Proverbs 16:18

“Pride goes before destruction, and haughtiness before a fall.”

How else can one respond to today’s Times front page story, in which Mayor Tony Mack self-grades his freshman-year performance as an “A,” before graciously revising it to a self-deprecating, aw-shucks,  “B-plus?”

Heckuva job, Tony!

The thing is, I really think he believes it. I don’t have any reason to doubt his sincerity when he makes statements like that. And that is a little sad, and mostly scary. Sad, because his bravado reveals a shocking absence of self-awareness which would be embarrassing to watch in a friend or family member. Mostly scary, because the rest of us still have to live in the city he governs.

For example, in the article he defends his layoffs and firings of dozens of city employees, and their replacement by friends, campaign workers and affiliated cronies “because every administration brings in people that they can trust.”

So, how should a laid- off city worker feel, to be told by their Mayor that they are not trustworthy, after years and in many cases decades of faithful service? Insulted? Betrayed? Angry?

And this from the same guy who told City Council in a January open session that “to the Victor go the spoils.” The mayor has been governing as if he feels entitled to this kind of behavior, that what he is doing is appropriate, right, efficient, and nothing less than what his predecessor got away with.

Mr. Mack has been spending a lot of energy this week defending his record, presumably in part in response to the recall petition effort under way in town. He and his friends have put up a website – I won’t promote it here – to tout what they see as the many significant accomplishments of his Administration. Among the ones listed is – I kid you not – his Pearl Harbor Day observance, which gave us all a new holiday greeting.

Not included in his list are those instances I find more important, and typical, of his tenure:

• Rampant abuse of overtime and allegations of timecard forgeries.
• Plush city contracts to unqualified firms such as Lynx Technology, or campaign contributing cronies such as Cooper Levenson.
• Lapses in management and neglect of professional standards leading to failures at Trenton Water Works threatening the safety of the water supply of half of Mercer County.
• Continuing streams of poor and questionable personnel choices and appointments, including a parade of Business Administrators you’ll need most of your fingers (but not yet toes – that’s for Year Two) to count. And, salary increases for favored underlings, with freezes and layoffs for the others, presumably not worthy of the “Mayoral Trust.”
• An attempt to sell a campaign contributor three dozen city-owned properties for a buck each, using manipulated city maps to do so.
• And this week, forcing the resignation of the City Attorney, not because of a shaky grasp of Municipal Law, or abetting the shocking lack of compliance with city and state bidding and purchasing policies, but because he has supposedly  been too diligent in filling requests for information under the Open Pubic Meetings Act.

As well you know, this is a small, small, small list of what I could have mentioned. You can always stroll through some of my past entries to refresh you memory of many others.

Mr. Mack apparently believes that these incidents are not as significant as unveiling a highway Welcome sign, or any of the other Announcements, Ribbon-Cuttings and ceremonial First Shovels that the mayor chooses as his major accomplishments.

This morning, the Mayor seems to be awfully proud of these accomplishments, and gives himself a mighty impressive self-assessment. I think he sincerely believes that he has done a smashing job in his first year. To me, his pride is seriously misplaced.

Whether the warning in Proverbs is a prediction for him, or just a caution is something beyond my ken. I just know that the last year was so bad, I don’t want another three like this one!