Pubilc and Private Partnerships Are Key to Trenton's Success

Steve Adubato also goes one-on-one with the Mayor of Trenton, Eric Jackson, to discuss the state of Trenton, and the importance of private and public partnerships to help the area return to the booming city it once was.

5/27/17 #3008

 

 

 

 

Excerpt:

"We are pleased to welcome the Honorable Mayor Eric Jackson of the City of Trenton, the state capital. Mayor, let me ask you this. We had a great panel discussion with some of your colleagues in Greater Trenton, the organization called Greater Trenton. Yes. Let's do this. If you were to say the two to three biggest challenges the city faces right now, what would you say they are? Well, we'll start with crime, and then the perception of crime. There's a real number, then there's the perception. Education has to be in that part, and then our piece where we're doing much better is economic development. Continuation of the movement that we've begun. Go back to the crime piece. Yes. What's real? What's the perception? Anytime there's... in our local media, a criminal element, or a story that's reported, our region thinks, by default, it's Trenton. While we have our issues, we're making progress in that area. Since taking office overall crime indicators are down, overall 9%. Some areas we continue to work on, but we're building collaborations around the region, and we're showing progress. Gang related violence? As real in Trenton as it is in virtually every other city in this nation? Yes it is. It's a real piece that our police department is working on, along with the local sheriff's department, the Attorney General's office, and state police. We're making progress on it. I believe we're moving in the right direction. And we're actually lowering our numbers there. Before we move off crime, no city government, realistically, no city government can do this alone, can they? No. It's about being able to collaborate and have partnerships, strong meaningful partnerships, that help in this battle, particularly against crime. The elements of crime have shifted. Gun violence is the order of the day. And we need help like any other city, urban, suburban, rural, to help in that fight against crime. When it comes to...? By the way, real quick, President Trump has said he is very clear on what urban centers need. He's talked about Chicago, but it could be Trenton? Yes. It could be any city? It could be. When he speaks, does he speak to you in way that is powerful and clear? Well, I think he speaks to a general sense of urban centers. And specifically I want to see more that comes out of the White House that are specific to the crimes, specifically gun violence in our cities. Okay. Education. Public education in Trenton. First of all, charter schools, there are a significant number of charter schools? There are. They're growing. They are growing? They're growing. Because? They're growing because predominantly parents want..."