PALMER + WATSON + AMERICAN WATER = MACK

For those of you that have been paying attention. Doug Palmer, the American Water Gorilla trying so hard to sell your last remaining large repeatable asset, connected all of the dots for you yesterday. His highness the King of Trenton, publicly endorsed Napoleon Bonaparte, I mean Tony Mack. The events leading up to yesterday was another masterful piece of artwork brought to you by our somewhat shy, yet famous artist, William, Bill, "Et tu Brute" Watson. Yes the home team and 20 year defending champs were forced to come out of the shadows and publicly endorse Tony "The Bouncing Check" Mack.

Wow the Puppet Master has been exposed and the final 3 innings of this game are now being played wide open in the light of day. The only reason for such a desperate act is that the defending champs have assured themselves that they are behind and the remaining at bats are limited. Therefore, congratulations to all of you for fighting the water sale so diligently. A word of caution, our Caesar, Brutus and friends have controlled our little Palmer/Roman Empire for a great many years. The ruling faction will never give up without a fight and likely a fight to the death. So remain ever vigilant this weekend and we will return to this space in several hours to promote scene two of this final Shakespearean drama. Let's all hope for our sakes and for the future of our children and theirs that this will play out as a comedy and not as a tragedy.

"The Watson Factor", Puppet Masters, Political Insiders, Power Brokers?

We apologize to our readers that are not "political insiders" or historians of Trenton politics, for the teacher, student nature of this lesson in Trenton politics. For those of you that are approaching senior status or those that are political insiders the nature of this opinion column will not be such a surprise.

It seems that every large city currently has or has had a "political machine or dynasty that seems to have unparalleled success in backing winning candidates or perpetuating family political dynasties. Philadelphia had Frank Rizzo whose political appeal transcended political parties and even coined the term Rizzocrats in Philly. Chicago has the Daley family dynasty. Between father and son the Daley's have served over 40 years as Mayor of Chicago and ruled Cook county politics with their political machine. Massachusetts has the Kennedys, enough said. Well, guess what, greater Trenton has the Watsons.

The Watson influence in Trenton political circles has lasted nearly as long as the Daley's in Chicago. The primary difference however, is that the Daley's are in your face politicians and the Watson influence is far more quietly shrewd, but just as effective. That is why we have dubbed their powerful political influence as "The Watson Factor".  During the early 1970's when Rev. Woodson's political career was winding down, John S. Watson's political machine was just winding up. In 1970 John S. Watson became the first African-American elected to the Board of Chosen Freeholders in Mercer County. In 1977, he became the President of the Board. For 12 years, Watson was a member of the New Jersey State Assembly and served as Chairman of the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

John Watson's daughter, Bonnie Watson Coleman admits to being in politics since her early youth. (See NY Times, 'The Family Business", published May 5, 2002). Just a year after her father's death bonnie began her run for her father's former seat in the New Jersey Assembly. She still serves as your State Assemblywoman from Trenton. Bonnie Watson, became the State Democratic Chairperson from 2002-2006, making her arguably the most influential Democrat in the state. She has also served in powerful positions such as Appropriations Committee Chair (2002-05) and Majority Leader in the Assembly (2006-09).

One of Bonnie Watson's brothers has been an administrator of the Green Acres program for the state Department of Environmental Protection, and another worked for New Jersey Transit and headed community relations for the transportation department.

Brother Bill or William is perhaps the most politically powerful of the Watson clan. This would seem to defy all logic in that Bill Watson holds no political office and his sister Bonnie is a 6 term incumbent in the NJ General Assembly. Yet political insiders will tell you that Bill Watson has more clout than any other Mercer county politico since the late Dick Coffee who ruled Mercer County (and for a brief period State Democratic Chairman) politics with an uncompromising iron fist. Bill Watson was hand picked to be King Doug Palmer's first campaign manager while his politically powerful father was still alive and exercising his influence in Trenton politics. That move was the fuel that ignited the current "Watson Factor's"  powerful flame.  It is rumored that the current position of Chief of Staff in City Hall was specifically crafted for Bill Watson as a political payback.

