Too dumb for words

Here's the envelope that contained the layoff notice for a city employee (name redacted).  Note the spelling of the location.

Envelope addressed to city employee at what is meant to read "Ellarslie Museum"

I guess this is a pretty good indication of the value the Mack administration puts on literacy, not to mention culture.

A new low for Trenton

The Mack administration with the apparent approval of Council President McBride has struck a blow against open and effective government.

In a directive dated August 4 and signed by BusinessAdministrator Eric Berry, department heads and their respective employees are advised that “any request to review a constituent issue, information on your individual department duties, projects or other city business, all employee are directed to politely ask that Council member or members to make the request through the procedure established by Council President McBride”

The memo continues with the statement “that in the event any Council member independently makes a request of any employee, all employees are instructed to politely remind the individual member of Council or members of Council that they are acting outside the established policy of the President Council {sic}.”

This, in effect, is saying that all requests for information, attention to a problem etc. are to go to the Council President first who then will transmit the request to the BA’s office.

While there is a state statute (below) that directs the municipal council to deal with employees through the mayor or his designee, it does not in any way give that power of communication solely to the Council President.

§ 40:69A-37.1. Mayoral control of administration

In any municipality adopting the mayor-council plan of government, the municipal council shall deal with employees of the department of administration and other administrative departments solely through the mayor or his designee. All contact with the employees, and all actions and communications concerning the administration of the government and the provision of municipal services shall be through the mayor or his designee, except as otherwise provided by law.

 

Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit the council's inquiry into any act or problem of the administration of the municipality. Any council member may, at any time, require a report on any aspect of the government of the municipality by making a written request to the mayor. The council may, by a majority vote of the whole number of its members, require the mayor or his designee to appear before the council sitting as a committee of the whole, and to bring before the council those records and reports, and officials and employees of the municipality as the council may determine necessary to ensure clarification of the matter under study. The council may further, by a majority of the whole number of its members, designate any number of its members as an ad hoc committee to consult with the mayor or his designee to study any matter and to report to the council thereon. It is the intent of the mayor-council plan of government to confer on the council general legislative powers, and such investigative powers as are germane to the exercise of its legislative powers, but to retain for the mayor full control over the municipal administration and over the administration of municipal services.

We hope that the members of Trenton’s governing body will put their presiding officer on notice that they are not about to give up the powers and authorities of their office.  Further, we hope that the Mack administration will see this folly for what it is: an attempt to further remove itself from accountability to the residents of the city of Trenton.

Save a cop's job

We can all agree and accept that the city of Trenton is in bad financial shape.

We all recognize that there must be some severe cuts in staff and services to balance the budget.

According to the folks at Fix Trenton’s Budget, their survey showed people somewhat favored cutting spending on cops.  While we won’t argue the results of the survey, we do disagree and we do wonder if people will feel the same after the police department is reduced in size by one third.

Be that as it may, what is disconcerting now and was equally questionable at the time of last November’s layoff/demotion cycle (and the May correction to that faulty process) is the continued employment of do nothing folks.

For example, the two grant writers hired by Mayor Mack. Yakial McBride (yes, daughter of now Council President and then running mate of the mayor, Kathy McBride) and Samara Lentz.

At last check, neither of these women had produced any significant grant income for the city.  Ms. Lentz in particular has had her hands on two grants.  One was for $25,000 from the National Endowment for the Arts to develop a reality video series spotlighting urban art.  Yeah, well you can pretty much figure out how much the NEA wanted to fund that plan.  $0 money received.

The second grant application was to the National Endowment for the Humanities in the amount of $400,000 to upgrade the HVAC system at Ellarslie Mansion in order to better preserve the collection at the City Museum.   Ms. Lentz fumbled that one, got a do over and still ended up with the city receiving $0.

Between them, McBride and Lentz earn $105,000 PLUS benefits!  And what do we get in return?

Now, if that isn’t bad enough what about that whip smart Management Assistant, Colin Cherry?  Mr. Cherry, for those of you keeping score, is the son of Merkle Cherry.  You may remember Mr. Cherry from when he was employed in the Palmer administration and his, um, departure, from that position.

Anyway, young Mr. Cherry has been assisting Business Administrator Berry with special initiatives.  For instance, Mr. Cherry was working on the long promised, yet to be delivered city vehicle fleet inventory etc.  That was, until Mr. Cherry was dispatched out to Ellarslie mansion (yes, the same Ellarslie Mansion that didn’t get the money for the improved HVAC system) for who knows what reason. 

What we do know is that Mr. Cherry earns his $56,000+ salary sitting all day playing on Facebook.

Add that salary to McBride’s and Lentz’s and we are over $160,000.  Before benefits.

Do you see where we're going with this?

I’ve found over $160,000 in salaries we might better spend elsewhere.

Want more?

Shortly after taking office, Mayor Mack hired two old buddies of his to work as laborers in the Water Utility: Rodney Washington and Terrance Bailey.  These guys are each earning over $20 per hour/$40,000 per year before benefits and whatever overtime they might catch.  They have yet to be threatened with layoffs, nor are they being disciplined for their various behaviors, lack of driver’s license, etc. 

Add another $80,000 to the salaries above and we’re at $240,000 before benefits and such. 

Then we have Charles Hall, son of Harold Hall.  Hall the younger got tapped for a meter reader job last August pulling in $46,356 in annual salary.  He seems to be safe from layoffs too.

