l****z
发帖数: 29846 | 1 Trenton paid $1,000 to install President Obama bust commissioned by indicted
Mayor Tony Mack
Alex Zdan/The Times By Alex Zdan/The Times
on December 13, 2012 at 8:15 AM
A bust of President Barack Obama, ordered by the city of Trenton, which will
be dedicated by Mayor Tony Mack in City Hall on Dec. 13, 2012 Courtesy
Photo
TRENTON — Some city money may have been used to fund a project to install a
bust of President Barack Obama at City Hall, despite claims by Mayor Tony
Mack that the funding came entirely from donations.
The bust will sit atop a pedestal apparently purchased with at least $1,000
of public money when it is dedicated today, council President Phyllis Holly-
Ward said.
Holly-Ward and some of her council colleagues are asking Mayor Tony Mack to
postpone his dedication ceremony until questions about the project’s
financing can be answered.
The funding for the base is only one issue, Holly-Ward said. When she called
some of the people on a list of donors, Holly-Ward said, four of the eight
people anonymously reported that “they contributed, but felt they had to.”
Mack has touted the bust as way to honor Obama’s contributions to the U.S.
as the country’s first black president.
“This is not an attempt to obstruct an event of possible significance, but
a request to respectfully move the city forward without more controversy,”
Holly-Ward said in an e-mail last night sent to Mack and Anthony Roberts,
the mayoral aide who chaired the bust committee. “So again, I am requesting
you postpone the event, because the bust is being unveiled without
following proper processes and procedures.”
Mack’s office said in a statement Sunday that “100 percent of the funds
needed to complete this project were raised through private financing.”
But council members conducting a budget review Nov. 27 found a $1,000
expenditure from the mayor’s office used to buy “marble” from Stone Tech,
a granite and marble company in North Trenton.
The Obama pedestal — a four-sided, “black galaxy” base with a fabricated
edge — was created by Stone Tech, salesman Eddie Yakubovich said last night
. He could not specify a price, but said he knows of no other order by the
city to Stone Tech this year.
Holly-Ward and her council colleagues are also saying donations to pay for
the bust project by companies with city contracts may be in violation of pay
-to-play laws.
The donors on a list provided to The Times include companies with city
contracts: law firm Ruderman Glickman, engineering company Hatch Mott
MacDonald, and Creative Arts Trophies and Awards, which made the mayor’s
wall containing pictures of Mack and his predecessors in City Hall.
“It’s like the bridge to nowhere,” Councilman George Muschal said. “He
just did it, because he’s the mayor.”
Besides the bust and the wall of pictures, Mack has drawn fire on other
occasions for spending money on ornamental works. Last August, a $17,000
gateway arch at Cadwalader Park was taken down because Mack was found to
have erected it without securing the necessary approvals.
While Holly-Ward said a letter Mack’s administration sent around to certain
employees for the bust project may have intimidated some, housing
department employee Stephani Register said she received the letter only
after she asked for more information. Register was satisfied enough that she
enthusiastically signed both herself and her mother up as donors.
“This is something that, regardless of what’s going on outside, is a right
and good thing,” she said when reached at home last night.
Former purchasing agent Marchelle Marshall also saw nothing wrong with the
process.
“Anthony Roberts just asked (if) anybody was interested in donating,” she
said. “I just gave $20.”
Marshall paid by money order on March 23, she said.
Recreation employee Linda Gundy would neither confirm nor deny she made a
contribution, though her name appears on the donors list.
“I have no idea what’s going on with the statue,” Gundy said.
Mack is a man-about-town this week, having nearly daily public appearances
which will include the Obama bust unveiling and two press conferences on
public safety.
Mack’s unexpected decision to turn his “Ask the Mayor” forum Tuesday into
closed-door one-on-one meetings drew angry protests from participating
residents — but Mack himself said yesterday he thought it went just fine.
“I think the session went very well,” Mack said. “We had six residents
come, three of which came in for the one-on-one meetings.”