Let's be truthful, Bill Watson is no political hack. He has a doctorate degree in Trenton and Mercer County politics. He was reared at the foot of a father who was renowned as a gentleman politician. He is smooth as silk and has the friends and influence to be able to cross party lines when he needs something done. His political work of art is almost always skillfully executed in the shadows and crafted so quietly that the opposition rarely knows he is up against them, until they lose. William Watson the political power broker and ultimate insider (see Politickernj.com) by all accounts did a commendable job as Mayor Palmer's Chief of Staff. His departure to personally greener pastures led to a less effective and less engaged Mayor.

Some of Bill Watson's associations (present and past) are listed below; President of Trenton Parking Authority; Director of the John S. Watson Institute for Public Policy at Thomas Edison State College; King Doug's campaign manager and chief of staff; member of the Lafayette Yard Community development Corp. (can you say Marriot or hotel); President of Trent Towne Group L.L.C.; Executive V.P. of IBS CompreCore (a value added reseller of cable products to companies including Verizon); close friend, advisor and confidant of King Doug; delegate to the Democratic National Committee and last in this list but certainly not least, brother to Bonnie Watson Coleman, Assemblywoman in the 15th legislative district which includes the City of Trenton.

I think perhaps you get the idea that the Watson clan is like a political spider with legs that reach virtually everywhere in Trenton, Mercer County and State political circles. Now why does all of that matter? First virtually every Mayoral and many Council campaigns in Trenton on May 11, either had candidates or prominent operatives that were either tied to the Watson's or cut their political teeth at their knees. There appeared to be only three candidates running for Mayor that did not have intimate ties to the 'Watson Factor". Keith Hamilton, John Harmon and Manny Segura.  Only one of the three is currently left standing, Mr. Segura.  Have any of you ever bothered to examine the magnitude (both in number as well as dollar amounts) of contracts that are awarded by the City of Trenton and the Trenton School Board? If not, as a taxpayer and an interested resident you should. The totals are mind boggling. Why are we referring to the School Board? Isn't that an independently run form of government? Well perhaps it was intended as such, but King Doug has managed to appoint all of these independent Boards members, so how independent do you think it is? Is the picture developing any clearer for you?

When it comes to City contracts we are not talking any small potatoes. The City has two types of contracts that they award. Contracts awarded through a Fair and Open Process in accordance with NJSA 19:44A-20-5 are contracts that were awarded through an open and public bid process. Contracts awarded through a Non Fair and Open Process are not subjected to the bidding rules and regulations and are commonly referred to as "No Bid Contracts". Hundreds of contracts are issued each year for contractors/vendors providing services to the city and their employees. Paving and curbing contracts, food, healthcare, legal, insurance, demolition, repair, consulting and employee benefit contracts are just a few examples for you to think about. When you extend the contract world to the school system the number of contracts and the dollars awarded increase incrementally.

After 20 years of an open door policy for the "Watson  Factor" and those doing business with Trenton, the door could slam closed if the wrong candidates are elected. That is one large amount of influence that could be shut down or shifted. Thus, the interest by the Watsons, Palmers and every other political power broker in and about Trenton. Our antennae suggest that the Watson/Palmer money if you will, is on Eric "Pothole" Jackson. That makes sense since Mr. Jackson owes his current job and political viability to the same group. We would imagine that is why there has been so much noise about a Jackson recount and potential Court litigation about the election results.

If Mr. Jackson does not prevail where does the "Watson Factor" and  the political insiders that have been doing business inside East State Street go next? The answer may surprise you, but our bet is on our man Tony "I take money from a Child Rapist" Mack. You see, even though Tony "the Bouncing Check" Mack likes to portray himself as a Palmer outsider, nothing could be further from the truth. Tony "Deadbeat Taxpayer" Mack was born and reared politically at the knee of King Doug and his friends, long before Doug became King. It was no coincidence that Tony ”I love Jo JO" Mack became Trenton's next freeholder after the King decided to run for Mayor. The decks were cleared for him by Doug and the Watson influence. Tony "I was fired from Barrington" Mack was even given a light job in the Palmer administration. It was not until Tony's ego and ambition got in the way of his little brain that King Doug slapped and excommunicated him. So old connections and the pressing need to befriend someone that can actually help an incompetent Mayor manage city government points to a dire need for Mack to cut a deal and reach out for help. I am sure that Billy and Bonnie will be on the must call list particularly if the other candidate is not black (sorry but the word on the street is increasingly sounding the race card against Mr. Segura).