Well, here’s my radical idea.  Let’s get rid of these six people before we even utter one word about laying off cops.

If documents could talk

Class Act, Trenton-style

It's been three weeks since the ugly incident on Parkside Avenue where supporters of Mayor Tony Mack verbally assaulted and tried to intimidate people collecting signatures on recall petitions.  The details of the incident have been reported first hand by Kevin Moriarty, the target of most of the vitriol spouted by city employees Rodney Washington and Terrance Bailey.
Well, for those who are embarrassed or upset that these men ever put on the uniform of a City of Trenton employee, you ain't seen nothing yet.

Seems our friend Mr. Washington has a little problem. Or two.  Maybe three.

You see, Rodney Washington was arrested in Ewing Township back on April 10, 2011.  According to the report, Mr. Washington was unable to pass any one of the three field sobriety tests administered by the arresting officer. At the Ewing Township Police headquarters an inventory of Mr.Washington's personal property what appeared to be a half smoked marijuana cigarette was also found.

Mr. Washington was issued a second summons for refusing to submit to the breathalyzer test. 

The arrest report also shows that it was discovered that Mr. Washington was the subject of a warrant.

So there you have it, folks.  A personal friend of the mayor, hired for a city job days after Mayor Mack took office. Outstanding warrant, DUI, possession. 

Oh yeah, and he's a "video star" too.  Remember this little piece of thug art? 


Makes you proud to be a Trentonian, doesn't it?

Sign the petition already.

Dude, where’s my car?

Mayor loses wheels while courting civic group

Mayor Tony Mack pulled a surprise visit to the Old Mill Hill Society monthly meeting last night at the Mill Hill Saloon.  But the OMHS had a surprise of its own.  The group didn’t have a quorum so there was no official meeting. 

Instead, the Mayor reiterated the points made in a letter tothe neighborhood delivered after the re-dedication of the newly refurbished Ike Williams Center in Clay Street Park.  The hoopla celebrated the completion of work begun stewarded by collaboration between the city recreation department under former Mayor Doug Palmer and various neighborhood residents.  Some of those residents, rightfully, took umbrage at the initial press release that left the impression the project was entirely the doing of the Mack administration.   

The fact is that most of the work being in done in parks around the city has been on the drawing boards for some time and funding set aside for it.  Those funds were about to expire if work wasn’t at least started this spring and the Mack administration wasn’t shy about touting all the projects from the earliest days of the Mayor’s term.

Public safety also came up at the meeting, giving the Mayor the opportunity to trot out another of his favorite ideas: taking police officers out from behind desks and putting them on the street.  Nobody has ever been able to answer the question: who will be left to investigate crimes and manage the department if you return all of the detectives and desk jockeys to the streets?

At some point during the meeting, the Mayor was notified that his car was being towed.

Apparently, Mayor Mack drove himself to the meeting…presumably in his personal vehicle. (And if that is truly the case, we give him props).  Seeing an open spot across Market Street from the Mill Hill Saloon, the mayor parked and ran in to court the OMHS members. 

Guess he didn’t see this sign. 

Or this one.

And his car was removed from the premises for being illegally parked.

Now, this might be funny and kind of charming.  Except for what came next.

The Mayor, apparently trying to figure out which of the two towing companies made off with his wheels, approached one of the Mill Hill residents who was standing at the bar and accused her of calling to have his car towed.

No rhyme or reason to it.  He just walked up and in more than a serious tone asked her point blank “Which number” she had called to have his car towed.

He asked the question three times as the woman and those around her stood in total disbelief. He never offered an explanation or an apology (obviously not Mayor Mack’s strong suit) to those who had witnessed this bizarre turn of events.  He just walked away.

Uh, Mr. Mayor. You forgot something.  Your manners.

Metaphor for the Mack Administration

“Looking to the past, we see that when I took office, a lot of things were wrong, a lot of things had to be cleaned up, and I’m going to tell you what we did to clean up that mess. But, much more important, I’m here to talk to you about the future, about my vision for the City of Trenton. It’s a vision of a greener city, with world-class parks for our children. It’s a vision of a safer city, with police officers walking the beat, focusing on preventing crimes before they happen. It’s a vision of a more beautiful City with freshly paved, litter-free streets, and community gardens in every ward. And, most of all, it’s a vision of a vibrant city, with an active street life, new private sector jobs and a strong growing economy.”  Tony Mack, State of the City address, March 21, 2011

“…we are also continuing a project dear to my heart: the Annual Clean Communities Litter March.”  Tony Mack, State of the City address, March 21, 2011

“A greener, safer, more beautiful and vibrant Trenton begins with the quality of our city parks. In order to preserve recreation programs, parks, and cultural venues; we need seasonal park rangers right away who are able to help put these plans into action,” emphasized Mayor Mack. -- City of Trenton press release,March 23, 2011

“I’m so excited about the fact that we kept garbage collection two days a week when it was slated for one day a week,” he added. “We are making monumental accomplishments with less.”  Tony Mack, Times of Trenton, June 7, 2011

"For his first year, Mack said he would give himself an A grade — 'maybe a B plus' " — Times of Trenton, June 16, 2011

“We hope you will enjoy other improvements such as:…invested approximately $2 million total into the Mill Hill Community.”  -- Tony Mack, letter to the Mill Hill neighborhood, June 23, 2011.

