Trenton first. That’s the emphasis Austin Edwards had when talking to The Trentonian recently. The community lawyer, civil rights lawyer, activist, Trenton school board member, and Trenton NAACP President is looking to add one more title: Mayor of Trenton. Trenton First is also a slogan for his ne wly announced campaign for the office. He said he’s tired of Trenton being left behind in policy decisions, funding discussions, regional planning, and even the location for inauguration ceremonies. Austin Edwards, Esq. poses for portraits at the Lobby Club in Trenton. (John Wilson/For The Trentonian) When asked specifically why he’s running, Edwards said there are many reasons. “The first one, you know, pardon my French on this one,” Edwards said, “because I’m pissed the f**k off. Right? I’m pissed off that there are so many, just in City Hall, workers who don’t have any training or go completely untrained. That City Hall generally punishes workers who try to do the right thing.” “That’s why we see a lot of the dysfunction in City Hall, even Trenton Water Works,” Edwards continued. “The fallout of the falsified drinking water tests. Those delayed lead notices that went out. The hundreds of thousands of dollars that disappeared from city hall after COVID, the overtime scandals, those Stacy Park no-bid contracts that went out.” “It upsets me and pisses me off that our Trenton housing costs and our rent prices are skyrocketing. While realistically, like these slumlords and these outside developers, for lack of better words, are pillaging our lands.” “I’m pissed off that no one has come up with a real jobs plan in Trenton,” Edwards said, “frankly, since 2017 with Amazon HQ2. That’s with the Trenton school district, the downtown association, Isles, and all those other organizations that were left picking up the pieces, to plan what Trenton has to look like.” “I’m pissed off that it took four months for Reed to say a peep about fixing our police after the DOJ investigation, and that he waited for Trump to come in, sweep the report under the rug, and so no real change had to happen. But he was the first one to pop up and say that we need more ice detention centers.” Austin Edwards, Esq. poses for portraits at the Lobby Club in Trenton. (John Wilson/For The Trentonian) “I’m running so we can fix those problems,” Edwards said, “so that we can bring more jobs to Trenton. And we can make sure our small businesses have the resources they need to succeed. And we have a targeted workforce development plan. Our homeowners have a chance where they’re not going to be underwater all the time, or our renters can live in the Trenton that they deserve. That Trenton City Hall is clear and transparent to the people that they serve. And that, frankly, public safety, our street teams are funded so that our police don’t necessarily have to worry about those low-level crimes because it’s being taken care of by the community itself, and they can deal with violent incidents.” “That’s why I’m running. Because we have the ability to be able to take care of those things.” When asked what the biggest challenges facing the city right now are, Edwards said lack of opportunity was at the top of the list, but also talked about housing affordability and the perception of Trenton from the outside. “The governor being sworn in in Newark, how much that represented the larger picture of Trenton,” Edwards said. “All these opportunities and grants and, everything that could benefit Trenton, we will probably be looked over. And it will go somewhere else. But everything that can be negatively associated with Trenton, we will continue to have that stigma.” He spoke of skyrocketing rents and property taxes while a third of Trenton residents live at or below the poverty line. Edwards talked about Trenton needing real job training and that the school district is already pushing in that direction, but more is still needed. “A lot of these things can be fixed with somebody who’s willing to stand up and put Trenton first and fight for the city,” Edwards said. “But I don’t think that we’ve had that in a long time.” Public safety is always a big topic when discussing Trenton. Edwards said his work in Salvation and Social Justice of New Jersey has given him extensive knowledge of how the community street teams work in Trenton. The group’s street team had an immediate impact on Trenton teens after beginning to work with the schools. The district had a reduction of suspensions, expulsions, and violent incidents right after the street teams began working with students in the schools and outside in the community at large. “Just the fact that they’re trained mental health counselors, social workers, and people from Trenton,” Edwards said of the street team members, “who know everybody that they interact with, can diffuse these potentially violent situations, before they become violent in the first place, is public safety. Because when you fund them, and they’re doing their job well. The police don’t have to do as much work.” This is a concept embraced by many in urban communities where police interactions can increase chances of violence rather than de-escalate. With Trenton’s known history, a Department of Justice study finding a pattern of civil rights violations by the city’s police, and many other accusations and lawsuits involving excessive