The Trenton Paradox

I don't pretend to know everything about Trenton. As a student of its history I know quite a bit, of its politics I know a fair amount, of many of my fellow Trentonians, I'm beginning to believe that I know nothing. Through various channels I've learned much of what some of the most vocal Trentonians think about Trenton. There seem to be a few common threads:

• None support Mayor Palmer, his administration, or his policies.
  
• None support Joe Santiago, or the upper echelons of the Trenton Police Department. (once again, just to clarify, I am NOT talking about the rank and file police officers)
• None support any of the Councilpersons save for Jim Coston.
• All (myself included) support Jim Coston.
• All long for the days when Trenton was a wonderful place to live.
  

Given these four common threads, it would seem that the answer is cut and dry:

Mayor Palmer, his administration, his police director, and his rubber stamp council (save for Coston) have built a power base out of literally letting the city fall apart and manipulating the indigent residents. Therefore, the only way to wrest control of the city is to bring in new blood like Jim Coston. For those of you who don't know Jim, you should check out his webpage which is linked at the bottom of this page. Mr. Coston is a native of Tennessee and a pastor of the First Baptist Church who eventually ran for and was elected to council in 2006. He and his wife live in a beautifully restored Victorian home on Centre Street, an area now in transition. At present, Mr. Coston is the only voice of dissent on the council, which for years simply served as a rubber stamp, eager to pass whatever Mayor Palmer wished. Mr. Coston has received well deserved accolades for the dedication, zeal, and professionalism he brings to the office, and he represents his constituency exceedingly well. As I stated before, the vocal Trentonians I've spoken with all agree that he is a truly a gift to this city, and that we need more people like him.

It would seem to follow that these vocal Trentonians would encourage many to follow Mr. Coston's lead, moving into the city, restoring homes, running for office or becoming otherwise engaged in civic matters, and working to make Trenton a better place for all. Sadly, this is not the case. Any attempt to draw people into the city to support the businesses is met with an incredulous cry of "are you crazy?" Any attempt to reverse the stereotype that Trenton is simply a den of bloodthirsty killers waiting to descend upon the hapless suburbanite venturing into the depths in order to find an alternative to Olive Garden is derided as unrealistic, far fetched, and overly optimistic. Finally, anyone who simply states "Trenton isn't that bad and it can get better," is attacked as a "puppet" of Palmer's administration, simply trying to lure people to their doom.

This does not make logical sense to me in any way, shape, or form. How is it that a group of people can be so opposed to such a corrupt individual (as they should be), yet they deride any and all attempts to chip away at his power base by bringing new blood to the city? How can they be so dedicated to literally scaring people away from and out of the city when they surely realize that this will only tighten Palmer's iron grip on Trenton by ensuring that any dissenting voices will not become residents and therefore voters?

I will close with this question:

What if Mr. Coston had believed the hype, and passed on Trenton? What then?

Slan go foill