Profiles in Courage, this wasn’t.
I attended last night’s meeting of City Council, with the intention of delivering remarks on the matter of the FCC Consulting contract. Before I had a chance to do so, while the Members were in Executive Session to discuss the lawsuits (yes, plural. ADPC filed a second suit on Wednesday) brought against the city by spurned Information Technology vendor ADPC, news spread through Council Chambers that Superior Court Judge Mary Jacobson had issued a temporary restraining order last evening to block Council from voting on a new contract. According to Cristina Rojas of the Times,
The judge said she was most concerned with the evaluation process, more so than the other technical issues and connections that ADPC had raised.
“It’s clear that there was bad blood between the city and this entity,” she said. “Did that mean they weren’t given a fair share? I don’t know, but I’m not convinced on the basis of the materials that I have seen that the evaluation process was on an even playing field.”
Thank you, Judge Jacobson, for agreeing with what I in this space and others, such as Jim Carlucci have been saying all week since this matter has come up. The entire bid process was irregular, fatally flawed and unfair. So far, the taxpayers of Trenton have avoided another ripoff, but No Thanks to the Administration of the City of Trenton, nor to City Council. Once again, a judge has to intervene and be the only person in authority to exhibit any measure of common sense.
Judge Jacobson, you’ll recall, was the one to finally peel Tony Mack’s fingers off his desk chair last year and shit-can him from office nearly three weeks after his Federal conviction. For some reason, some Judicial Providence has given her the sad penance of having to clean up after Trenton’s frequent messes. Her work is not yet done. Too bad for her.
I ended up delivering my remarks to Council anyway, as did a few other citizens and Joe Harris, the president of ADPC (he also answers to the name “Plaintiff”). None spoke in favor of FCC.
It will be interesting – and not in a good way – to see what happens next. I’d been hearing through the day and into the evening that the situation in Trenton’s IT world this week has not been good. Without any kind of orderly and staged transition to the new vendor FCC, many systems are either not working or under-performing. I heard specifically that Accounts Payable hasn’t been able to output a check run to pay the City’s bills this week.
According to the Times, FCC would continue to work on the City’s IT for the foreseeable future, though it is unclear on what basis that would take place. It’s also unclear whether any overtime being incurred on the job – and if checks are not being printed, you can bet the IT guy (guys? We don’t know!) is not leaving at 4:30 – is being billed at $125 per person per hour, per FCC’s “winning” bid, or not being charged, under the old ADPC contract terms. Either way, the meter is running. Ka-ching!
During his statement, Joe Harris offered that ADPC is willing to come back in to help solve the current mess. He cautioned, though, that after turning over the system – including keys and passwords – to FCC last weekend, he could not vouch for the systems’ continued integrity. Oh, boy.
We will have to wait to see what happens next. In the short run, FCC may continue in place. That won’t last long. The writing is on the wall: the Judge has given a strong signal that this entire purchasing process will have to junked, and started over. Given what is now known about FCC Consulting and its principal’s financial history, they will not be considered a serious contender in any future bidding round – if it is conducted correctly, that is.
After it was clear that no action would be taken on the FCC matter, I and several others stayed around for much of the rest of the session. There were many other matters on the night’s docket, but the one matter that attracted the most attention, and which generated the most comments during the session, both pro and con, was Resolution 15-694, a Resolution which would have recorded Trenton’s support for State Legislative action to legalize, tax and regulate marijuana for adults. This was a purely symbolic measure. No action would have been unilaterally taken by the City to legalize or decriminalize the stuff within city limits. The only effect of this resolution, had it passed, would have been to record Trenton as the second town in New Jersey, after Asbury Park, to support a path for the matter to be taken up by the Legislature.
Now, everyone knows that drugs, both legal and not, are a particular plague to the City of Trenton. From alcohol to marijuana to heroin and likely everything in between, they are everywhere and being abused by Trentonians and out-of-towners alike. I’d hazard to say that illegal drugs represent the largest private industry in the city, and probably is responsible for the employment of more Trentonians than any legitimate business in town. It certainly is a fact that that illegal drugs is the Number One public safety issue driving the City’s crime rate, violent and non-violent alike.Drug paraphernalia litter our streets. Drug customers and the suppliers do business in front of our homes, or they take over abandoned buildings to conduct their trade. If you live or work in Trenton, Drugs are everywhere, every day.
I offer that background as context to the proposition that if you live or work in Trenton, you have an opinion about drugs. You may hate them, you may buy them. You may feel that law enforcement should spend more resources cracking down on suburban customers rather than suppliers (who are quickly replaced by competitors whenever arrests are made). Or you may feel, as many witnesses stated last night, that after 50 years of “The War on Drugs” the nation consumes more illegal drugs than ever, and it’s time to try something different. You may be in favor of decriminalizing or legalizing and regulating marijuana, as 28 states and many cities in the US have done to some extent.
Whatever you opinion, you are likely not neutral on the subject. Few people are. Few people in Trenton even could be!
Ladies and Gentlemen, let me introduce you to six citizens in Trenton who have no opinion – nothing to say, no ideas to offer, no personal anecdotes, no defense of the current system, not one word – on the topic of legalizing Marijuana in the State of New Jersey:
- City Council Member Alex Bethea
- City Council Member Duncan Harrison
- City Council Member Phyllis Holly-Ward
- City Council Member George Muschal
- City Council Member Verlina Reynolds-Jackson
- City Council Member and Council President Zachary “Slugger” Chester
(That’s a group picture of the distinguished Members at the top of this page.)