In a year where voters nationally and locally have shown an appetite for change, our bet is that he with the least ties to the old and he with the most desire for change and a new fresh future will prevail. Throw out the old and bring in the new. Good luck Mr. Watson we know you are out there lurking in the shadows, perhaps even in Council races. Council does control the purse strings don't they?

P.S.  How much influence do the Watsons have?  We just received a note from a reader advising that he posted a comment on Trentonian.com below an article about Eric Jackson that included his ties to the Watsons.  The article was taken down 10 minutes after it was posted.  We told you that they were quietly powerful!! If we can get a cop of it we will post it here.

An Election Epilogue - The Martians Are Coming

What a wild Tuesday past. We've made several interesting observations about Trenton politics over the course of the past 3 months. Prior to pontificating on the more analytical or perhaps intellectual observations let's visit some of the more ridiculous happenings.

From the ridiculous to the sublime. The theatre of the absurd was in full (probably better suited for "fool"), swing this past Tuesday. The day started out with one of the voting machines in North 9 failing to operate properly. My concerns were quickly allayed by the Board of Elections promptly replacing the flawed machine with one of the ten replacement machines it had stored on a truck for just such a situation. Thereafter the day seemed to meander along until I discovered the first unqualified "dirty trick" of the day. For those of you that cared (voting totals would suggest damn few) Shahid what's his name was on the ballot in position #3. Manny Segura was #2 on your ballot. Then why did a piece of campaign literature, printed in Espanol, and placed on cars in the South and East Wards promote voters to vote for "Manny Watson" #3? I'm sure you all know the answers as well as we do. Emmanuel Shahid Watson ben Avraham heard a voice beckon from the adjacent mountain top (Bowman's Tower?), and it said change your name once again to "Manny Watson", and being the God fearing, Baptist, Muslim and Jew that he is he immediately complied and altered his campaign literature. Well at least the Spanish version. The problem...he did not bother to advise the Board of Elections so his name in fact appeared differently on the ballot.

Ordinarily, a dirty trick conducted by a candidate finishing 9th in a field of 10 would not be cause for alarm. This one is different, however, because the candidate that our resident lunatic tried to dupe was Manny Segura, who finished election night just 3 votes out of the 2nd place runoff position. We'll leave our readers to speculate how many votes that scheme cost the Dominican Dandy, but we would hazard a guess that it was more than 3.


Wednesday's headlines not only reported one of the closest elections in the history of the Capital City, but also a blurb about our resident lunatic finding it necessary to commandeer a home for one of his election staging points. Apparently this home had been listed for sale and Shahid or one of his followers arranged a "showing" the Monday before Election Day. The realtor logically assumed that the showing would not last for 36 hours and include hosting 30 campaign volunteers and the use of the range. Will someone, anyone, please tell this deranged, self indulgent fool that his 15 minutes of fame are up. Shahid, it is closing time. We do not care where you go, but please do everyone a favor and just go! We are going to try not to address this lunatic again, unless we can advise you of his pending incarceration.

Over the past 5 months we have made it our habit to regularly peruse over 20 Trenton related blogs. Opinions regarding any particular issue facing Trenton can vary from blog to blog. However, we feel safe in saying that virtually every blog and nearly every blogger realized that Trenton was facing some very serious problems. A huge recurring structural deficit, a 22% tax hike, a failing school system that graduates less than 40 % of our students, a disappearing commercial tax base, a city ravaged by crime, a lack of businesses or activities open after the state workers exit, a minefield in our roads, poorly funded and maintained recreational facilities, the complete elimination of Capital City Aid, a rising AIDS epidemic, and a contentious TWW sale referendum. We could go on, but we feel sure our readers get the point. The issue is why did the rest of the city find it unnecessary to educate themselves about these issues and the candidates’ positions on them. How in God's name with the City facing all of these problems and impending fiscal disaster can 72% (7 out of 10) of Trenton's eligible voters stay home! How can those people sit on their derrière and do nothing. Folks the status quo is not acceptable!!