Bass ackwards

When you hire an employee, you usually try to hire someone with the most qualifications and/or experience pertinent to the job he or she will be doing.

At least that is the theory.

In the city of Trenton, it appears that the inverse is more the rule than the exception. The hiring policy in city hall seems to follow the old adage "it is not what you know, but who you know."

Marc McKithen, city law director, is a case in point. 

Marc is bright, well educated, and with a strong ethical bent.  He is not an expert in municipal law...especially the byzantine version followed here in NJ.  McKithen admitted as much while being questioned by city council woman Marge Caldwell-Wilson during his confirmation (advice and consent) appearance before the governing body.

Apparently, above and beyond his actual qualifications for the position, McKithen comes from a large, well-known local family.  One of his uncles gave a substantial contribution to the Tony Mack campaign.  Marc made a contribution as well.

During his brief tenure as the city attorney, Marc made some bad calls and a couple of good ones.

One notable example of the latter was McKithen's lack of understanding of the New Jersey's public purchasing laws that lead to the ADPC/Lynx IT consulting contract debacle.  It resulted in the case going before Judge Linda Feinberg, who not only decided against the city's position but gave Mr. McKithen quite the tongue lashing.  The judge was none too pleased with the city's complete abandonment of the proscribed purchasing process.

To the good, Marc McKithen famously and correctly declared the legal services contract between the city and the Cooper Levenson law firm void due to campaign contribution law (pay-to-play).  The Cooper Levenson firm is headed by Lloyd Levenson. The firm contributed significantly to the Partners for Progress political action committee that in turn gave money to Mayor Mack's campaign.  The contribution was allegedly withdrawn by the firm and repaid by the campaign although there was never any hard proof of that. 

What didn't come out at the time or in the aftermath, was that Cooper Levenson also made a $2,500 contribution to another political action committee, Trenton Thrives that in turn spent money on behalf on Keith Hamilton's campaign to become mayor of Trenton.  This also violates the city's pay-to-play law and would have disqualified the firm from doing business with the city.

Levenson himself served as a chair of the Mayor's inaugural ball. His name was featured prominently on the invitation to the event.  In most circles, that constitutes solicitation on behalf of the Mayor and thus would violate the pay-to-play law as well.

All that didn't seem to matter and the administration saw to it that council approved the contract to Cooper Levenson in the fall of 2010.  Only later, when things started getting heated in the press, did Mr. McKithen (who, it must be pointed out, was on staff but not yet the actual law director when the contract was approved) determine the contract to be null and void.

The Mayor quickly issued a follow up message stating that Mr. McKithen was wrong and that the contract was legal and in force.  As the public turned up the heat on the deal, Cooper Levenson oh so gallantly "withdrew" from the contract.

Then came the onslaught of Open Public Records Act requests.  Reportedly, the Mayor didn't like the fact that McKithen was complying with the law and releasing information to the public.  Information that demonstrated just how inept, corrupt and sloppy the Mack administration was.

Rather than clean up his act, the Mayor decided to clean house and put pressure on McKithen to resign.

McKithen has apparently given up trying to bring some semblance of law and order to the Mack administration and has tendered his resignation effective June 30.

So the guy who was trying to do the right thing is being forced out of an administration that needs all of the competency it can get.

Bass ackwards.

Do as I say, not as I do

On Thursday, June 9, the city business administrator announced a new policy regarding who could take home city vehicles and why.

From: Colin Cherry [mailto:ccherry@trentonnj.org]


Sent: Thursday, June 09, 2011 4:47 PM

To: Seigle, John; McKithen, Marc; Rubino, Joseph; Burzachiello, Ralph; 'jjuniack@trentonpolice.net'; 'qbashir@aol.com'; Thompson, Cleveland; Rousseau, David; Denson, Walter; Jones, Nathaniel; Roberts, Anthony

Cc: 'jgnandt@trentonpolice.net'; 'eberry@trentonnj.org'

Subject: Take Home Vehicle Policy

Importance: High

Good afternoon,

Per the direction of the Business Administrator, the following is to be in effect this coming Monday, June 13, 2011 until further notice.

No passenger vehicle (including those assigned to Department Directors) is to be operated outside of business hours. This means that no vehicle should be “taken home”.

The only exceptions to this policy are those employees who work non-standard schedules and require a vehicle to be “on call”. In such cases, the vehicle must be specialized and necessary for the conduct of City business (for example, a water utility van with equipment inside).

All other vehicles are to be parked in their respective lots – that is a Department lot if applicable, the City Hall lot otherwise – at the close of the business day. After the close of business on Monday any vehicle for which the employee has not received special dispensation from the Business Administrator which is found to not be parked as directed will be considered to be in misuse. The Office of the Business Administrator will be forced to assume that the employee has the intention of depriving the City of Trenton of the proper use of that vehicle and all appropriate action will be taken to ensure that it is returned.

Thank you and please ensure that you communicate this directive clearly to your employees.

__________________

Colin Cherry

City of Trenton

Management Assistant

319 East State Street

Trenton, NJ 08608

(609) 989-3532

ccherry@trentonnj.org

All well and good.  After all, it merely conforms (somewhat) to the intent of ordinance 10-007 passed in January of 2010 and limiting the "take home" use of city passenger vehicles.

