In the section of his mayoral campaign platform on Economic Development, Eric Jackson concludes with a strong statement titled “Focus on the Fundamentals:”
We will work relentlessly to provide efficient, effective municipal services, from public safety to education, from garbage pick-up to development plan approvals, from building inspections to snow removal and pothole repairs. My Administration will seek to restore the morale of the city work force by providing the focused, ethical leadership that public employees deserve.
My administration will build Trenton’s reputation as a city that works hard and works smart for its residents, businesses and visitors. Success at the fundamentals will be key to realizing my larger vision of economic progress and growth.
This is a sound statement, and one which is appropriate and realistic at this point in Trenton history. The City and its government is broke and broken. An emphasis on fundamentals, the nuts and bolts of day-to-day municipal business, is what’s needed. I am pleased to see this acknowledgement and pledge by Mr. Jackson here.
However, I would have been more pleased had that principle of Focusing on Fundamentals been applied throughout his platform. Alas, this is not the case. In other areas of his plan, Mr. Jackson lays out ambitious – in some key instances, over-ambitious in my opinion – proposals for new initiatives. These typically take the form of new departments and offices in City government, at a time when the existing ones need to be rehabilitated.
The first example I will cite is Mr. Jackson’s proposal for a Cabinet-level “Mayor’s Office on Education.” He sees a mission for a new department to coordinate and “align the actions and resources” of the City with every major educational player in the City: the city’s School District as well as charter and parochial schools, parents and neighborhood associations as well as non-profits and other city agencies. He would have this done via yet another new entity, a “consortium” to be operated out of the Mayor’s Office.
Now I don’t claim any special understanding of city educational issues. I do know that the city’s students and schools are generally under-performing, with test and achievement scores low, and dropout rates high. I would suggest that a more realistic, and I will also use the word “humble,” goal for the first term of a Jackson Administration would be to work on fixing the City schools first. If after four years you can point to some real measurable successes, perhaps then and only then might you presume to be able to offer something to all of the other schools and students in the city.
Mr. Jackson proposes a closer working relationship with the state’s School Development Authority, as it proceeds with rebuilding Central High School and other facilities in the city. That’s the sort of effort that could be meaningful and practical. Before we start talking about new Cabinet-level “Offices” and “Consortia,” how about we Focus on Fundamentals, OK?
In his section on Ethics, Mr. Jackson wants, again, to establish a new position to restore competence and integrity to City Hall, an “Independent Inspector General.” I discussed this proposal a few weeks ago, when the candidate wrote an opinion column for the Trenton Times. Along with a similar proposal by Paul Perez that I discussed yesterday, I find such plans unnecessary for a city as small as ours. I flat out disagree with Mr. Jackson that “An Inspector general will ensure that taxpayers’ hard earned dollars are not wasted and expended in compliance with all applicable laws.”
THAT’S what we elect a Mayor to do. THAT’S what we appoint a Business Administrator to do. Those are responsibilities and trusts that cannot and should not be delegated away to another office in a small city of 85,000. For Mr. Jackson and Mr. Perez to suggest otherwise of one of the most important – if not THE MOST important – duties of a mayor essentially negates their viability as candidates. Why should we elect them, if they will abdicate one of their most important duties and delegate it to another?
In Mr. Jackson’s case, a proposal to charge the “authority to investigate of corruption, fraud and inefficiency throughout city government” to another officer resonates strongly with his previous tenure with the city as Director of Public Works. Over the last several years we have read a lot of press stories about deep and widespread corruption at that department, for years pre-dating the Mack Administration. Last year, in courtroom testimony at a case involving allegations of punitive and illegal treatment of Trenton Water Works employees, Mr. Jackson spoke of many instances of just such corruption, fraud and inefficiency.
In his testimony, Jackson explained how he handled each matter with internal disciplinary hearings and actions. What Mr. Jackson did NOT describe was any action he took to refer allegations of items we now know were severe and criminal to either our City Police Department, or the County Prosecutor. I remarked on this last December, and asked several questions about Eric Jackson’s tenure as Director of Public Works that have not yet been addressed by the Candidate, and which are still highly relevant to this campaign.
In that context, I find his proposal for an “Independent Inspector General” not only redundant to the proper responsibilities of a good Mayor, but also as potentially stonewalling real, credible investigations into any future misbehavior. Rather than calling for a new city bureaucrat, I would have welcomed a strong statement from the candidate that “Allegations of corruption, fraud and other illegal behavior that are referred to the Office of the Mayor or to the Business Administrator will be swiftly referred – in every case – to Police and Prosecutors.”
We do not hear, and do not read such a call from Mr. Jackson. Jackson is asking voters to consider his candidacy very strongly on his call for restoring Ethics and Integrity to Trenton;s government. From his Times Op-ed to his platform, his concept of the Inspector General is key. To me, the idea is a Fail. As a result, I suggest that his candidacy may be evaluated very substantially on this one plan alone.