force and even deaths at the hands of city officers, there have been calls to reform the police department. Edwards emphasized the importance of community in community policing. “If we have more people from Trenton, that are in our police force, especially our community policing unit, is like the shining star of what we do in policing,” Edwards said. “Everything else trickles down from there, and our whole city becomes safer. Because just like the street teams, these are neighbors watching over neighbors.” On the topic of ICE in the community, Edwards said he would try to ensure the state passes the Immigrant Trust Act, which is based on the NJ AG’s Immigrant Trust Directive, which Edwards helped craft during his time working as a Deputy Attorney General. “The idea is that we want our police force to be as independent from ICE as possible. When you do that, people will continue to trust our local police force to report violent crimes and where the bad guys are. When you mix them up, especially in our immigrant communities, and it’s not just immigrant communities,” Edwards said. “And so crime will continue to fester because no one is speaking out about what’s happening in their communities. For those who are US citizens, and I’ll speak as a black man, any incident where I just see more cops at a scene, that’s an issue for me, period, because I have no idea how that is ever going to turn out.” “People need to trust the police. And when they’re cooperating with the federal administration that is snatching people from our streets, left and right. And I mean, it’s Black History Month, so I got to throw it in there, you know, in a way that looks like fugitive slave catchers. People are not going to trust the police when it looks like that.” “So my administration, first we’re going to push to get that act passed, but secondly, we will not cooperate with ICE, point blank, period, short of what we legally, specifically have to.” This policy is already in place in the Trenton School District; schools will lock down as soon as ICE is present, for the safety and security of the students and community. The schools will only respond specifically to judicial warrants and only to those named in the warrant. Edwards, who was recently re-elected to the school board, pointed to improvements and successes made at the Trenton school district to talk about specific methods he would use in the Mayor’s office. Superintendent James Earle has created training protocols and accountability measures to ensure that all employees districtwide are not only held to the same standards, but also know in advance what the expectations are, while giving them the training opportunities necessary to make sure they can achieve those goals. Edwards joins an already long list of candidates and potential candidates, with the incumbent Mayor Reed Gusciora dodging questions from The Trentonian about if he will be running for reelection. Already in the mix are City Councilwoman Jasi Edwards and Trenton Police Detective Corey McNair, who have formally announced their run. A few more people have been rumored to be in the mix, but have not announced, with speculation that some may be waiting for Gusciora’s decision. Councilwoman Yazminelly Gonzalez is rumored to be considering a run if Gusciora decides not to run. NJ Weedman, local marijuana activist, and fire extinguisher enthusiast Ed Forchion has announced a mayoral campaign on social media, but it’s unclear if he’s going to file paperwork for a serious run. Rumors are circulating that former councilwoman and mayoral candidate Robin Vaughn is considering another run, despite a 689-vote, third-place finish when she ran in 2022 against Gusciora and two others. Community activist and educator Darren “Freedom” Green is also considering another run for mayor, after a fourth-place finish in a field of eight in 2018. Retired Police Det. Lt. Rolando Ramos is also rumored to be considering a run for mayor, he was a supporter of Gusciora foe Paul Perez and possibly a choice for Police Director if Perez had been elected. Edwards said he was not concerned about who else was in the running for the job, he hopes that the voters will be able to see who is qualified and enthusiastic about representing the people of Trenton. “It’s my goal that November 4th, the day after the election. I can shake, you know, all of my opponents’ hands and say, ‘hey, thanks for what you’ve done. I hope to still continue to be able to work with you in an Austin Edwards administration.’” He has a list of policy plans, including: putting a limit on property taxes for resident homeowners, an active rent control board with teeth and authority, fulling staffing and training for code enforcement, funding the school district more than the 5% the city currently pays in, community policing initiatives, grants and funding to get more abandoned buildings into local hands and back on tax rolls, and more that he said would be on his campaign website, www.austinedwardsforall.com. With many complex issues facing the city, Edwards said he is looking to tackle them all. “If you’re not addressing all the problems, you’re not addressing any of them. It’s the hard thing to do, but that’s how you fix it.” Austin Edwards, Esq. poses for portraits at the Lobby Club in Trenton. (John Wilson/For The Trentonian) ...read more read less