One little problem, on Monday evening, June 13, 2011 guess who had a city vehicle parked across the street from his Trenton apartment.  Why, none other than Mr. Eric Berry, Business Administrator for the city of Trenton.

I guess his job puts him above and beyond the reach of his own new policy.

Nice one, Mr. Berry.  Way to go.  You obviously care more about what you can get out of the taxpayers' pockets than what you can do to clean up the cess pool that is city hall.

What's Mack serving?

At the Trenton Council of Civic Associations meeting on Thursday, June 9, it was announced that Mayor Mack would hold a “catered picnic” for all civic association members and their families on June 29 in Cadwalader Park.


Mayoral aide and alleged grant writer Yakial Garnier (who also happens to be Councilwoman At Large Kathy McBride’s daughter) made the announcement to the gathering and provided a letter from the Mayor as an invitation.

Everyone is welcome, the city only requests that you RSVP to Ms. Garnier “ASAP.”

Now, we don’t want to be overly suspicious, but why is it that we first learn about this event recognizing “the essential work, effort and time each Civic Organization dedicates to making their communities safe , and more vibrant places to live” just a couple of days after a group of citizens filed notice of intent to recall the mayor?

This couldn’t possibly be a ploy to play to the Mayor’s base constituency who has shown they can be readily bought for free food and maybe a voucher for some cash? You do remember the fiasco after last year’s runoff election when there was a near riot on Hamilton Avenue because Mack’s campaign workers were given vouchers (illegal under NJ election laws) for food and pay, don’t you?

Yes, the timing of the announcement of this picnic is more than a little ripe. But that is not all that stinks.

Anyone else wondering where the money is coming from to pay for a “catered” picnic for an as yet unknown number of people just three weeks hence?

Certainly, if the city has the money, it could be put to better use.

And if it is coming from the Mayor’s campaign committee, he’d better make a full accounting of it.

Spin, spin, spin

Well, there you have it.
A group has come together and filed the necessary paperwork to start the recall process for Mayor Mack.

Late Monday afternoon, a response was posted on the City of Trenton website. Besides being a questionable use of city resources in the service of the Mayor trying to hold onto his position, the press release contained erroneous information along with the usual poor grammar we’ve come to expect from this administration.

In the release, it is stated that: Under the law it is the requirement of the recall committee to pay for the costs associated with the actual election.

FACT: the city foots the bill for any special elections held as a result of a recall effort.  The city's statement is point blank incorrect.

And while we’re at it, the $100,000 figure touted as the cost of a recall may be a little high. But, for the sake of easy math, let’s accept it. The simple fact is that $100,000 spent on anything calculates to a tax increase of about $0.00507, or about 1/2 of 1 cent per $100 of valuation. That means if your home is assessed at $100,000, a special election would cost you $5.07 more in taxes.

It is an added cost, yes. But compared to some of the other waste that is occurring in city hall, it isn’t much.

We’re paying that much right now for the Mayor’s two “grant writers” who have produced absolutely zero in the way of revenue for the city. In fact, looking over public records, we are hard put to find even a half dozen grant applications that can be credited solely to either of these individuals. Cut them loose…save over $100,000 just in salaries and a bit more in benefits.

Don’t let the rhetoric from city hall fool you. The constant spinning of the facts have left them all a little dizzy.

Tony Mack*

"Tony Mack"

Tony, Tony, oh Tony Mack, we want our city back!
Tony, Tony, oh Tony Mack, we want our city back!
I am fed up with you, my friends feel the same way too
I tried so hard to be true, like I promised I'd do
But every time I turn around, you’re bringing shame to our lovely town

[Chorus:]

Hey Tony, Tony, oh Tony Mack, we want our city back
Tony, Tony, oh Tony Mack, we want our city back
We call you on the phone, at least three times a day
All you do is wish us “Happy Pearl Harbor Day.”

But this frustration that we have within makes us ask for your resignation

[Chorus]

Can‘t you govern?, Can't you govern?

[Instrumental break]

I wanna say, I'm not getting any stronger, I can't hold out very much longer
Trying hard to be true, but Tony, you just don’t know what to do.

[Chorus]

Can't you govern?, Can't you govern?
Can't you govern?, Can't you govern?...

(Tony, Tony, oh Tony Mack, we want our city back)

[Repeats out]


*our apologies to Martha and the Vandellas
　

Dear Trentonians,

What follows is not news. It is not a revelation. It is simple, common sense.

Read it or don’t.

Heed it or don’t.

If you want a better city, do something about it.

Stop condoning violence through inaction. You know who has the guns, who is shooting at whom and why. Speak up. There are confidential tip lines set up to protect your identity if that is your concern.

Your silence is killing this city.

Parents, if you want a better school system and better educational opportunities for your children, get involved. Discipline your children. Teach them how to act in a productive, not disruptive, way. Show them what is acceptable behavior and standards of dress. Reinforce that learning is good and hard work is the way to a better life. Dissuade them from the flash and dazzle portrayed in popular culture by teaching them lasting values.

Do it with actions as well as words, even if it means dropping a few of your own pretences. Do you really need that Mercedes or BMW SUV when a Ford or Chevy will serve you just as well and cost you less to maintain?

