Chart showing which candidate has filed what forms.
Can a person be a leader if he can’t follow directions?
As nearly everyone realizes by now, Trenton has become a textbook example of how not to run a municipal government. The mistakes and missteps of the current administration and governing body play out like a Keystone Cops comedy, but instead of laughing, we watch in horror as the city suffers.
We got to this point because the electorate was not discerning enough in choosing viable candidates for office. Just because someone declares himself or herself a candidate does not mean he or she is fit to serve.
A candidate for elected office must show his or her capability and willingness to follow basic directions and comply with rules. If they aren’t able do that, can we expect them to govern effectively and ethically?
All five of the current mayoral challengers were given an opportunity by the Trenton Downtowner to submit a profile answering direct questions about their background and qualifications to be mayor. The profiles are being published in the order in which the candidates filed their paperwork with the state. All candidates were given the same questions, the same word limit and a deadline for submission.
This month was to be the third in the series of profiles, but the candidate whose turn it was decided not to submit something by the deadline.
It appears this candidate has nothing to share with the voters. He was one of two that did not participate in a June 12 forum held at the Big Easy restaurant downtown.
Another troubling trend is the number of candidates and incumbents who cannot follow the simple directions of the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission and file their reports in a timely manner?
The Candidates Reporting Manual states that a candidate committee or a joint candidates committee must begin filing reports with the Commission on a date that depends upon when the financial activity commences. As of our deadline, some candidates had yet to file the quarterly reports that were due on July 15. Others appear to have filed incomplete or incorrect reports.
In the mayoral race, the challengers filed their reports while the incumbent has not. Unfortunately, filing a report is one thing. Filing an accurate report is another.
Eric Jackson has filed a form indicating that he will spend less than $4,500 on his mayoral campaign. On the same date, he filed his quarterly report listing some $5,350 in expenditures.
Jackson’s report indicates there was “financial activity” as early as January of this year, yet he didn’t report the creation of his campaign treasury account until April or file a quarterly report for any contributions or expenditures occurring before March 30.
It should also be pointed out that Jackson never filed his final report from his 2010 campaign for mayor. At the time of his last filing for that campaign, he reportedly had almost $24,000 in his treasury. That hasn’t been accounted for as yet. (We are not suggesting that there was anything improper done with that money…just that there has been no report on its status, which is required.)
Mayoral candidate Paul Perez filed, but the report that shows up on the state website is only three pages long. We can see that the Perez campaign received a $2,600 contribution from one individual, and the candidate has loaned his campaign $1,200. The first page also claims a total of $2,351.76 in expenditures, but the pages detailing those expenditures are missing along with the signature page.
For reporting purposes, incumbents are “candidates” and are subject to filing requirements while in office. The current mayor has not filed a quarterly report since April of last year.
Of the three council members at large, only Phyllis Holly-Ward filed regular campaign reports as required.
On March 22 of this year Councilwoman Kathy McBride created her campaign treasury for the 2010 election. She has yet to file her quarterly reports, due on April 15 and July 15.
South Ward Councilman George Muschal has filed regularly, if occasionally late.
North Ward Councilwoman Marge Caldwell-Wilson has a gap in reporting, but she recently changed campaign treasurers and reports have been current going forward from that point.
East Ward Councilwoman Verlina Reynolds-Jackson filed no reports between September 2011 (an amendment to a report originally filed in August of 2010) and April of this year. The September 2011 report was signified as the final one for her account and showed a zero balance.
She has not filed the required D1 form designating a campaign treasury for this current reporting cycle. She filed her first quarter report on May 30 but it was due April 15.
West Ward Councilman Zachary Chester failed to file a certified “final report” for 2010, but filed a new D1 in December 2012, and amended it in January of this year. He has not filed any quarterly reports as of yet and, like Jackson, we don’t know what happened to the just over $11,000 that was left in his campaign treasury in the interim.
Again, we are not suggesting there is anything improper being done but it is disconcerting that people seeking public office are demonstrating such poor compliance with basic instructions.
If they truly want our support, they have to do better.
We have seen first hand the havoc that can be wrought by public officials who feel the rules do not apply to them. The city can ill afford to repeat that mistake. The electorate must set the bar higher for all candidates and if the candidates do not measure up, they must be deemed unfit to serve.
Jim Carlucci is the community editor of the Trenton Downtowner.
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