DEE DEE SHOWN THE DOOR
Deputy Clerk Cordelia ‘Dee Dee’ Staton ousted after contentious vote at Trenton Council >>
TRENTON » Just when everyone thought East Ward councilman Joe Harrison would be the swing vote, city council president Kathy McBride stole his thunder in a dramatic, head-scratching twist that left Trentonians fuming mad.
McBride cast the deciding vote at Thursday night’s City Council meeting on whether deputy clerk Cordelia “Dee Dee” Staton remained in her post without voting.
In what amounted to a cheap political trick, the slippery McBride abstained from breaking a 3-3 deadlock on whether to reappoint the lightning-rod Staton, who supporters say came under fire because of old petty grievances council members held against her since the city paid $25,000 to a law firm last year for what one council member derided as a “bogus” investigation into her conduct.
Council members George Muschal, Marge CaldwellWilson and Harrison voted no on reappointing Staton while Jerell Blakeley, Robin Vaughn and Santiago Rodriguez voted yes, setting the stage for McBride’s snub job.
Several residents who spoke overwhelmingly in support of Staton believed the stalemate meant Staton was staying. But McBride’s slick no-vote meant the resolution to reappoint her for the next three years didn’t garner majority council support.
People realized what happened once city clerk Dwayne Harris declared that the resolution “failed.”
Former councilman Duncan Harrison quickly swept through the council chambers breaking it down for confused residents who turned unruly shouting, “shame, shame” toward council members seated on the dais as they angrily stormed out of meeting.
And so as history will tell it, the death knell on “Dee Dee’s” city career was realized with McBride, her best political poker face on, running out the clock on Staton’s expiring contract.
Duncan said after the meeting what happened was a miscarriage of justice.
“Because of personal vendettas of people up there, she’s not back,” the former councilman said.
At-large councilman Blakeley, who sponsored the resolution to get Staton reappointed, was so disgusted with McBride’s slimy move he walked out of the meeting following vicious closing remarks in which he called the legislative body’s actions a “new low point.”
He labeled McBride a “tyrant” and admitted he regretted voting in favor of making her council president.
“Absolutely despicable. I am appalled that this has occurred. I believe Ms. Staton did not deserve this. What happened is shameful. It’s cowardly to not actually stand on this issue,” Blakeley said. “We didn’t even deliberate on this issue as a council. They already knew what they wanted to do. … She wanted her cronies to do the dirty work. She wanted to say, ‘Well, I didn’t really do anything. This is a total lack of leadership. She is a tyrant. She has her group of three, and they are not moving forward.”
Blakeley took his council colleagues to task numerous times throughout the more than three-hour meeting. He brought to light an email from city clerk Dwayne Harris addressed to acting police director Pedro Medina that requested an increased police presence at a meeting that was expected to be raucous and contentious.
At least three police officers were seen at the meeting.
Blakeley likened the Tony Mack-like move to when Staton was escorted out by cops when the former mayor turned convicted felon had police escort Staton out of the clerk’s office in 2010 after he gave her the boot.
Remarkably, the cops got called on Staton again Thursday, And she wasn’t even there to defend herself, out on vacation while Brutus-like council slipped her the dagger.
“They shouldn’t be in these chambers they should be outside fighting crime,” Blakeley said of the police officers.
West Ward councilwoman Vaughn called the anonymous council members who asked for more cops to prevent any blowups “cowards.”
Speaking between breaks of thunderous applause, whoops and hollers, Blakeley repeatedly lambasted colleagues for their “tragic” attempt to “criminalize” Staton by holding out an old, unreleased and “bogus” 32-page personnel report as proof of her unfitness to remain as deputy clerk.
The report was never made public. And when Blakeley tried to delve into specifics of the report during his closing remarks, he was quickly interrupted by North Ward councilwoman Marge Caldwell-Wilson, who attempted to sic acting city law director John Morelli on him.
Morelli said it wasn’t his job to cut off the youngest member of the legislative body who earlier remarked that “something is rotten in Denmark.”
Former city leaders, vanquished political foes and resident after resident stepped up to the podium during public comment to defend Staton, urging council to consider her years of service as a longtime public servant and former councilwoman before making a rash decision that may have a deleterious effect on City Hall.
Taiwanda Terry-Wilson, who ran against Harrison for the East Ward council seat, said it was “very shameful whoever thought we needed to have police officers here. If we are afraid of our constituents, maybe we should be afraid to vote for any of you. I find it very, very, very disrespectful.”
McBride cut off Blakeley when he tried to address Terry-Wilson, who at one point stepped back up to the podium to listen to the councilman.
Mcbride remarked that some people apparently “came for a dog and pony show. This is not a reality TV show. I’ve asked for the next speaker.”
“Remember this is what we voted for,” Terry-Wilson shouted.
Blakeley called McBride an “immature” leader who shuts down and silences dissenting residents.
He slammed McBride for her previous decision to expel city resident Paul Bethea from Tuesday’s meeting over critical comments he directed toward North Ward councilwoman Marge Caldwell-Wilson.
“My vote for you was a mistake,” Blakeley said.
A stony McBride didn’t react from the dais.
Former councilwoman and mayoral candidate Annette Lartigue tried to restore decorum to the meeting by reminding council members to consider “principles before personalities.”
She said she was supporting Staton as a fellow black woman who had previously “been in position to be denied a position in this city, and two people from the outside were brought in to fill the position.”
Failed council candidate Rachel Cogsville-Lattimer called Staton a “fair, honest” worker who “does what she’s supposed to do.”
She cast aspersions at clerk Harris, saying his performance should have actually been the topic of debate over alleged mistakes he made during the election and said those mistakes wouldn’t have happened it Staton had been allowed to help out
“If she’s not reappointed we have lost a valuable asset. Mr. Harris is the person who is really unfit. Ya’ll some real petty people,” she said.
Blakeley agreed. He said he reviewed the Staton personnel report and came away surprised over the “bogus” collection of gripes from “folks who are not fans of Ms. Staton.”
Blakeley said residents shelled out $25,000 for a “bogus report they should be able to see,” noting that Staton hadn’t had a performance evaluation in at least two years.
In the end, her job performance didn’t matter.
Blakeley said the council had already made up its mind prior to the vote.
“Somebody’s livelihood, somebody’s professional reputation shouldn’t be at the whim of somebody who does not like Ms. Staton,” he said.