The downfall of Trenton will not be offset by political aspirations
I recently read a post from Councilman Jerell Blakeley where he eloquently articulates a simplified historical perspective on the downfall of Trenton, dating back to 1950. While his post doesn’t provide context, it does provide some factual statistical data to support his claims. Those claims are that “middle-class flight and the suburbanization of the rest of Mercer County” are the main drivers of the decline of Trenton.
Councilman Blakeley recently followed up that post with a description about Trenton missing out on the various industrial revolutions over the years and how its leaders were unprepared to ensure Trenton was not left behind. He then ends the post by discussing how excited he is in learning more about the next industrial revolution and how Trenton can take advantage of the coming fourth industrial revolution.
Seeing these posts made me question why he felt the need to post them in the first place. Councilman Blakeley doesn’t actually clarify the reason or purpose of his posts so the reader doesn’t know what the point of the post is. We are left to say, “yeah, ok” and wait patiently for some clarity that never comes. His self-aggrandizement is evident as he describes himself at the end of the second post and the insinuation is that because of that description, he will be at the forefront of leading Trenton to greatness.
There had been another recent post that discussed a study from 1957, “conducted by a team of urban planning students from the University of Pennsylvania predicted that Trenton, and cities like it would be socially and economically dead by 1980 unless business and political leaders changed their policies.” Were Councilman Blakeley’s posts in response to that study?
As an individual that always attempts to look past simplified justifications, I found myself saying about Councilman Blakeley’s first post, “this sounds like a bunch of excuses” and of the second, “he wants the citizens to trust him to lead?”. While his claims are accurate, Councilman Blakeley never discusses the decisions that were made by the previous city leaders and previous administrations that did nothing to prepare Trenton for the future. I then questioned what did the business and political leaders do in response to the downfall of Trenton? Something that had been foretold in 1957.
Possibly Councilman Blakeley is stating in his post that there is nothing currently that he can do to improve Trenton. That the business and political leaders over the last 70 years have allowed Trenton to deteriorate to the point of no return. That the lack of actions and lack of anything positive by the current Mayor and City Council is the result of 70 years of buildup of rust and decay. That all the citizens of Trenton can expect from the Mayor and City Council is a toxic relationship between and among those that were voted in to actually make positive change. And that sadly, there is no hope for Trenton other than to wait for the next industrial revolution.
If that is the point of his post, then I would ask Councilman Blakeley and anyone else elected that feels the same way to please resign from their positions and get out of the way. I ask them to do some self-reflection and realize that what they have done over the last 2 and half years is just exacerbate the problems of the city and highlight the fact that the people were wrong in voting them in. Too much time has passed waiting for any real change and the people are tired.
For the last thirty years the political machine in Trenton and Mercer County has been the same one that has run Trenton. Promises of grandeur and of positive change during election season all end up as hot air once members of the same group get elected. The only one’s benefitting are family, and friends of these individuals, while the rest of the citizens get overwhelmed with crime, high taxes, bad schools, dirty streets, abandoned homes and a litany of other problems.
What happened during all these years, all of these administrations that none of them can lay claim to leaving a positive legacy as leaders of the city? If each elected leader had decided on a strategic plan and followed through, they may have been able to limit the exodus and changed the trajectory for the city. But, they didn’t.
How many children of Trentonians have left the city in search of a better life even though their hearts are with the city? Children who graduated from Trenton High School, who went away to college, or the military, or obtained a skill and refused to settle in Trenton because of the lack of opportunities. Children who still go to church here, or visit family and friends here or follow the happenings of Trenton hoping for any sign that something, anything will change that will convince them to come back home. Imagine the greatness of Trenton if all of those doctors, lawyers, nurses, police officers, fire fighters, teachers, business people, writers, actors, construction workers, contractors etc. came back home. But that won’t happen with the current leadership unable to work together on anything positive for the city, let alone entrusting Councilman Blakeley with the future.
I do commend Councilman Blakeley for looking at the future and seeing Trenton’s place among this new revolution. But at this point, it’s like working at a minimum wage job, with no education, and no skills, and believing you can own a Maserati. The people of Trenton just want their elected leaders to be able to pave roads, clean the streets, provide a safe environment for them and their children, to have schools that prepare their children for future success, and to be responsive to the needs of the people. Once the government can demonstrate the ability to perform its most basic functions, can you then begin to look toward the future and say “We are ready.” Until then, what the people have received is a dysfunctional government that would rather attack each other than get anything done.
It appears that Councilman Blakeley is readying the excuses. Next election is but a year and a half away. He will be unable to run on his accomplishments because there are none. He won’t be able to run on being a positive example, not with the way he has degraded the women politicians in the city. He won’t be able to point to being above the fray, because he has been as down and dirty as the next politician in the city. And he definitely won’t be able to say, “I helped make Trenton better”.
So what will Councilman Blakeley’s response be when the electorate asks him what he did to improve Trenton?
“Well, this all started in 1950…”