Edelstein: This election for Trenton mayor has the juice

For my money, this race for mayor of Trenton is about the most interesting local race we’ve had around these parts for quite some time. I was racking my brain trying to come up with a race that held more intrigue, but had a hard time.

Short-listed? The 1999 race for Hamilton mayor featuring Democrat Glen Gilmore going up against the Rafferty-machine picked Pete Schroeder. It was an ugly race that Gilmore eventually won by a narrow margin.

After that, the 2006 Trenton mayor’s race that pitted incumbent Doug Palmer against the upstart Tony Mack (along with John Harmon and Frank Weeden). Today, of course, Mack is a punchline to a bad joke. But back then? He was seen as Palmer’s heir apparent, but didn’t wait his turn and took a run at the king. He got walloped. Palmer won the race without need for a runoff by garnering 53 percent of the vote.

Since then, most local races have been ho-hum. But this Trenton mayoral race? It’s got some juice, and I only expect it to get juicer in the weeks leading up to the May 8 election.

On Sunday, the seven candidates will gather for The Trentonian debate, being held at 3 p.m. at Mercer County Community College, James Kerney campus at 102 North Broad Street. It’s free to go, there’s room for 250 people in the auditorium, but overflow seating will be available in classrooms and the debate will be broadcast both there and at Trentonian.com.

My guess? This debate is going to generate headlines. It will be the most-watched debate, and thus this will be the time for the candidates to make their pitch.

But yes, back to my point: There’s juice here. Now sure, some candidates are juicier than others, but add it all together? Juicy.

You’ve got Walker Worthy, who lost in the general election of 2014 despite the support of County Executive Brian Hughes. This time around, not only does he have Hughes’ support, but also that of former Mayor Palmer. He is, without question, the establishment candidate here.

Which is interesting, because the race also includes Assemblyman Reed Gusciora, who’s been serving in the legislature for 22 years. It’s not everyday a 22-year member of the legislature isn’t painted with the establishment brush, but there you have it. He’s the outsider here. (Though you better believe Hughes and Co. would come running up behind Gusciora should Worthy again not make it out of the general election and to the near-certain runoff.)

Then there’s Paul Perez, who lost to Eric Jackson back in the 2014 runoff by a 1,100 vote margin. He’s back for more, and virtually every insider I’ve spoken with think he’s got the inside track to once again make the runoff.

Add in Darren “Freedom” Green, the dark horse. In recent days, Green has gotten some bad press concerning his housing situation, but this is a guy who has made his name by being out in the streets and being able to talk to the “common man.” He’s got his support. Just check out any post he makes on Facebook. The likes and comments are oftentimes endless.

Then you have the city council trio — sitting members Alex Bethea and Duncan Harrison Jr., and former member Annette Lartigue. These three certainly know their way around the city and while none of them can be considered odds-on favorites in this race, they certainly are going to make some noise. Harrison, at age 32, is the most interesting one of the bunch to me. You’d expect this won’t be his only run at the office, especially considering he has the support of John Watson, who broke with Palmer in backing Harrison. As I said: Juicy.

The only thing missing, you ask me, is my fellow columnist L.A. Parker. I wish he decided to run. That would’ve made this thing epic. He would’ve been spitting fire at these debates. Oh well. Maybe in 2022.