The Upcoming Trenton Municipal Election
Once again Trenton Mayor Reed Gusciora has gotten very lucky — and in politics luck can turn the tide. It looks like the Mayor has a very good chance of getting re-elected in spite of his administration underperforming.
There is a strong likelihood that the absence of a Hispanic/ Latino candidate and the likelihood that Council President Kathy McBride, Councilwoman Robin Vaughn, and Cherie Garrette will split a large proportion of the Black vote resulting in Gusciora being re-elected.
In the May 8, 2018 nonpartisan municipal election, Reed finished second in the race to Paul Perez. Perez garnered 2,536 votes (29%) to Reed’s 1,822 votes (21%). The following were the vote totals of the other candidates: Walker Worthy, Jr. 1,637 (19%), Darren “Freedom” Green 1,306 (15%), Duncan Harrison, Jr. 704 (8%), Alex Bethea 560 (6%) and Annette Horton-Lartigue 235 (3%).
In the June 5th run-off Reed got 4,500 (52%) votes to Perez’s 4,145 (48%) and won by 305 votes. Turnout in both the general election and the run-off was an appallingly low 22%.
Had McBride and Vaughn been able to forge an alliance in which one of them would have run for Mayor and the other for re-election to Council, they might have presented a formidable challenge to Gusciora, but that’s not their nature. They both are much better at tearing down rather than building a coalition.
My suspicion is that Gusciora will be re-elected, not because he’s done such a great job, but rather because once again he is the best alternative in the field. I know little about Ms. Garrette, but both Ms. McBride and Ms. Vaughn lack the temperament to serve in a leadership position in which building consensus is a prime requisite. Often it is not what they say, but how they say it! They both have shown an unwillingness to embrace the simple but profound adage that “you get more flies with honey than vinegar.” Being polite matters in politics and I don’t see the residents of Trenton rewarding them for their bad behavior.
The good news is there is an array of very talented candidates running for Trenton City Council. Of the 22 candidates, there are more than a dozen who meet all of the criteria I mentioned, in an earlier column, as the ones I think Trenton voters should look for:
The intelligence to understand the respective role of the Council and role of the Mayor (they are different) and grasp the many municipal issues.
A consistent commitment to the needs of your neighbors in Trenton (not just before the election).
A history of honesty and integrity (don’t get caught up in minor infractions, e.g., smoking pot).
Ability to think strategically, civilly and collaboratively and to recognize that politics is the art of compromising for the public good (look at educational achievements, work history and/or civic/religious involvement). Have they been involved over a sustained period of time.
If Mayor Gusciora is reelected, with a talented cadre of council members, with a commitment, at least at the outset, to work with him rather against him, the citizens of Trenton will for the first time get a much better idea as to whether he and his appointees are up to the task of revitalizing the City of Trenton. If he continues to under perform, he will not be able to use the excuse that his administration’s failures are largely because of Council’s unwillingness to work with him. The new council needs to ask tough question, but not see their primary role as preventing Mayor Gusciora from achieving his agenda.
If Mayor Gusciora is not up to task, the citizen of Trenton should have a number of potential candidates on council with the credentials and experience in government to succeed him next time around.
If Mayor Gusciora is reelected he will need to make progress in cleaning up the city, dealing with the crime, stemming the tide of urban blight and forging the kind of legislative/political alliance needed to get the Governor, to once and for all, provide the start-up resources needed to spark the revitalize our state’s capitol city.
I’d also like to see evidence that the Mayor is taking an active interest in doing everything that he can to support the efforts of School Superintendent James Earle as he seeks to reverse the backward slide of the district. I’m not suggesting that the Mayor become involved in the day-today operation of the district, but he should be one of the loudest voices calling for improved performance.
The new Council’s rallying cry should be that are looking for the administration to employ evidence-based decision making. They should urge the Gusciora administration to rely on data, research, and evidence-based tools to help restore trust in government in Trenton and to address the city’s most challenging problems. They should further press the administration to keep the community informed of their efforts by providing them with data, dashboards, evaluations and other tools that will enable them to evaluate the progress being made.