Irwin Stoolmacher

After watching nine candidates from the 12th Congressional District debate last night at Rider University, I have a few observations regarding the primary. The Democratic candidate pool is excellent. All the candidates know the issues very well and can articulately express their views. The plethora of candidates in the post-party line era puts a very heavy burden on voters who want to vote for a candidate they are totally aligned with from an issue perspective.

Yet, I've gotten very little in-depth information from the media on the positions of the 13 Democratic candidates running in the primary in the 12th District. Much of Trenton is a food desert as it lacks access to supermarkets that provide healthy food options. I, and the rest of Mercer County voters in the 12th Congressional District, are in a voter “information desert” devoid of in-depth candidate coverage. This is not good for democracy.

And this is not the first race in New Jersey, post the party-line era, where a Congressional candidate in a multi-candidate race has won a primary with less than 30% of the vote. In February, Analilia Mejia narrowly won in the 11th Congressional District primary with 29.1% of the vote vs. Tom Malenkowski's 27.7% of the vote.

An inevitable question is how the current Knicks stack up with the 1970s teams. I realize the game has changed dramatically with the introduction of the 3-point shot, but part of the fun of being a fan is comparing teams and players across different eras. The same goes for politics. I often think about how FDR, JFK, LBJ, and Reagan would do nowadays. And most of the time, I come away thinking that their unique skill sets would have enabled each of them to succeed in spite of the radical changes in the political landscape and the rules of the game.

The elimination of the “county line” primary ballot column was supposed to be a victory for democracy by putting voters back in charge of selecting the candidates that represent them. Federal District Judge Zahid N. Quraishi in his historic decision wrote: “The integrity of the democratic process for a primary election is at stake” and candidates who had sued to request a redesign of the ballot had proven that “their constitutional rights are violated by the present ballot design.”

I think Trenton needs a change from long-serving Mayor Reed Gusciora as did Mercer County need a change from County Executive Brian Hughes. Both of these individuals were good people, but it's time for a new pair of eyes and new energy in Trenton. Municipal government in Trenton needs the same kind of boost that Dan Benson is bringing to Mercer County government. It needs a fresh perspective and an infusion of new talent and ideas.

I'm not a big fan of viciously attacking people who have passed away. That is the reason for the polite title of this column that gently expresses

For far too long, Trenton residents have been treated like second-class citizens by state government. Residential and commercial property owners have been forced to carry an inordinate tax burden because the state doesn't pay property taxes. To balance its budget, Trenton has been forced, over the years, to cut essential services like police, fire protection, road maintenance, and libraries.

Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) have decided that in the case of the most vexing problems facing our nation, the “fix it” approach is not working and more radical solutions are required to address the status quo perspective that is all too pervasive. They contend that capitalism has failed us and they want to re-cast it by “saving capitalism from itself.” Their response to growing inequality and the loss of the American Dream is to call for class warfare against the billionaire class, and some are even advocating public ownership of large corporations.

Now is not the time for the Democratic Party to play it safe. Democrats need to spell out the big course corrections that will need to be made to turn the ship of state around.