Trenton mayor slams newspaper as ‘half-baked,’ ‘fake news’
TRENTON >> The mayor is a little bit sensitive these days.
First, he illegally blocked dissenters on his government-related Facebook page, daring unabashed Paul Perez supporter Michael Ranallo to sue him.
And now, replicating a move patented by the commander-in-Tweet, Mayor Reed Gusciora went on a “fake news” bender twice in the last week, Facebooking his disdain for The Trentonian
On Dec. 4, he blasted the newspaper’s coverage of a not-so-forensic audit of the city’s financial books.
“The Trentonian did a half-baked story on this audit request,” the mayor wrote, laying out his grievance with the newspaper.
In October, the mayor wrote to Lt. Gov. Sheila Oliver asking the state Department of Community Affairs to conduct a forensic audit of the city’s financial records, citing “budget inconsistencies” and a “lack of stringent bookkeeping.”
Gusciora went on the attack with his “half-baked” allegations after at-large councilman Jerell Blakeley accused him being engaged in a “political ploy.”
Blakeley said the mayor didn’t have any proof of wrongdoing when he asked DCA to do a deep dive on the city’s books.
The mayor and the councilman proceeded to go tit for tat on social media after the mayor admitted DCA would narrow the scope of an audit to focus on helping the city reconcile missing documentation related to federal community block grants.
“My point is that you made a public call for a city wide forensic audit by DCA, raising the specter of possible corruption or/and malfeasance by your immediate predecessor and DCA replied that a forensic audit was/is unnecessary,” Blakeley commented on the post. “That didn’t get a press release.” Then on Monday, the mayor dispensed more Trumpian rhetoric – upset about The Trentonian’s headline about his administration bringing in a third business administrator.
“Another fake-news headline,” Gusciora wrote.
He then proceeded to recap exactly what this newspaper reported: that new business administrator was taking over for acting business administrator Arch Liston, who took over for Eric Jackson holdover Terry McEwen.
The Trentonian, in its reportorial due diligence, even noted Liston was being shifted over to director of economic development while the administration searches for a permanent replacement.
But apparently to Giuliani – err, Gusciora – truth is not truth.
“We did start off with a holdover from the last Administration and a wellqualified trouble shooter, Arch Liston, to fill in while we found a permanent BA,” Gusciora wrote. “We asked Arch to now help us in Econ Development straightening out our Community Block Grants. Our Administration is coming along with well-qualified people to fill positions that will put the Capital City on the right path. We will continue to serve the City residents and ensure honest and transparent government. While some expect miracles in a couple of weeks, we’re in this for the long haul. #WeLiftTrentonTogether
Gusciora previously criticized runoff opponent Paul Perez for going on a bizarre “very Donald Trump-like” Facebook live rant against The Trentonian.
During the social media blitz, Perez blasted the daily tabloid for what he felt was unfair coverage.
“Come on, man. The Trentonian? I don’t even think people in middle school would use The Trentonian as a reference tool. I thought he was running for mayor, not the editor of The Trentonian. You got to be really serious here, bro,” Perez said then.
Gusciora came away from that video feeling Perez was “not well” to lead City Hall.
“It just shows his stability and whether he can make up his mind as a chief executive,” he said at the time. “I don’t know how much stability he can bring to City Hall.”
Now that he’s in the pressure cooker, the mayor didn’t respond to requests for comment for this “halfbaked” story.