And if you are worried about what your kids are doing in their spare time…get out of your chair; leave the bar and find out. We have sports leagues crying for participating children AND PARENTS! Take advantage of the opportunities to engage in positive activities with your children. Being a parent is not the same as making a baby.

Tired and frustrated by wading through the filth and garbage in our streets and lots? Clean it up! If you want others to take pride in and care of this city, you must set the example. Maintain your property to the best of your ability and help others do the same for theirs. Again, leading by example will make a difference.

Want a better, more accountable government? Get involved. Follow what is going on by reading the local papers, talking to your neighbors and the various blogs. Inform yourself on the issues. Don’t rely solely on what elected officials tell you. Take the time to research and reflect on the information available, then communicate your thoughts and opinions to the Mayor and Council.

If, after all of your input, you feel that your elected officials are not serving the best interests of the city…

…remove them from office.

Fed up?

The arrest last week of former Trenton chief of staff Paul Sigmund brought out the expected waves of compassion from the public.  To be sure, everyone wishes Mr. Sigmund well on his journey down the long road of recovery. 

What can't be overlooked in this matter, however, is the fact that Mr. Sigmund should have never been hired by Mayor Mack in the first place. 

The past two days, letters to the editor have appeared in the Times addressing this situation.  On May, 9 we read this:

Noblesse oblige


The writer of the letter "Enough, already" (May 6) complains that The Times has published "humiliating photos of the son of one of the oldest and most respected families in Mercer County."

This newspaper has not humiliated the Sigmund family; Paul Sigmund IV did that all on his own. I, for one, would expect more of someone like Mr. Sigmund. This is a man born with all the advantages, all the connections, all the chances that most of us just dream about. I think it's deplorable that Mr. Sigmund behaved in such an irresponsible, selfish and thoughtless manner.

Patricia H. Stewart,
Trenton

And on May 10, this letter appeared:

A gaggle of rogues plummet from power

I applaud The Times for often showing the Trenton mayor's disgraced former chief of staff, Paul Sigmund IV, in handcuffs on Page One (letter, "Enough, already," May 6). He deserves the newspaper's shaming and so much more. As for his "respected Mercer County family," it is surely quite less so now. They have a lot to explain, if they hid the truth from the citizens of Trenton.

I urge The Times to publish a rogues' gallery of all the corrupt, unethical or incompetent high-level city appointees once placed in positions of trust and power by the good mayor of Trenton. Remind the newspaper's readers and the taxpayers and voters of the city that birds of a feather flock together. It is "enough, already." Trenton Mayor Tony Mack should resign before he does any more damage to the reputation of the Capital City, and all of his unworthy henchmen should be fired.

William E. Andersen,
West Windsor

Both writers make valid points.

The Times (of Trenton), the Trentonian, the New York Times, WPVI-6 none of the media outlets created this situation.  It may be argued that they have surely capitalized on the newsworthy event of a high-ranking official of New Jersey's capital city being arrested for drug possession and assaulting the arresting officers.  The fact that the official is the scion of a notable family just adds to the interest factor.  The humiliation is totally the responsibility of Mr. Sigmund.

Mr. Andersen's letter is about another humiliation...that perpetrated by the Tony Mack administration with his string of bad choices for appointees.  The suggestion that Mayor Mack step down is not an unreasonable one. 

For those who might question the right of a non-Trenton resident weighing in on the matter we would respond, "and why not?"

The taxpayers of the state of New Jersey have underwritten Trenton's mismanagement for way too long now.  They should have the right to voice their opinion on whether or not the city's leadership is doing a good job.  Surely, the voters of the city of Trenton have not shown they are up to the task.

After electing the previous mayor to five terms the voters seem to have lost their way.  From a field of 10 possible replacements running in last May's election, Mayor Mack won the runoff in June.  Since then, the city has suffered one humiliation after another. (The saga has been reported here and elsewhere, we won't delve into yet again).

There is a chance for the voters to redeem themselves.  Anytime after this Thursday, May 12, a recall effort can be launched.

It is a daunting task with a maze-like process that is bound (designed?) to trip up the unprepared.  But it can be done.

For it to succeed, Trentonians must keep a few things in mind.

The three person recall committee needs to be representative of the city populous. 
There should only be one committee to recall.  Multiple entities will just dilute and derail the process.  Regardless of one's reasoning for wanting to remove the Mayor (or a council member...they are subject to recall as well), you must join together over the common bond of wanting to improve things in the city.
Similarly, any individual wanting to run to replace a possibly recalled official should be vetted and agreed upon collectively.  Too many candidates will just make it that much easier for the status to remain quo.
Get organized and get smart.  The signature drive is a large hurdle to get over in the process. Work together and consider using centralized signature collection locations rather than relying mostly on door-to-door canvassing.

The clock is ticking, Trenton.  Nearly everyone you meet is talking about the needed changes in city government.  You can make it happen.

Or you can be humiliated again.

Another unqualified appointee.

No, this isn’t about Paul Sigmund IV’s brief tenure as Chief of Staff/Deputy Mayor for the City of Trenton.

Not directly.

This is about Mayor Mack’s choice for law director, Marc McKithen.

