By Dan Fatton
It goes without saying that these are challenging times. Many of our neighbors are struggling with anxiety, isolation, loss of income, and worse. Some of our vulnerable neighbors are worried about how they will feed their families, and still others on the front lines are concerned about their safety and health.
With the current global crisis raging, it’s even more disheartening that Trenton City Council continues to fail to meet the moment. It strikes me that when even a call for unity from former President George W. Bush starts to resonate, perhaps there is an opportunity for us all to rise to the occasion. Unfortunately, here in the City of Trenton, we’ve witnessed the opposite, with the continued devolution of our City Council, yet again making national news for all the wrong reasons.
Personally, the first time I witnessed the council’s incompetence in action was during the Princetel debacle, when the majority torpedoed the only offer (in decades) to reactivate the long-vacant, dilapidated Roebling block. I was appalled and noted in remarks to the council at the time that it was shortsighted.
While Councilwoman Robin Vaughn was certainly passionate in her position, her remarks belied an ignorance about the redevelopment process. I also remember being taken aback by her insistent refrain that she was elected to represent “real Trentonians” as though anyone who might disagree couldn’t possibly qualify.
Personally, I chose to live here almost 12 years ago. I have invested a lot of time, money and energy into making Trenton an even better place. I love the people I’ve had the good fortune to work with on various community initiatives, including those born in Trenton, and those who picked Trenton as a place to call home.
To me, insinuating that anyone who didn’t attend elementary school in the city isn’t a “real” Trentonian is xenophobia, plain and simple. That mentality is unacceptable, regardless of whether it’s coming from the conman in the Oval Office, or a councilperson in a city that has a long tradition of being a magnet for immigrants.
Today, the Roebling site continues to sit idle, vacant with zero effort from our council to move forward on any viable alternative since they willfully killed a promising revitalization proposal.
The parade of ignorance continued with Councilwoman Vaughn blithely defending anti-Semitic remarks in 2019, conjuring nonsensical grammatical justifications for blatant prejudice. Sadly, the leaked audio of a May 2 phone meeting once again illustrated the continued dysfunction and more clearly, why Councilwoman Vaughn is unfit for office.
The false equivalencies being used to justify a homophobic, sexist, and ignorant tirade on March 2nd are pretty stupefying. This is Jersey; most of us aren’t shy about foul language. But the unhinged screaming of insults during a conference call at other elected officials, and their relatives, was vastly disproportionate and beyond the pale. There is a time and place for professional demeanor, something Councilwoman Vaughn clearly lacks or regularly fails to employ.
Councilwoman Vaughn’s blatant homophobia was an added insult and yet another cause for concern. Clearly, lobbing the word “pedophile” at one of New Jersey’s few out gay mayors was not accidental. This pernicious line of attack has a very long history. Anyone that listened to the recording can tell exactly what type of bigoted views she possesses.
She also repeatedly referred to the mayor and another councilman as “bitch-asses.” The subtle jab that there are only “real men” in her family leads one to wonder, how does she define “real” men? This toxic masculinity and the idea that only heteronormative men are “real” men should be unacceptable to all of us. In reality, gender is a social construct.
At the end of the day, the “duly-elected” Councilwoman from the West Ward is short-tempered and quick to lob negative, accusatory remarks. She has defended anti-Semitism, voiced xenophobic, anti-immigrant views, and launched into a profanity-laced, homophobic tirade during an official meeting. Councilwoman Vaughn often employs conspiracy theories about what is, or is not, happening in the city and regularly demonstrates a lack of understanding about the Constitution and delegated powers, as evidenced by the 2019 ruling from Judge Mary Jacobson, which found “a pattern of and practice of not following the rules of procedure.”
For all of these reasons, I hope other City Council members will support the censure of Councilwoman Vaughn. Your failure to do so condones her behavior. If ever there was a time to say, enough is enough, this is it. I join my voice to the chorus now calling for Councilwoman Vaughn to step down. #ResignRobin
Dan Fatton is a long-time resident of the City of Trenton, and chair of the Trenton City Planning Board.
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