We could continue to rant and rave but that would not fix the problem. What we are asking all of you, is there any hope of gaining greater participation in the Trenton voting process? When Barack Obama was on the Ballot, 15,000 more Trentonians voted. We realize that was an exciting time with a legitimate opportunity to elect the 1st woman or the 1st African American to the Presidency, but don't those 15,000 voters and the remaining 13,000 that stayed home both times, think that there are just a few important issues facing Trentonians. This Mayoral election had 1 woman, 1 Hispanic, 1 Caucasian man and 8 African American candidates. It was a diverse group and the issues were screaming for solutions.

We are left to believe that the voter apathy must somehow be related to the candidates not attracting sufficient attention from the voters. This election has been relatively well documented as a snooze fest. Part of the blame in that regard goes to the candidates that were either incapable of effectively addressing the pressing issues or did not have the chutzpah to do so. The other part of the blame needs to be put squarely on the doorstep of the mainstream media. If a voter wanted to know if a candidate failed to pay his taxes, bounced checks, got fired from his job, was on disability, voted to raise your taxes, was known by multiple names, was a philanderer, was investigated by the F.B.I., ordered police to "stand down", refused to hold budget hearings, put Bloods on his payroll, was an admitted forger, was implicated in the Trenton Urban League investigation, accepted money from a convicted child rapist, violated the pay to play ordinance, accepted large amounts of out of town money, took an illegal raise, failed to fill your potholes, or worst of all was a bosom buddy (past or present) of King Doug, they would've found it necessary to read the Trenton Blogs. This election really would have made a great soap opera. If only the voters noticed.

Our next observation was regarding the voters distaste for educated, articulate, well informed candidates. We made a point of suggesting by process of elimination that we thought the two best choices for Mayor were John Harmon and Keith Hamilton. To the best of our knowledge neither Mr. Harmon nor Mr. Hamilton possessed any of the long list of negatives articulated in the previous paragraph. Nonetheless, neither of them cam e close to finishing in the top two, although we note that Mr. Harmon did garner some 1391 votes. Although this blog has focused on the Mayoral campaign, we believe that a similar argument can be made about the results in the Council races. We are not suggesting that all of the individuals that made it into the runoff are uneducated, inarticulate and uniformed, but, a clear case can be made that some of the best educated, informed and articulate were clearly left on the sidelines.

What does it mean that a candidate of Tony Mack's stature or lack thereof can be the clear winner in this race? Does it mean that 2,357 Trentonians do not care that he bounced a prolific amount of checks, that he was labeled professionally incompetent at his last significant job, that he associates with and takes significant campaign contributions from a convicted child rapist, that he owed more than $6,000 in delinquent taxes and that he educates his children in private schools in Hamilton? Our friend Trenton Kat called for Tony to resign prior to the race to save the city from disgrace. Bald Fat and Angry and Trenton Speaks also justifiably raked him over the coals regarding his indiscretions, incompetence and for being a tax deadbeat. Yet it did not seem to matter. Is it more important in Trenton politics to be a cool dude from the hood then it is to be able to balance a checkbook and hold a job? Is it way cooler to hang out with convicted criminals then it is to get a grip on fiscal and educational problems?

Honestly, we understand the success that Mr. Jackson and Mr. Segura had at the polls. Mr. Jackson had over 400 employees that reported to him. Those employees have wives, families and friends. Additionally, Jackson could argue to every appointed employee within City Hall that he was the only candidate that would maintain the status quo (until the Governor takes over), and keep them in their jobs. Mr. Segura had cornered the market on a significant portion of one of the city's largest voting blocks and managed to run a positive energetic campaign. But, Tony Mack, we are baffled. However, we are not from the "hood', and do not have a criminal record. Maybe they changed the election law and permitted all of the criminals with "jackets" to vote prior to their probation expiring.

In any event Trenton is in for a long 4 years if the present trend continues. Pray for a meteor strike and perhaps the 28,000 voters that stayed home will hear the noise and become alarmed. Where are H.G. Wells, Orson Welles, and the Martians when you really need to create a panic?