At first glance, Mr. McKithen might seem a perfect candidate to be tapped to head up the city’s law department. He grew up here, he’s from a large and well-known and respected Trenton family, he graduated from the city's Young Scholar's Institue, Rider University, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, Yeshiva University

Besides being general counsel for the family business, Kelly’s Janitorial Service, Inc, he was an associate at the Manhattan firm of Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy. And by his own admission has little expertise in municipal law. His experience, you see, was in corporate matters, specifically intellectual property…patents and such.

While there are some basic similarities to the various disciplines of the legal profession, there are also very great differences. There are areas of arcane knowledge that are of little use or consequence unless you are working in a specific area of the law.

Municipal law, especially here in New Jersey, is a fairly specialized field. The basic form and procedures may be the same for all areas of law, but the details and minutiae (and isn’t that really what law deals with mostly) are what separates them.

If you are having trouble grasping this, think of the medical profession. The basic biology of the human body is the same, but do you want a podiatrist to perform cataract surgery on you?

So we have a corporate law guy sitting as the de facto legal expert for the city of Trenton. He is supposed to provide good counsel to the administrative and legislative branches of the government so we, as a city, don’t get into trouble.

Mr. McKithen has not only admitted on the record during his advise and consent hearing that he had limited experience in the practice of municipal law, he has demonstrated it.

The inept and irresponsible handling of the city’s information technology (IT) consulting contract is but one example. Even when the errors in the city’s process were pointed out, McKithen allowed the council to illegally choose an unqualified vendor over a qualified one. This cost the city time and money to unsuccessfully defend itself in court.

To his credit, Mr. McKithen did pull the plug on an outside legal contract to the Cooper Levenson law firm after it was discovered and loudly made public that the firm had violated the city’s pay-to-play ordinance. But while he gets the nod for doing so, it should also be pointed out that he was on staff at the time that the contract was repeatedly brought up for council to approve and he never advised against it….EVEN WHEN MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC POINTED OUT WHY IT SHOULD NOT BE GRANTED!

These are just two examples of Mr. McKithen’s inexperience leading to bad decisions.

Just this week, when faced with the Sigmund saga and with the administration seemingly unable to make a stand up decision on the man’s employment status, McKithen has failed again.

City Council, for once, seemed poised to act as a responsible and thinking body by beginning the process of removing Mr. Sigmund from the city’s employ. Colin Cherry, a city employed “management assistant,” after consulting with McKithen circulated a memo to members of city council, the business administrator declaring that the governing body does not have the authority to remove from office the Chief of Staff/Deputy Mayor since they did not have advise and consent power over the appointment to that position.

From: "Colin Cherry"


Date: Wed, 4 May 2011 13:08:39 -0400

To: Zachary Chester; Alex Bethea;

George Muschal; Kathy McBride; Marge Caldwell-Wilson; Phyllis Holly-Ward; Verlina Reynolds-
Jackson

Cc: Baylor, Leona; ; 'Eric Berry'; McKithen, Marc

Subject: Removal of a Municipal Officer by Council

Good afternoon,

I just wanted to reach out to clarify the powers of removal that are granted to City Council.

Following my discussions with the Director of Law, I am providing the following clarifications.

City Council does not have the authority to remove deputy mayors (including the Chief of Staff), mayoral aides, or the Mayor’s personal and executive secretaries. These positions are appointed by the Mayor and can be removed at his discretion pursuant to State statute (N.J.S.A. 40:69:A-60.1) copied below.

The mayor of any municipality having a population of more than 80,000, but less than 300,000, which, prior to January 9, 1982, had adopted the form of government designated as "Mayor-Council Plan C" provided for in article 5 of P.L.1950, c.210 (C.40:69A-55 et seq.), may appoint one or two deputy mayors, a personal secretary, an executive secretary, and aides not exceeding seven in number, who shall serve and be
removable at the pleasure of the mayor, and who shall serve in the unclassified service of the civil service of the municipality and shall receive such salary as shall be fixed by the mayor.

City Council does, however, have the ability to remove, with cause, Department Directors, the Business Administrator, or any other position that requires the advice and consent of Council. To do so requires a two-thirds majority (5 votes). The Department of Law is currently investigating whether or not there are any other positions that may fall under City Council’s purview to remove, however no additional positions are believed to fall under Council’s authority at this time.

Thank you and please let me know if you have any further questions.

_________________

Colin Cherry
City of Trenton
Management Assistant
319 East State Street
Trenton, NJ 08608
(609) 989-3532
ccherry@trentonnj.org

When consulted on the matter, noted local attorney and former city law director George Dougherty offered up a two page opinion contradicting Mr. Cherry’s assertion. This opinion was sent to Mr. McKithen.

Mr. Dougherty's cover letter that accompanied his opinion reads in part:

My opinion is that the City Council’s powers under NJSA 40:69A-37 expressly apply to “any municipal officer” other than the Mayor and a Council member. Attached is my explanation and supporting authority. The fact that the mayor can appoint a deputy (and some other officers) without council advice and consent and can remove, does not equate to the City Council has no authority to remove. It has it clearly under Section 37. See attached.


Mr. Cherry’s opinion adds something to Section 37 which does not appear in print. There is no requirement in the published portion of that section which limits Council’s removal power over “any municipal officer” to those officers whose appointment is subject to Council’s advice and consent. If he has a citation to that requirement I would be happy to reconsider.

Yet, when asked at Thursday night’s council meeting for an opinion on the body’s power to remove public officials, Mr. McKithen responded that the council’s authority did not extend to the chief of staff. His contention is that if they don’t approve (through advise and consent) the appointment, they cannot remove the appointee.

