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  Look at Trenton
Credo Quia Absurdum Est
NEWS, SATIRE AND COMMENTARY WITH A BITE
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On Friday, May 13, Superior Court Judge Andrew Smithson sent a clear message to New Jersey Attorney General Peter Harvey. Smithson ordered Harvey to give testimony about how he handled information that former NJ State Police Superintendent Joseph Santiago was friendly with members of organized crime.
To be sure the he wasn’t misunderstood, Smithson spoke plainly, saying he could only make his order clearer if he cut his vein and wrote it in blood.
The Attorney’s General office would not comment on the ruling and only said it was under review. In the past Harvey has maintained that the information should not be divulged because an attorney-client privilege exists between Santiago and himself. However, Smithson’s ruling pertains to Harvey’s conduct before Santiago was hired to head the New Jersey State Police.
Just the fact that Harvey believes the information is protected by attorney-client privilege is cause for concern. Claims of unethical conduct by Santiago are almost perpetual, and many of those claims have gone to the Attorney General for review. If Harvey has knowledge about past mob ties, then that information may become relevant in any and all future matters regarding Santiago. This would mean that Santiago could never be investigated and/or prosecuted by the Attorney General. Likewise, it would be improper for a subordinate of Harvey to prosecute/investigate Santiago.
Officers around the state have long wondered how Santiago is able to persist in his conduct. Could this be the source of Harvey’s impotence with regard to Santiago? If true, this would make Peter Harvey no more substantive than Jimmy Stewart’s 6' 3½" tall invisible rabbit “Harvey.”

Instilling voter apathy by disenfranchising minorities

Nothing is worse than voter apathy. That is, unless you’re an incumbent. Overwhelmingly when voters lose interest, or just stop caring, the current office holders get re-elected. In order to spark change, voters must first believe their vote makes a difference.
The voters in Trenton are being lulled asleep. Weekly they are bombarded with off-hand comments that make them think Mayor Doug Palmer has already won next year’s election. One source of the comments is the Back Talk section of The Trentonian. Imagine that, the mouthpiece of the Palmer administration instilling apathy in the voters. Ed Note quips that “Palmer is Mayor until he decides not to be” or “Nobody will beat Palmer” and from there the oral tradition begins, and Ed Note's words spread through the neighborhood.
Sadly, The Trentonian is the most widely read newspaper in the minority neighborhoods of Trenton. It is there that The Trentonian is turned to almost exclusively for news. With nothing disputing what is written it is often times treated as gospel.
Ironically, The Trentonian has L.A. Parker, the supposed champion of the everyday black man, writing for them. But Parker is as much a part of the disenfranchising of the black voter as Ed Note. Earlier this month Parker wrote an article about next year’s mayoral election. For a source he used a Rider University professor who claimed that with a four-candidate race Palmer would win easily. Evidently the professor didn’t consider a run-off election and what might happen if the three candidates joined forces.
Though Palmer and Parker would never admit it, it is in the minority neighborhoods that Palmer is losing support the most. If these voters remain disenfranchised, then Palmer will surely win. Motivating these voters could be key to defeating Palmer.

Those trying to impede it, should let the debate proceed

The next mayoral election is still a year away, yet there are influences being exerted which are effecting the current debate. Council members, the media and select community activists are all echoing the platform of the Palmer administration. All of these groups are helping mold an important debate and direct it away from the best interest of the city.
Contrary to what is being proclaimed, now is the time to point fingers and examine the strategies being used. To not do so only benefits the officials who have made the mistakes. This is not a case of mudslinging. This is a case of failed strategies and of lies. No more than six months ago four members of City Council proclaimed, during a public meeting, that they never hear any complaints about crime as they go around the city. Did Trenton get that bad in six months or did they lie?
Over two years ago members of the police department warned that gangs were on the verge of overrunning the city. The administration chose to lie, yes lie, about the problem. Instead of meeting the problem head-on, the Mayor and Council stood by Director Santiago's outrageous claims of a safer city.
But these issues go deeper than Santiago. The current administration is rife with failure. City schools are now ranked as the most dangerous in New Jersey and test scores are falling. The administration has also alluded to the likelihood that the sale of the Marriot Hotel will result in the loss of millions of dollars.
If the people appointed to positions fail the residents, then the elected officials have failed. The harm is not trying and failing. But not recognizing failure and refusing to change should not be tolerated.
None of the issues raised here are new. All have been around for years and are only now becoming public. They must be part of the debate.
Mayor Palmer cannot afford to have these facts, and others, become part of the debate. So the word has gone out, “Thou shalt not point fingers of blame. Thou shalt not criticize.”
Trenton got to where it is today because of denial. If these issues are not discussed now, then when will they be? After the next election when it is too late?