-delayed project done.
Of course, if the SDA and its failed predecessor the Schools Construction Corporation (SCC) hadn’t played games with the equally ineffectual Trenton School Board for the past nine years, the project could have been done by now. Instead, the fate of the iconic and once highly regarded TCHS has been a frequently fumbled political football.
Here’s an admittedly heretical thought, let’s forget about doling out federal stimulus money to the Trenton Club and the yet-to-be-realized new Trenton YMCA and other non-infrastructure projects and put it towards restoring/renovating TCHS. And yes, we know, the projects have to be “shovel ready” and all that. If only the SCC/SDA and the School Board had dealt with this problem realistically from the outset, it might have been.
And, for the record, there is no offense or affront meant to the venerable Trenton Club or the Y. The former is one of the oldest social institutions in the city. The latter does good work in its existing facility and the new building has been the dream of many good people. Unfortunately they are both “private” organizations…as in non-government…and as such shouldn’t benefit from the stimulus funding over something as necessary as a public high school.
Further, in the case of the YMCA we have to say that if the public truly felt the need for this oft-relocated, re-imagined facility, they would have found ways to fund it without government assistance.
Sorry. It’s just the way we feel.
And then there was this letter to the editor in the Times, Friday August 14, 2009:
Producing the high school Trenton’s students need
The debate over the future of Trenton Central high School has produced a great deal of emotion and much nostalgia – and I understand that. I went to Trenton High for a time and also have countless colleagues and friends who are alumni. Even today, I bring visitors by to show them this imposing structure.
The main point to consider at this time, I believe, is that our students (and their parents) deserve to have a first class high school as soon as practicable. As distinct as it is, the building now is in obvious disrepair. The new plan that the Schools Development Authority and the Board of Education have come up with retains the classic clock tower and front entrance while offering the compelling benefits of state-of-the –art learning environments, energy efficiency, security, and a timetable two years short and $30 million less expensive than total renovation. The SDA-Board plan warrants approval.
The benefits of a modern school facility can be seen the city at the new Columbus, Daylight-Twilight, Kilmer and Parker Schools (and are taking shape at the new Jefferson School as well). Our high school students deserve nothing less. We need to move forward with this plan now.
–DOUGLAS H. PALMER, Trenton
The writer is mayor of Trenton.
Upon first reading the letter this one sentence practically leapt off of the page:
As distinct as it is, the building now is in obvious disrepair.
Huh?!?!? And whose administration and whose appointed school board oversaw the lack of maintenance that lead to this “obvious disrepair?”
And notices, too, that he brings "visitors BY" but not into the school to show it off.
That got us to thinking…what if we rewrote that letter just slightly:
Producing the Trenton we need
The debate over the future of Trenton has produced a great deal of emotion and much nostalgia – and I understand that. I lived in Trenton for a time and also have countless colleagues and friends who are residents. Even today, I bring visitors by to show them this historic city.
The main point to consider at this time, I believe, is that our residents deserve to have a first city as soon as practicable. As distinct as it is, the city now is in obvious disrepair. The new plan that the state has funded and my administration have come up with retains the classic elements while offering the compelling benefits of state-of-the –art learning environments, energy efficiency, security, and a timetable two years shorter and $30 million less expensive than total renovation. The State-City plan warrants approval.
The benefits of a modern Trenton can be seen the city at the new Hotel, Maxine’s/Phoenix, Foundry and Trent Town Center developments (and are taking shape at the new Hovnanian development in South Trenton as well). Our citizens deserve nothing less. We need to move forward with this plan now.
–DOUGLAS H. PALMER, Trenton
The writer is mayor of Trenton.
Same old BS, same old “spin and spend my way out of trouble” Doug.
Trentonians, at this stage the best course of action to follow is probably just the opposite of whatever Mr. Palmer proposes.
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