Mayor Mack vs. Diversity: Round Two

You know those awkward moments when you stand in front of someone and can't think of anything to say? A good icebreaker is talking about the weather. After looking over our city's current events today, here goes.

It was a beastly hot day today. Tomorrow is supposed to be humid and more like a sauna. Don't worry, just hold on to your fans, because Friday and Saturday are definitely going to be in real or near hundreds.

Whew!

Hot enough to melt asphalt and I haven't scraped last week's goo off the soles of my sneakers. I stepped in the stuff and did not realize it until I tried to put on the brakes and my foot stuck on the accelerator!

That was interesting.

Well. Living through the heat wave is almost as challenging as living through this city's problems. Money is at the top of the list. Mayor Mack is intent on putting as many minority contractors and vendors in city supply situations as possible.

In theory this would keep more taxpayer money in the city.

In practice, the businessmen and purveyors who would bid these contracts, which seem to go to interests out of the city, either do not follow up with paperwork or may not qualify for the bidding process in the first place.

There are a slew of regulations for any business who would like to be considered for city contracts. From my experience, they could involve providing work experience and references, ability to get a bond, and proof of financial viability, and so forth.

The most obvious part of the process is the bid itself. In spite of efforts to submit the lowest estimate, if the bidding process gives the bidder different options to get the job done, the job may eventually go to the "best qualified". That may not be the lowest cost in some instances.

This process is tough and it is hard to be successful and not discouraged. For a businessman who has come up from hard-scrabble and is now large enough to seek out city contracts, there may not be office resources to manage the process. The sorry result is that the contracts are "let" to interests who may be from out of county or even out of state but more familiar with the bidding process.

It seems once a contractor successfully finishes a contract, and he has made connections it is easier to get "at will" jobs. These are opportunities too small for advertising and may be billed out by the hour.

I once challenged laundry contracts of the Mercer Geriatric Center with the Freeholders who owned it. I was prevented from getting knowlege of the business entities involved for the years that I was investigating. I was told that local contractors "did not qualify" or were "in litigation" so they had to use entities many counties away in spite of the obvious local contractors. I could stand on my head but I did not get specifics. Come on folks. That might mean that you did not pay your bill and were just looking for a way to get out of the terms of the contract.

In the case of the City of Trenton, one of Mayor Mack's campaign platform planks was a commitment to local businesses to get the city contracts. If Trenton depended on that plank, if Trenton were the Ark, it would be sinking. Mayor Mack is finding out that our businesses may not be financially viable, sophisticated in the bidding process, or are the result of hard working folks who cannot handle the elaborate paperwork required.

That sorry possibility brings up the deficiency of our school system, Mayor Mack's second plank. We must restructure our schools. The partnership with the State in these matters must be gracefully negotiated or we will end up with both Charter Schools and the Public School System continuing to fail our citizens. If education were available to adults as well as underperforming students, perhaps these painful real life short comings could be overcome.

Diversity in our society is more than race. If you built a stone wall with smooth pebbles, it would not be as sturdy as one fitted with rocks chipped so each stone took advantage of the corners and knobs of its neighbors. It takes both men and women, from youth to the aged, many races and religions, gays and straights, to produce a really strong involved city. We can learn from each other. The most important thing is that we will stand tall and strong if we stand together.

This is not a "family" thing, this is a "city" thing.