In another area, Jackson’s platform suggests yet one more office for the City. He announces his idea for an “Office of Public Engagement,” whose two main responsibilities would be both to provide information on city services to citizens, and receive feedback from Trentonians about local problems and conditions. Among other duties, he says, “This Office will be required to evaluate the City’s use of technology and recommend improvements that will enhance services and reduce costs.”
Mr. Jackson does not state so, but I hope that this new Office reduces costs enough to pay for itself, as well for the New Inspector General, and the New Office on Education!
With all of these new initiatives, there isn’t a lot I can find in Mr. Jackson’s platform that discusses in any detail how he intends to “Focus on the Fundamentals.”
In the concluding paragraphs of his platform, he promises “We will work relentlessly to provide efficient, effective municipal services, from public safety to education, from garbage pick-up to development plan approvals, from building inspections to snow removal and pothole repairs.” Most of these tasks are actually performed by employees of our Public Works department, the agency Eric Jackson ran for many years. It’s the department he presumably knows the best. It’s also the department, as we know too well, that has seen more than its share of problems including instances of crime and corruption as well as basic technical competence.
Mr. Jackson specifically mentions garbage pick-up and snow removal and pothole repair as the fundamentals, but he doesn’t talk about them at all other than that brief mention. He doesn’t address the very, very serious situation at the Trenton Water Works that frankly threatens the future of city ownership of this vital utility. He does mention Trenton’s “Strategic Location” as being key for attracting business and residential development, and promotes the city’s “exceptional transportation infrastructure.” But, surprisingly for someone with his background, he omits to say anything about reassuring potential investors that our water mains won’t break and that our water will be clean and clear, not brown. I’d like to have heard some promises that roads and streets will be kept clear of snow on a timely basis, and that private cars and commercial trucks won’t have wheels and axles destroyed by running on our city streets, many of which resemble a Tough Mudder obstacle course!
I wanted to read something in his Public Safety section about how the Police Department is structured. Apart from his call for “effective partnerships with County, State and Federal Agencies to leverage and enhance the capacity of the Trenton Police Department,” what can he do as Mayor to improve our Department? We’ve had appointed Police and Fire Directors for several years, rather than Chiefs. How does he think that’s been working out? Does he think we need to negotiate a new collective bargaining agreement with our police officers, who are long overdue for one?
We don’t read anything about that in his written plan. This morning, we read that Jackson will give a speech on his crime plan Monday. Perhaps he may give us more details on his Fundamentals at that time.
I hope also that Mr. Jackson may improve his grasp of certain “fundamental” facts. I previously remarked that in his Times op-ed last December he called for the City to adopt an ethics plan – despite the fact that the city’s brand-new Ethics Board has already adopted one. In his section on Public Safety, Jackson promises that:
“I will explore the practice instituted in several other New Jersey cities which relieves the police department of the obligation to detain possible undocumented immigrants for deportation by federal immigration officials, allowing for more appropriate use of our limited law enforcement resources.”
Mr. Jackson is describing the “Sanctuary Cities” program, a loose nationwide network of towns and cities that do exactly what Mr. Jackson proposes. Such Sanctuary cities operate under these policies in open, but tacitly acknowledged, violation of several federal immigration regulations and laws. Mr. Jackson seems to be suggesting that he will examine the experiences of Sanctuary Cities in New Jersey such as Camden, Fort Lee, Jersey City and Newark for lessons that could be learned in Trenton.
However, Mr. Jackson doesn’t need to look very far. Trenton appears on a list of “Original Sanctuary Cities” right along with the other towns named above, meaning it has adopted and been operating under these policies since at least 2007.
Had Mr. Jackson expressed an intention to examine and review Trenton’s record under this program, I could understand that. But by referring to “exploring” the experiences of other New Jersey towns, he sounds like he is proposing their policies as models he may consider introducing under Administration while neglectful of the fact that they have already been in force for the better part of a decade!
Out of touch on a brand-new Ethics Code is one thing, but missing a major policy affecting thousands of city residents for 7 years is something else!
Overall, Mr. Jackson has made a great effort to address his plans and priorities for a Jackson Administration. He covers a great deal of the problems and challenges facing the City after a singularly catastrophic four year term, but also in the context of decades of decline. His platform is an admirable effort.
But the several contradictions built into his plan – the unacknowledged and unreconciled tensions between a “Focus on Fundamentals” alongside over-ambitious new initiatives; failure to devote much attention or detail to his plans to rehabilitate and restore functionality, competence and trust in essential municipal departments and duties; and embarrassing gaps in basic city knowledge – as well as important but unanswered questions about his previous tenure in Trenton’s government, lead me to conclude that Mr. Jackson’s plan – and his candidacy – are good, but not nearly good enough for what we now need in Trenton.
Discussing Mr. Jackson’s proposals has taken more space than I had originally planned. I intend to talk about Jim Golden’s plans, and those from Council candidates, but I don’t want to cause any more eyestrain for my readers on a beautiful weekend.
To be Continued.
+1.