Well Mr. McKithen, we think you may be wrong.

There is one thing that we agree upon…council had to approve your appointment and so they have the power to remove you.

And they should.

Make it right, Mayor Mack

Monday’s arrest of Paul Sigmund is a very sad turn of events.

 

Let’s be perfectly clear here: Mr. Sigmund obviously has some problems that we all hope he will seek proper treatment for. May he find the will and the way to overcome his personal demons and correct his path. And may his family be able to move through and past this chapter of their lives.

 

While we wish Mr. Sigmund and his family well, there are other more public and pressing matters that must not be swept aside in sentimentality.

 

Mayor Mack’s judgment is once again in question.

 

Are we to believe that the Mayor knew nothing of Mr. Sigmund’s problems before bringing him on board less than two months ago? Rumors and questions about just what was reported in Mr. Sigmund’s required background check have swirled since his appointment as Chief of Staff was announced.

 

 

The New York Times reported that Mack spokesperson Lauren Ira stated that Mr. Sigmund submitted to and passed the required drug test at the time of his hiring.

 

Are we to believe then, that only in the last seven weeks Mr. Sigmund has developed a heroin habit?

 

Last month there was the speeding incident where Mr. Sigmund was stopped for driving a city owned vehicle 35 miles over the speed limit. It was later learned that Mr. Sigmund had neither a valid New Jersey nor California driver’s license.
 

Are we to believe that, as was claimed at the time, the city administration had no knowledge of Mr. Sigmund’s lack of valid driving privileges?

 

Mayor Mack it is time for you to step up and do the right things: 

1. You need to ask for Mr. Sigmund’s resignation immediately.
2. You need to come clean about what you really knew about Mr. Sigmund’s background; his substance abuse problem and his suspended driver’s license.
3. You need to issue an executive order directing all elected and appointed officials of the city of Trenton to immediately submit to a drug test.
4. You need to remember that the first day to submit the paperwork initiating the recall process is just eight days away.

Mayor Mack, your poor judgment has yet again put the city of Trenton in a bad light and the taxpayers on the hook. We are fortunate that the events above did not take a more tragic route where someone was injured or worse while your appointee illegally operated a city owned vehicle while speeding or driving under the influence or both.

 

This may very well be your last chance to make things right.

Stupid is as stupid does...

...and says.

The following are direct excerpts from online stories regarding Trenton Chief of Staff/Deputy Mayor Paul Sigmund's lack of a valid driver's license when he was stopped for speeding in a city owned vehicle. Links to the full article are provide.

From the Trentonian: 


“It’s true that I don’t have a New Jersey’s license. I’ve been to DMV a couple of times but you need like six forms of identification to get a license. I will take care of it. And in regards to California, I have a permit that allows me to drive to work. I thought I could drive in New Jersey,” Sigmund said.


Sigmund attempted to explain his admitted mistake.

“I was totally lost in thought, rushing back to work because I had this great idea about improving our school system. I’ll tell you about it soon.”

Sigmund, in March, assured the Trentonian that he had “taken care of” his California problems, stemming from two unpaid tickets, and then promised to not drive a city car until he could show proof of rectification.

“I thought everything had been taken care of. I thought all of the restrictions had been lifted,” Sigmund said.
 
Again, from the Trentonian:
 
Mayor Tony Mack today said his Chief of Staff Paul Sigmund should not have been behind the wheel of a city-owned vehicle last weekend when he racked up tickets for speeding and driving without a license.

“In hindsight, Paul should not have been given a city car and he should not have been behind the wheel of a vehicle,” Mack said.

Mack said he had “no idea of how this occurred,” referring to Sigmund being issued the Trenton government Ford Escape without having a valid license.

Mack made one other statement, saying that he and Acting Police Director Joseph Juniak never discussed whether Sigmund should get a city vehicle.

“I didn’t speak to Juniak about this,” Mack said.



From the Times:

“My understanding, both from California and New Jersey, was that my license was valid,” Sigmund said yesterday.


He acknowledged he was speeding, saying he was “lost in thought” at the time of the stop and was unaware of how fast he was going.

During a press conference yesterday introducing former state treasurer David Rousseau as Trenton’s new finance adviser, Mack cited personnel issues in refusing to discuss whether he knew of Sigmund’s license status. But Sigmund said he told Mack about the issue earlier, when he believed he had it fixed.

“I brought it right to Tony’s attention the second I found out about it,” Sigmund said.

Sigmund said he drove to work yesterday morning, but would be leaving his sports utility vehicle at City Hall and finding another way home.

That pretty much says it all, doesn't it?

Remember this guy?

Remember back last summer when Mayor Mack wanted to appoint Andrew Weber the Business Administrator for the City of Trenton?  You know, after Bill Guhl un-volunteered himself and before Andrew McCrosson (later to resign and plead guilty to embezzlement) got to hold the chair for a few months.  The problem with the webe appointment was a blatant conflict of interest. Weber is a partner with the Mt. Holly law firm of Riley and Riley.  Riley and Riley were being considered for a legal services contract with the city.  Mr. Weber, who also served on Mayor Mack's transition team and was a former special counsel with Cooper Levenson. (You remember them, right?)

