And in This Corner.....

Once again, Tony Mack demonstrated his lack of foresight. If I were facing a recall, even if I thought it was a joke, the last person I'd want in my corner would be a Darryl Brooks. If Tony had been thinking, he would have found a sweet, church-going lady, the type who still wears a hat in public,to be his spokesperson. What really got to me was the theory that Doug Palmer is behind this. News Flash - Doug Palmer is history. What is behind this recall movement is Tony's behavior, choices, statements, you name it. And he keeps making things worse - the latest is, "I don't think." That's obvious. As I've posted before, I like Tony as a person; he's a hellva nice guy. As mayor - sorry, no. Be cool.

Oh, to be in an English speaking city.....

During the last few hours, I've been running errands, stopping to chat with people, even voting. After reading the city hall response to the recall announcement, I wanted to calm down before posting. Is there no one in city hall who can write a simple, declarative sentence without making a grammatical error? Whoever prepared that statement should be fired. Now, as to the suggestion that we, Trentonians, should get behind the mayor, support him, etc. To that I say, Merde! The mayor should be helping us, the Trentonians, not the other way around. Tony has spent the last year lurching from one stupid mistake to another. He has been offered good advice, great advice. All of which he ignored. He has learned nothing and shows no signs of wanting to learn anything. Like now - the theory is we Trentonians are causing the problem. No one really wants to go through a recall effort, but that is how angry and disgusted Trentonians are. So Mr. Mack and Mr. Berry why not decide to change your ways? How is the investigation of the alledged forged time cards coming along or is that too expensive to investigate?

Calling all Trentonians

It seems David Ponton organized a recall committee and will deliver official notification to the city clerk this morning. Bloglanders, please give serious thought to this movement. A recall is not easy nor is it meant to be, but this is a chance to send the mayor a message. It is going to be hard work, but it can happen. Remember when Mayor Palmer wanted to sell the water department? That was a grass roots movement that WON! This another such movement. And if you are dissatisfied with the current administration, do not be afraid to sign the petition. You have a constitutional right to petition your elected officials for a redress of grievances.

The Taste of Tasteless

I don't know Eric Berry, but several who do know him speak highly of his abilities. OK, since I don't know the fellow, I couldn't disagree - until this morning. Mr. Berry published a letter in the Times of Trenton complaining about an editorial describing Mayor Mack as, "cavalier and dismissive." Mr. Berry claims these words have to do with the mayor's state of mind. These words have nothing to do with the mayor's state of mind; these words describe behavior which is obvious to anyone interested. And both the mayor and Ms. Ira are frequently, "cavalier and dismissive." The editorial, I assume, came to be because the latest Mack administration crisis - alledged inaccurate time cards. Both the mayor and Ms. Ira tend hide behind, "confidential personnel matters." Yeah, sure. Trentonians, ALL city employees are paid with our tax money therefore we have the right to know how much they make and how long they work to make it. Mr. Berry also refers to current independent investigations as, "tasteless." You want tasteless, Mr. Berry? Neither The Times of Trenton nor the citizen journalists/bloggers gave us, "Happy Pearl Harbor Day." Now that was tasteless. As a taxpayer - one who contributes to your comfortable salary, I advise you to start investigating these charges and not waste valuable time writing letters.

Let the Sun Shine In!

Usually L.A. Parker and I agree, but I do not agree with his last column. Yes, the DCA told Mayor Mack to hire a chief of staff, but DCA did not tell him to hire someone with, "problems." Further, the DCA cannot, nor should they, oversee every signature on every piece of paper. If there has been fudging of time sheets, this is a gross violation of public trust for which there is no excuse. This is outright theft. If it is proven to be the case, then the administration must accept blame. Tony Mack has lurched from one mistake to another; he seems to have forgotten everything and learned nothing. If we, as taxpayers, are to see any change we must start attending city council meetings so we can DEMAND that this crap stops and stops now. (The Kid has apparently fixed the settings so it should be easier to leave comments; please, however, be civil. Thank you.) Enjoy the nearly perfect weather.

Just General Stuff

Good morning! First, the good news. Last evening I attended a get-together at Trenton Social on South Broad Street. This is a great place. Nicely done up, friendly employees, and the food was great. I had the curried chicken salad with a flan for dessert. Then off to the STARS meeting (that's the South Trenton Area Residents Society) where we discussed Lamberton Liquors. The owner has really come around! He planted flowers all over the place and sweeps up several times a day. And when he puts the cartons out for recycling, it is literally a work of art. Everything neatly stacked. This morning I was at the Broad Street Diner for the broadcast. This place has great coffee, terrific scrambled eggs, at reasonable prices. Joe D'Aquila from the Trentonian explained why it is so hard for folks to respond to my blog posts - I'll try to ease things up soon. Promise. Plans for the Trenton Council of Civic Associations annual fundraising dinner are well ahead of schedule - thanks to Christine Donahue and her team. City council meets this evening at 5:30PM in the council chamber - please be there. Hope to see you there.

Make My Day

Good morning, Blogolanders. I got a phone call yesterday asking what I'm going to say about the breakup of the Schwarzenegger marriage. Since it's not my business, I'll say nothing. I will, however, make a generic statement to all those who spill their guts in front of the Great American Public and then say, "Give us space. Give us privacy." To those folks, I say, "SHUT UP," about your problems,and you will have all the space and privacy you need and/or want. In today's issue of The Times of Trenton, I read an article about some found money. Wonderful news except everyone seems to be giving Governor Christie advice on how to spend this money. To our Governor, I say, "Put the money in the bank!" I called the governor's office with this advice which I'm sure he'll ignore. I also called Senator Turner's office with the same advice. Forget property tax rebates, or extra school funding, or whatever. I never liked property tax rebates anyway; it's a shell game. Let me explain. You pay $1,000 in property taxes and deduct that amount from your federal tax return. Then you get a check for $100 from the state as a property tax rebate. You run out to spend the money, BUT when you file your next federal return you must list that $100 as income. So you've gained nothing. The big loser is probably the State of New Jersey as it costs money to calculate the rebate, cut the checks, and slap postage on evelopes.