Benson’s Trenton coffee klatch lacked big news moment-um
When former Trenton Mayor Douglas H. Palmer orchestrated a political coup that brought down the house of fellow Democrat County Executive Brian Hughes, the desperate incumbent attempted one Hail Mary to halt the unexpected incursion.
Hughes met with Trenton Mayor Reed Gusciora in the city’s Starbucks, a staged communication to dispute the Palmer assessment that Mercer County and Hughes had abandoned the capital city.
Their meeting cultivated a press release that claimed new ideas for a Mercer-Trenton relationship as Gusciora pledged allegiance to Hughes. An accompanying photo showed the two men seated at a small table, a sad prop for their declaration of big dreams for this dying capital city.
Palmer had started Hughes’ political slide when he announced an exploratory committee as he considered running for county executive, a move that allowed him leeway in admonishing Hughes. Palmer accused Hughes of losing sight of Trenton’s economic value in Mercer County, plus, he labeled the five-time county executive out of step with capital city affairs. Palmer pitched memories of the good old days when collaborations with County Executive Bob Prunetti, a Republican, helped build the city’s arena that featured the Trenton Titans, an ECHL team and a baseball field that attracted the Double-A Eastern League Trenton Thunder. The MLB minor league team flew banners of the Chicago White Sox, Detroit Tigers, New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox.
Of course, Palmer had entered the county executive race as a stalking horse, a romp that allowed him opportunity to say what many Democrats thought about Hughes — that he had stayed on too long.
The Palmer assault cleared the way for candidate Dan Benson who entered and won the county executive seat without unholstering his political firearm.
Still, before Palmer dropped out and Benson dropped in, Hughes had made that last-ditch effort — coffee with Gusciora in an empty caffeine joint. Of course, Hughes left politics and Gusciora joined the Benson bandwagon.
“I pledge to work with Dan over the next few months to ensure that his campaign is successful, and I look forward to working with him on substantive policy initiatives affecting the City of Trenton in 2024. Dan Benson is squarely the right candidate to move our County forward,” Gusciora told the New Jersey Globe.
Gusciora and Benson served in the Assembly together from 2010 to 2018, and the Trenton mayor hoped their history could help “to spur economic revitalization” in Trenton. So, imagine the surprise when Benson appeared for the grand opening of Slammin Brew, a coffee shop located on South Warren St., just up the block from Starbucks.
While Benson’s attendance scored points for symbolism, his presence hardly served as reconnect of the successful Mercer/Trenton/Prunetti/ Palmer alliance. Coffee shops will not deliver the catalyst necessary to jumpstart a Trenton renaissance.
Hopefully, the Benson visit cultivates a budding relationship with Trenton, one that means downtown development, including a partnership that delivers a successful hotel.
Photo ops inside Slammin Brew could have morphed into Gusciora and Benson, plus, other movers and shakers, on a stroll down South Warren St. to visit the shuttered hotel which once flew The Marriott flag. Even had their walk meant nearly nothing, that photo would have meant far more than Gusciora and Hughes seated for lattes.
In April 2002, hotel magnate J.W. “Bill” Marriott helped cut the ribbon and opened a hotel in downtown Trenton. Make no mistake, sustained development needs bookstores and busy coffee shops.
Those desiring a bigger buzz than coffee at Slammin Brew need to start talking about a hotel.