Mayor no-shows Murphy event; re-election bid questioned
TRENTON » During Gov. Phil Murphy’s prayer service on Tuesday morning at Shiloh Baptist Church, Rev. Darrell Armstrong proclaimed to the crowd that “the mayor is here.”
Armstrong was referring to Trenton Mayor Eric Jackson.
The problem was Jackson was nowhere in sight.
According to the mayor’s schedule that was sent to The Trentonian on Friday, Jackson was slated to attend the event.
Jackson did not return a message seeking comment about his absence.
On Jan. 11, former Trenton Mayor Douglas Palmer revealed at a press conference that was promoted by Jackson’s administration that the first-term mayor had back surgery earlier this month. He was also not present during that event.
With Jackson apparently MIA, coupled with the city’s water crisis, mayoral candidate Paul Perez saw it as an opportunity to blast his opponent if the mayor seeks re-election — a question that has yet to be answered.
“Who is in charge? Who’s running our city? Where is Mayor Jackson?” Perez questioned at a press conference Wednesday outside of the Trenton Water Works filtration plant on Route 29. “Do we know exactly how long Jackson has been physically unable to perform his duties? Who’s mindng the store? Who’s looking after the best interests of our children, our elderly, our homeowners and our neighbors that we provide services to? The city continues to walk away from its responsibility to provide safe and clean drinking water for Trenton and its surrounding communities.”
The city-run water utility, Trenton Water Works (TWW), has come under significant heat from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection recently after repeated violations that have put 250,000 customers at risk. This week, the city failed to notify customers of a boil water advisory for a half day following problems at the plant.
The water has also been documented to turn purple and be polluted with contaminants in recent months. In addition to the city, TWW provides water sourced from the Delaware River to residents in Hamilton, Lawrence, Ewing and Hopewell.
Comparing the situation to the lead crisis in Flint, Michigan, Perez called the city “incapable of managing itself with its current staff and leadership.”
“Flint is just an example of where decisions by unqualified political leaders put the public at-risk,” said Perez, who was the runnerup against Jackson in 2014. “It can happen and I fear it is happening in Trenton.”
Perez, who looks to become the city’s first Latino mayor, said despite “the constant barrage of warnings, notices, admonishments from the New Jersey DEP,” Jackson and his administration have done nothing to protect the public. “The Jackson administration has not demonstrated any competency or targeted advocacy to effectively execute a solution or corrective action,” Perez said. “It’s as if we’re being deliberately placed at-risk by the Jackson administration.” Jackson’s re-election bid also appears to be in doubt, according to sources closest to the mayor, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. “He’s not acting like it,” one of his close friends said of the mayor running next year. If Jackson decides not to enter the race, sources say Mercer County Deputy Clerk Walker Worthy will throw his hat in the ring as the Democratic party’s pick. Worthy finished third in 2014’s race and he had the support of Mercer County and Congresswoman Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-12). Sources with knowledge of the situation say Worthy is just waiting to get official word from Jackson that he is not running. Jackson did not return a message seeking comment.