Before the matter of Resolution 15-694 came up last night for a vote, Members Harrison and Holly-Ward left the Chambers for the night. They did so without comment. Even though they left before a vote, and therefore could not have voted, considering the public attention being paid to the topic and the number of people in the Chamber who were there to speak on the matter and listen to Council’s response, it might have been expected to have heard them say something like, “Mr. President, unfortunately I do have to leave before consideration of the matter before the vote. But here are my feelings and my position on the topic.” But no, off they went. Without a word.
When City Clerk Richard Kachmar called for a motion to bring the Resolution to a roll call vote, Member Marge Caldwell-Wilson made the motion. The Clerk called for a second, and was met with silence. Not a word was spoken by the other 4 members. There was no second for the motion, so there would be none. Ms. Caldwell-Wilson then moved to table or postpone the matter, and again no one seconded. With no second to take any kind of action, the resolution died. Ms. Caldwell-Wilson, clearly upset, left the meeting.
After other business was concluded, Public Comment was opened. I addressed the Members of Council, the few who were left, and told them they were elected to do the Public’s business. Pro or con, they are on Council to take a stance. To refuse to do so, to sit in utter silence when action is called for, is an act of political cowardice. I then left Council Chambers. I didn’t hear any word of response from the Council dais as I left. I didn’t expect any.
There’s not a lot more to say here. I can’t attend Council meetings that often, so I haven’t seen for a while how dysfunctional this body has become. I’ve read news reports and I’ve heard other firsthand stories from people about how frequently – and without stated cause – Members abstain from difficult votes, or miss sessions altogether to duck having to be put on the record regarding politically difficult or inconvenient matters. I know they do this a lot. But I didn’t seen it happen in front of me until last night. I was angry and disgusted.
Six of these Members were elected five years ago, and served during the Mack years. Early on in that Administration, the Mayor and his cronies intimidated and cowed those Council members, and they were useless for the remainder of his term. I had hoped for an improvement with a new Mayor and one new addition to their number. But I am disappointed. I guess once you’ve lost your moral backbone, like the real thing it doesn’t grow back.
This week, after the FCC matter and after watching Council take up a monastic vow of silence last night, I feel particularly ill-served by Trenton’s leadership.Council has let us down.The Mayor, his Business Administrator, his Legal Director, and all of those City staff who were responsible for the IT fiasco, have let us down.
It’s time for a gut check, Council!
It’s time for a gut check, Mayor Jackson!
What the hell are you here for?
If you can’t handle the small shit – and one symbolic resolution and one IT contract really is Small Shit – How The Hell can you even start to handle the Really Important Stuff?
Good read Kevin, time to have a talk with some of our council people. Not even acknowledging a motion put fourth by another Council member is not good parliamentary procedure. From Robert’s Rule of Order.
2. What Precedes Debate. Before any subject is open to debate it is necessary, first, that a motion be made by a member who has obtained the floor; second, that it be seconded (with certain exceptions); and third, that it be stated by the chair, that is, by the presiding officer. The fact that a motion has been made and seconded does not put it before the assembly, as the chair alone can do that. He must either rule it out of order, or state the question on it so that the assembly may know what is before it for consideration and action, that is, what is the immediately pending question. If several questions are pending, as a resolution and an amendment and a motion to postpone, the last one stated by the chair is the immediately pending question.
While no debate or other motion is in order after a motion is made, until it is stated or ruled out of order by the chair, yet members may suggest modifications of the motion, and the mover, without the consent of the seconder, has the right to make such modifications as he pleases, or even to withdraw his motion entirely before the chair states the question. After it is stated by the chair he can do neither without the consent of the assembly as shown in 27(c). A little informal consultation before the question is stated often saves much time, but the chair must see that this privilege is not abused and allowed to run into debate. When the mover modifies his motion the one who seconded it has a right to withdraw his second.
Thanks, Harry. You are correct. That was a violation of decorum, decency, as well as Robert’s Rules.
Great article. Thank You, Kevin. I often think of the paradise lost .. instead of prisons I see hemp and medical marijuana fields and other medicinal plants .. I see young strong taxpayers building businesses and doing community services .. I see schools and infrastructure improving .. We ARE the Garden State and our young generation is being held back while young people in Colorado and Washington State are growing and gaining expertise in this industry. Shame on Christie and his goons that own these little Council members with no moral spines. it is medicinal and curative and we need medical marijuana now. We need hemp to substitute for a lot of the petro based plastics in our landfills. These lazy chair warmers are holding us back as the State economy staggers into a downward spiral. The Rutgers football couch is the highest paid State worker.
CITY COUNCIL members are COWARDS
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_VJuJksniQ
Mr. Forchion – I understand the strategy that you and your colleagues are pursuing – building a grassroots (so to speak) base of support on a municipal level statewide before going to the Legislature.
But I wonder if it is actually the best strategy to be using at this point. You’ve seen how resistant Trenton’s Council to even acknowledging the existence of the issue on their agenda last week. You’re going to spend a lot of time and effort in the trenches of the towns and cities. Effort probably better spent directly at the Statehouse.
One personal note. I left before the events on your video. I do have to say that although I was generally sympathetic to the argument you were making, lighting up – I don’t care what the substance is – in a no-smoking building was just rude and inconsiderate. You should have taken it outside.