How Innovation and a New Generation of Leadership Can Drive Trenton forward.

-Kadja Manuel, Trenton City Council At-Large Candidate

TRENTON- After months of canvassing and addressing community members, I often hear, “what will you bring to the table” “how can you change the dynamic of the relationship between the council” what experience do you have that’s relevant to the responsibilities of a council person? In this op-ed, I will address all three of those questions.

Having served two contracts in the United States Army as a human resource & finance professional, years as a grassroots organizer for reputable non-profit organizations, to my experience at Withum, a Top 25 privately-owned accounting firm, one thing that no one can challenge is that the totality of my professional expertise exudes the importance of service. 

In the United States Army, I learned the importance of service before self and what it meant to put others before yourself for the greatest good. Record-breaking levels of violence and lack of opportunity led me to raise my right hand and serve. After traveling to over ten countries, two overseas tours, and four duty stations, I was intentional about returning home to a town that made me who I am. I even planted my roots and purchased my first home this year in Trenton’s Historic Mill Hill. 

After returning home from service, I thought long and hard about ways to further be of service to my community. I found myself organizing for Garden State Equality, one of New Jersey’s most prominent non-profit organizations, ensuring that our seniors have access to housing without discrimination and that our children don’t get bullied in school. I served at Trenton Health Team as their Covid Relief Fund Team Leader, strategizing alongside Julia Taylor and Charlene Phelps, spearheading the strategic vision to ensure that Trentonians had the most accurate information to make the best data-informed decisions for their health. And now, at Withum, a Top 25 privately-owned accounting firm, I serve as a Senior Program Specialist on the Inclusion & Diversity team. I spend my days looking at everything from an equity perspective, ensuring that our team members have access to the resources they need to thrive in corporate America without asking for help and creating opportunities for team members to thrive. I understand the importance of equity and access (and lack of access) to opportunities. I also serve as the Inclusion & Diversity Business partner for two Team Member Resource Groups, overseeing their year-long initiatives and spending. All of the abovementioned experience transfers into skills that would work in any environment and skills that are particularly needed in Trenton. 

In a city where constituents have undergone four years of tumultuousness, with the proper Council, things like  an administration going through six police directors, four fire directors, four water directors, and three business administrators wouldn’t have inhibited the City from moving forward. I envision a City where the Council can work in tandem with the Mayor’s Office and the Mayor’s Office working with the Council. This can happen only when Trenton ushers in its next generation of leaders, which starts with electing me and other progressive voices to the Trenton City Council. 

As a first-time elected official, I will urge fellow council members to conduct an inaugural team-building retreat that will not only teach my future colleagues and me how to work with different leadership styles, and leaders at all levels, but this team-building exercise will incorporate critical skills like “building your brand,” “authentic leadership,” “resilience training,” “conflict resolution,” “Robert’s Rules of Order”, and a crash course that lays out the responsibilities and daily duties of a council person to include a path that lays out the operational function of each municipal department. We could do all this without violating The Sunshine Law by not discussing business of the City. As future council people, we shouldn’t be expected to know everything down to the minutia of what being a municipal-level elected official entails. But, something that I can agree with is that a council person, at the very least, should know where to access information and understand what agency/department to contact when addressing constituents’ concerns. With an innovative council, Trenton can be a leading Capital City, not just in New Jersey but the nation. Progressive initiatives such as a Public Income Pilot Program and creating a commuter tax for non-resident employees who aren’t property owners are just a few of the many initiatives I would propose once elected to serve on the Council. Both initiatives will serve the best interest of Trenotnians and lessen the blow of the rising costs of inflation for Trentonians below the poverty level and those who identify as the working middle-class. 

This election is about innovation, challenging the status quo, and holding them to task. Let’s face it, crime and poverty go hand in hand. There’s a direct correlation between vacant lots, abandoned homes, excessive drug use, and violence. This new Council will need to look at holistic ways to solve this City’s problems. All of this begins with the budget and getting individuals in place that aren’t afraid to lean on community anchors such as local non-profits and faith-based organizations for support. But also a council that’s not afraid to provide funding for said organizations, further supporting them to do the impactful work they do daily in our community. Trenton needs to elect leaders that are not afraid to stand up to state-level officials. Leaders that will hold them accountable for not only the structural deficit that’s led to everyday Trentonians and property owners alike footing the tax bill for state buildings and decades of underfunding. I am that leader. More importantly, I’m even more confident that regardless of who, out of this cohort of candidates, is chosen by the public to fill the remaining six seats, our capital city will be in greater hands than in years past. A new dawn is among us, and the sun shines on Trenton. 

Yours in the fight,

Kadja Manuel

Candidate For Trenton City Council, At Large 

www.KadjaManuel.org