It was the first meeting since Mack was indicted last week on six federal
corruption charges, along with his brother Ralphiel Mack and campaign
supporter Joseph “Jojo” Giorgianni.
Speaking during a coat-donation event sponsored by a Korean-American
organization yesterday, Mack declined to criticize the citizens who
protested the meeting change.
“We don’t dwell on the negative,” he said. Future “Ask the Mayor”
sessions will only be one-on-one meetings, he said.
Mack alongside Councilwoman Kathy McBride gave out 100 coats provided by the
Greater Southern New Jersey Korean American Association.
Contact Alex Zdan at a***[email protected] or (609) 989-5705. | l******t
发帖数: 12659 | 2 wow, seriously? a statue? | b*x
发帖数: 5456 | | k**f
发帖数: 301 | | k****g
发帖数: 1509 | 5 Dear Chairman Obama, .....
Shit.
indicted
will
a
【在 l****z 的大作中提到】
: Trenton paid $1,000 to install President Obama bust commissioned by indicted
: Mayor Tony Mack
: Alex Zdan/The Times By Alex Zdan/The Times
: on December 13, 2012 at 8:15 AM
: A bust of President Barack Obama, ordered by the city of Trenton, which will
: be dedicated by Mayor Tony Mack in City Hall on Dec. 13, 2012 Courtesy
: Photo
: TRENTON — Some city money may have been used to fund a project to install a
: bust of President Barack Obama at City Hall, despite claims by Mayor Tony
: Mack that the funding came entirely from donations.
| a***s
发帖数: 5417 | 6 不奇怪。这个city 52%黑人，白人从60年前的88。6%降低到32%。
就这32%的白人里，有很多是hispanic white.
90%选举投票给奥巴马。
indicted
will
a
【在 l****z 的大作中提到】
: Trenton paid $1,000 to install President Obama bust commissioned by indicted
: Mayor Tony Mack
: Alex Zdan/The Times By Alex Zdan/The Times
: on December 13, 2012 at 8:15 AM
: A bust of President Barack Obama, ordered by the city of Trenton, which will
: be dedicated by Mayor Tony Mack in City Hall on Dec. 13, 2012 Courtesy
: Photo
: TRENTON — Some city money may have been used to fund a project to install a
: bust of President Barack Obama at City Hall, despite claims by Mayor Tony
: Mack that the funding came entirely from donations.
| l****z
发帖数: 29846 | 7 Treton, Camdon 和Newark是NJ三大犯罪率最高的地方,什么原因? 大家都知道,可是我
不能说,呵呵. | s********t
发帖数: 4150 | | h*******u
发帖数: 15326 | 9
indicted
will
a
【在 l****z 的大作中提到】
: Trenton paid $1,000 to install President Obama bust commissioned by indicted
: Mayor Tony Mack
: Alex Zdan/The Times By Alex Zdan/The Times
: on December 13, 2012 at 8:15 AM
: A bust of President Barack Obama, ordered by the city of Trenton, which will
: be dedicated by Mayor Tony Mack in City Hall on Dec. 13, 2012 Courtesy
: Photo
: TRENTON — Some city money may have been used to fund a project to install a
: bust of President Barack Obama at City Hall, despite claims by Mayor Tony
: Mack that the funding came entirely from donations.
| b*x
发帖数: 5456 | 10 If you go a little broader to national level,
you will see the same.
St louis, Kansas City, Detroit, Chicago.
【在 l****z 的大作中提到】
: Treton, Camdon 和Newark是NJ三大犯罪率最高的地方,什么原因? 大家都知道,可是我
: 不能说,呵呵.
| e***z
发帖数: 7126 | 11 擦
你们不说我老说！
不就是因为山中无老虎
黑猩猩称大王么
赫赫有何不妥？
★ 发自iPhone App: ChineseWeb 7.7
【在 b*x 的大作中提到】
: If you go a little broader to national level,
: you will see the same.
: St louis, Kansas City, Detroit, Chicago.
|
|
