Trenton’s current Business Administrator is an idiot.  The last Business Administrator was a buffoon; before him, a moron and his predecessor was a dolt.

Whether we realize it or not, the current Law Department head, like his predecessors, is an idiot as well.  In fact, the list of positions in the city held by an idiot is quite large.

For some time I believed that all the positions previously mentioned were held by one man, Tony Mack.  After all, what are the odds that one person could find so many inept people to fill positions of authority? Yet time and time again Mayor Mack has seemed to possess the innate ability to select people who were not qualified.  Or were they?

Prime examples are all of the legal opinions publicly rendered by Mayor Mack.  Each City Attorney who corrected Mack has since left, under duress. Mack has shown a “my way or the highway” style of management.  Many times it appeared that a Business Administrator or City Attorney was simply mouthing the words ordered by Mack.

Well, the latest turn of events, involving Eric Berry, lends credence to the argument that the city is being micromanaged by Mack.  The alternative is that all these other people rose to the level of the Mayor’s incompetence.

The Trentonian initially described Mack as “shell shocked” when he learned that Berry was hired by the DCA.  I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall when Mack was told of Berry’s new employment and that Mack’s decisions would have to be approved by Berry.  One can only imagine what Berry learned about the city administration during his tenure and how he will use the knowledge in his new position. This move could be a stroke of brilliance on the part of the DCA.  At the very least it provides a glimmer of hope.

The DCA appears ready to finally rein-in Mack’s mismanagement.  However, a situation exists that is outside of the control of the DCA.  Exactly who is running the police department?  It is widely reported that Mayor Mack, by way of a letter channeled through Acting Business Administrator Roberts, ordered that:

1. Vice and TAC units be disbanded.
2. Foot patrols be instituted.
3. Overtime cannot be used to fill patrol vacancies.

Acting Police Director Chris Doyle made it clear that he did not agree with the Mayor’s orders.  But what can an “Acting Director” really do about an unreasonable order from the Mayor?  The police unions decried Mack’s decision, labeling it unsafe for both the public and for officers. Apparently there is no longer a “mandatory minimum” level of staffing. Community leaders and elected officials have also declared the move a monumental mistake. Yet the order stands.

Make no mistake about it: Mayor Mack is the Police Director. He has issued orders deploying manpower and rigidly dictated the uniform presence on the street.  The Mayor has failed at every turn to appoint a permanent Police Director and now proposes, by explicit actions, to run the police department himself.

This is now a matter for Mercer County Prosecutor Bocchini to address.  Bocchini is the chief law enforcement officer of the county and has an obligation to act.  He has the authority to take control of the day-to-day operations of the department.  If Bocchini does not act, then the State Attorney General needs to step-in. This situation cannot be tolerated.

ADDENDUM: This post was written before I was aware of Mack’s dodging of Act. Police Director Doyle.