Where IS Everybody???

Right now, by “Everybody,” I’m just talking about the other 9 people who ran for Mayor of this town a year ago. The ones who all said, in one way or another, “Win or Lose, this is still my city. I am committed to Trenton, and I’m not going away.”

Those guys. Where are they?

I’ve thought about this a lot over the last few months. But especially over the last 24 hours, since I first read Administration spokesperson Lauren Ira’s Op-Ed in the Trenton Times. It’s a pretty remarkable piece: triumphant at the same time it’s defensive, breezy and optimistic while also vindictive. Her use of the word “rebirth” is pretty ironic when used to describe the condition of this town right now. I’d use other images.

Ms. Ira’s message is essentially, “Come, join us and help us, but keep your mouth shut, because Tony Mack whupped everyone’s ass in the election, and that entitles us to do what we want. So all you grumblers, pipe down.”

There is absolutely no recognition of the multiple and continuing occasions of incompetence, bad appointments, sweetheart contracts for cronies, etc., etc., etc. Not even a single “We’ve made some missteps along the way…” For good form’s sake.

Nope. The message is, “It’s our way or the highway.”

I don’t buy it. It’s a meaningless puff piece, written by one of the leading officials in this fucked-up Administration. I am surprised neither by its tone, nor its content. I am surprised only that it took a month to appear in print, since the impetus for this piece was supposedly to respond to a month-old op-ed in the Times.

But, you probably figured that I’d have this kind of an opinion about Ms. Ira’s piece, right? I’ve been fairly consistent, and continuous, in my own little space on this site about all the myriad ways that this current version of our self-government has been going wrong.
Occasionally, I show up at Council to say the same thing (less so now that I have a day job, LOL). I write Letters to the Editor, and get involved in other ways to make trouble. I am trying in my own small way to help improve things and salvage a bad, bad situation before it sinks us all.

That’s also true of several  other individuals as well. Either on their own, or through civic efforts such as Fix Trenton’s Budget, Beautiful Trenton, TCCA, or on their own with blogs or letters or with quotes to the press, many citizens are adding their voices and critiques to the civic conversation. This is good, very good. Folks such as Jim Carlucci, Dan Dodson, Mike McGrath, Robert Chilson and Christine Ott add their voices pretty consistently and regularly.
But missing from all this are any of the voices of those who asked us to lead them. Who spent a lot of money – theirs and ours – and who appeared at debates and town meetings and civic associations to tout their ideas and their abilities.

Where are those guys? Do they have anything to say? Suggestions to make? Critiques to offer?

Why are they, to a one, silent? Do they agree with what’s going on?

To be fair, several may have personal or professional commitments to meet, other things that require their attention.

But they were all so passionate, so full of energy, last spring. Many ran on their several years of public service, their accomplishments and skills learned on the job. Do they have nothing to offer?

On Christmas Eve, I ran into one former candidate at a local mall. We exchanged just a few words, but the message from this person was, “We have to do something. I will call you after the New Year. We can’t wait.”

Of course, not a word back since then.

Do they all still live in Trenton?

Why are they silent? When the time inevitably comes – whether next month or three years from now – when we must choose our leaders again, some of these same folks may run again. The first question to put to them must be, “Where Have You Been Since July 1, 2010?”

For that matter, where are several other of our elected officials outside Trenton, who also represent us and who are presumably concerned about where our municipal leaders are taking us?

At last weekend’s Mercer County Democratic Convention, I spoke with a few of them who, upon seeing Tony Mack walking the aisles of the State Auditorium as if he owned the place –  without any prompting from me confided to me their concerns and their – I’ll use the word, though they didn’t – anger about the direction this city is going.

I appreciated hearing the sentiments, but I’d value them more if they were, you know, more publicly expressed!

Several of them are up for re-election this year. To them, I will publicly ask, “What Have You Been Doing to Help Trenton?”

Let me hurry to say there are several former candidates for City Council who are staying in the game as it’s moved along to its many other different venues. These include Algernon Ward, Christine Donahue, Dareen “Freedom” Green, Missy Balmir and Carlos Avila. They are clearly demonstrating their devotion and commitment to service that they expressed when they ran for office. They are walking the walk, and they have my support now and I expect will have a good claim to it in the future should they decide to stand again.

In the meantime, there is a lot going on. This morning’s news brings us more stories about campaign improprieties in the last election, and tales of powerful outsiders seeking to expand their influence in this city while being blissfully ignorant of the basic facts of our economic condition.

There’s a lot going on, and a lot of room for more faces to be seen, and more voices to be heard.

Especially from those whose faces and voices were so prominent last year. Where are they now? Why aren’t they out there to respond to hack jobs like Ms. Ira’s column?

Where IS Everybody?

UPDATE: I’d like to take some credit for this, but it’s probably a coincidence.  Helluva coincidence, though, right? You hear nothing from anyone for almost eight months, then on the very day I write about it, here you go!