Well, it looks like Mr. Weber got the tiniest of wrist slaps from the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission (NJ ELEC) this week:

NEW JERSEY ELECTION LAW ENFORCEMENT COMMISSION

P.O. Box 185

Trenton, New Jersey 08625-0185

NEW JERSEY ELECTION
LAW ENFORCEMENT COMMISSION,
Complainant,

FINAL DECISION FOR

LATE FILING

v.

ANDREW WEBER,
Respondent.

C-1598-1-2009L

PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission (hereafter, the Commission) considered at its meeting of March 15, 2011 the Complaint, issued on October 27, 2010, pursuant to N.J.S.A. 52:13C-18 et seq., for non-filing of the Governmental Affairs Agent Quarterly Report (Form Q-4) for the 2009 third quarter report period, which Complaint is hereby incorporated by reference in this Final Decision. The Commission considered the Respondent’s Affidavit and Waiver of Hearing submitted in response to the Complaint, and by a vote of 4-0 adopted as its Final Decision the proposed Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law set forth in the Complaint, after modifying them to reflect that the Respondent filed a Governmental Affairs Agent Quarterly Report (Form Q-4) for the 2009 third quarter report period on February 1, 2011 (476 days late).

PENALTY

THEREFORE, pursuant to N.J.S.A. 52:13C-23.1 and N.J.A.C. 19:25-20.18, the Commission hereby REPRIMANDS the Respondent and imposes a penalty in the amount of $300.00 for late filing of Form Q-4. Respondent submitted payment of $300.00. No further payment is required.

NEW JERSEY ELECTION LAW

ENFORCEMENT COMMISSION

Date of Mailing: March 30, 2011  BY: _____________________

RONALD DEFILIPPIS

Chairman

CERTIFIED MAIL NO. 7009 3410 0001 8442 8922
RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED
AND FIRST CLASS MAIL

To be sure, a $300 fine is nothing to Mr. Weber.  And we're sure his late filing of a Government Affairs Agent (lobbyist) report was a mere technical oversight.  Right.
 
Just like not mentioning the various PAC's Mr. Weber is involved in during all of the Cooper Levenson/City of Trenton controversy was an oversight.  You know, PAC's like Voters United New Jersey that Mr. Weber just happens to have the sole signatory power on their checking account. 
 
According to the 4th quarter ELEC report filed (filed about two weeks late, btw) by Voters United, Riley and Riley, along with Cooper Levenson and Hydro-San (which has the same address and ownership as Alaimo Engineering, another consulting firm that has been trying to get work with the city of Trenton) all gave $5000 to Voters United last December. In that same report, we see that Voters United just happened to make a $2500 contribution to the questionable local Trenton PAC, Partners For Progress that same month.
 
But don't worry.  Mr. Weber, Mr. Levenson and friends have no undue influence over the Mack administration.  None whatsoever. 
 
Right.

Art for art's sake

Spelling doesn't count.

This is the flier produced for tonight's "Arts Summit" at the Mill Hill Playhouse. We love the creative spelling incorporated in the program.

Guess $50,000 a year doesn't buy much in the way of proofreading any more.

State of the City

We’ve been tempted to draft a lengthy dissection of Mayor Mack’s State of the City Address but hesitated. Fortunately, Dan Dodson was on it immediately and posted a thoughtful response on his blog.


Sometimes, procrastination pays off.

At tonight’s city council meeting, that pay off came. Sort of.

Resolution 11-157 was the extension of the information technology (IT) consulting contract with ADPC. This is the contract that an RFP was issued for last fall and that resulted in the controversial and faulty hiring of an unqualified vendor, Lynx Technology Partners.

ADPC, who has provided this service to the city for over 20 years, took the matter to court and prevailed.

In an order issued on March 11, Judge Feinberg determined that the RFP process would need to be rebid and that ADPC would continue under the terms of the current contract until June 30, 2011.

Tonight’s resolution was presented on the docket this way:

11-157 RESOLUTION CONCERNING THE CONTRACT WITH ASSOCIATED DATA PROCESS CONSULTANTS, INC. (ADPC), 116 VILLAGE BLVD, SUITE 200, PRINCETON, NEW JERSEY 08540 TO PROVIDE TECHNICAL SUPPORT SERVICES FOR THE CITY OF TRENTON, DEPARTMENT OF ADMINISTRATION, DIVISION OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (not to exceed $319,2000 term March 1, 2011 to June 30, 2011)

According to a report posted by Bob Chilson on his blog, when the resolution came up for a vote, it failed to pass.

Councilwoman Holly-Ward asked the City Attorney, Marc McKithen, if there was any paperwork to back up the resolution. McKithen reportedly stated he didn’t have anything.

Council voted 5-2 against the resolution. The two members who voted in favor of the resolution, Council President Muschal and Councilwoman Caldwell-Wilson, were the only two to vote against awarding the IT contract to Lynx technologies in the first place. It is pretty obvious that they are paying attention.

It is hard to say what is more disappointing in this matter…the complete lack of understanding on the part of five city council members as to what the judge ordered or McKithen’s apparent refusal to offer a proper and thorough explanation of the matter so they could vote intelligently.

At best, we have a situation where the ignorance and incompetence of a majority on our governing body is compounded by the willful contempt demonstrated by the city attorney and the rest of the Mack administration.

That, friends, is the real state of the city. It is not "well."