Rodriguez blisters rivals in goodbye speech
At-large Councilman Santiago Rodriguez said goodbye to Trentonians at his final meeting, applauding colleagues for resisting pressure to cave to Mayor Reed Gusciora’s political agenda.
The “retiring” councilman was given the floor to address constituents for the last time before he leaves office at the end of the month.
He’s giving up his seat early despite legislators having voted to extend their four-year terms to the end of the year.
“Fight, get involved,” Rodriguez
urged voters ahead of the November elections. “Don’t let a rubberstamp council come up. People hate us because we are independent.”
The fiery Puerto Rican prognosticator used most of his 11-minute address to bash political rivals like Gusciora and South Ward Councilman George Muschal, who accused Rodriguez of absconding to the Sunshine State after selling his Commonwealth Avenue home.
Rodriguez, who said he’s been in Trenton since 1970, still plans to participate in meetings from his new abode in Florida, which he claimed to have paid for with cash after selling his Trenton property.
“I didn’t get a penny from … contractors, from anybody,” a proud Rodriguez sneered
Allegations that the legislator broke a state residency law requiring legislators to live where they serve were never proven, and Rodriguez continued voting at meetings until the bitter end.
He claimed the controversy was a distraction tactic deployed by Gusciora allies who’d soon find themselves in the crosshairs of federal investigators.
The FBI is investigating allegations that the city’s environmental health bureau wildly inflated hours they claimed to work on a tax-remediation grant.
“They knew the subpoenas were coming,” Rodriguez said.
The councilman said he once backed Gusciora “100 percent,” attending all of his press conferences and supporting the mayor’s initial push for a forensic audit of the city’s books.
Gusciora backed away from that pledge, which led Rodriguez to lose respect for him.
The council later clashed with the mayor over the 2019 budget, and Rodriguez had his own beef with Team Gusciora over an executive edict cited as part of the reason Rodriguez resigned early.
“I was hoping that we were going to elect the right person,” Rodriguez said. “We have had too much corruption in this city for the last at least 40 years.”
After initially committing to run against Gusciora in 2022, Rodriguez backed out of the race before it got underway, saying his special-needs grandson required his full atteniton.
“He needs me more than Trenton,” he said, adding he is secure the city is in good hands, as long as councilwoman Sonya Wilkins is reelected.
He urged colleagues to make her the vice president and hopes that she becomes the next council president.