The Ruins of Trenton

City Council struck down two especially misguided resolutions on Thursday that would have further mortgaged Trenton's future, by doing business not for the good of the city residents but for the good of Mayor Douglas H. Palmer's ego.

This is just the latest instance of the legislative branch's newly-found strength and wisdom, as it continues on an unprecedented stretch of doing great work for the people of this city.

First, City Council voted down a resolution 5 to 2 that would have given a company of questionable history $250,000 worth of city dollars to play around with, and likely screw Trenton on its investment.

E-Path Communications and the Palmer administration were really obsessed with the idea of providing a citywide Wi-Fi network here in Trenton, even going as far as to initially promise no up-front city investment in the endeavor.

When E-Path couldn't swing that, Palmer's people and the company came back before City Council Tuesday, making a fairly ridiculous presentation meant to sway City Council into passing the appropriation, which had grown from zero dollars to $250,000 in a matter of months.

Council wasn't having it.

Every member except for Palmer flunkies Paul Pintella and Cordelia Staton voted against the measure, proving once again how ridiculous it is to have Mr. Pintella sitting as City Council president.

He routinely fails to vote in the interest of city residents, usually voting instead for the interest of a man who is only sometimes a city resident - Mayor Palmer.

Mr. Pintella showed this again Thursday when he voted for an almost equally misguided resolution that would have allowed the city to rebid occupational health services after a Mercer County Superior Court Judge ruled administration officials broke the rules in handing the contract to their favored contractor, and non-city business, Robert Wood Johnson of Hamilton.

Luckily the other members of council saw through this idiocy and voted against the measure, keeping the contract - at least temporarily - in the hands of city business and major employer, Capital Health Systems.

Mayor Palmer had a beef with Capital Health after the health care company announced plans to move their Mercer Campus facility out to Hopewell Township.

Being the vindictive egomaniac and failed ruler that he is, he had his cronies try and steer the contract to Robert Wood by showing them Capital Health's submitted proposal, which effectively gave the Hamilton company an advantage.

Despite the judge's clear ruling, Mayor Palmer apparently had his administration people go in front of the City Council again, trying to get around the ruling by using a different, more biased and subjective bidding process.

Kudos to City Council for seeing through this nonsense.