Trenton marketing firm says bid favored firm tied to Jackson
TRENTON » City councilman and mayoral candidate Alex Bethea got called out Tuesday by a member of the legislative body after he asked to postpone a planned executive session discussion over a potential legal mess involving a bid from Trenton-based EFK Group.
The group claims it was snubbed out of getting contracted marketing and public relations work with the city in favor of Cole Media, which has done PR work for Mayor Eric Jackson.
Bethea wanted to push back the closed-door discussion till Thursday to accommodate his schedule because he was taking part in a mayoral forum put on by the Trenton Civic Trust at the Trinity Episcopal Cathedral.
Bethea left the council meeting early and arrived to the forum a few minutes late.
At first, Bethea referred vaguely to his prior engagement until he was asked by councilwoman Phyllis Holly-Ward to elaborate on it. He explained to council members he was running for mayor and didn’t want his “competition to get an edge” if he blew off the forum.
“That’s more important?” Holly-Ward shot back, noting the legislative body already pushed back the closed-door meeting for several weeks.
Bethea, who got flak last week for forgetting about a pivotal city budget meeting, was the only one in favor of pushing back the meeting but council swept aside his request and went forward with it.
Bethea left before the executive session.
The Trentonian objected to the closed-door session because it contended the council hadn’t met strict legal parameters to justify closing the meeting, noting that Eleanor Kubacki, the chief executive officer of EFK Group, hadn’t filed a lawsuit or a tort claim notice against the city.
City law director Walter Denson contended he exchanged emails with Kubacki’s lawyer in which her lawyer threatened litigation against the city.
That led to an exchange between Denson and Kubacki in which she claimed that wasn’t exactly true.
“The rules of this game are stacked toward the city, not the residents or the business owners,” said Kubacki, who also addressed the legislative body before the executive session. “Basically, you’ve tied my hands behind my back as a business leader.”
Denson explained to the disgruntled business owner that any action the council takes on her matter must be voted on publicly at Thursday meeting.
Kubacki confirmed after the public was excluded from the meeting she consulted with attorney George Dougherty but hadn’t retained him to sue.
The beef between Kubacki and the city boils down to a contract dispute.
According to documents obtained by The Trentonian, her marketing firm was one of three that responded to request for proposals (RFP) for marketing and public relations services put out by the city of Trenton.
EFK lost out on a contact to Cole Media by a single point, 149 to 148, according to documents reviewed by The Trentonian. The last-place finisher was Nikki Jones Agency with 141.5 out of a possible 180 points.
Kubacki’s one-year proposal was for $63,000 while Cole Media – run by Sakina Cole, former PR flack for Newark Mayor Ras Baraka – didn’t provide a yearly breakdown, only an hourly rate of $44.50 for services.
Kubacki claimed Cole Media’s proposal didn’t meet the specifications of the city’s RFP because it didn’t set forth a total amount for services, leaving open-ended how much the city could potentially shell out for the Newarkbased firm.
Nikki Jones Agency offered to do the same work for $137,905, more than double Kubacki’s figure.
The three city officials that participated in the scoring were housing and economic development director Diana Rogers, the mayor’s chief of staff Francis Blanco and personnel officer Steven Ponella.
Kubacki, a 21-year business owner, explained at the meeting she felt the bidding process was unfair and she has been getting “the run-around” from the Jackson administration.
“It was noncompliant,” she said of Cole Media’s proposal. “I think it’s really important to make a statement and let [the council] know the process is broken.”
City council last year approved a resolution for a $50,000 payout to Cole Media to do PR work for Jackson, according to news reports.
The city didn’t explain at the time why it needed the services, and it wasn’t immediately clear what work contributions Cole Media has made to the city.
Newark’s city council in 2015 had rejected Cole Media for a nobid contract but later reversed itself in awarding the contract to the firm.