The people have spoken. It’s time for City Hall to listen.

Mayor Reed Gusciora has challenged me to participate in a four-part debate series leading up to the runoff election.

I respect the mayor’s invitation. However, I respectfully and unequivocally decline.

The people of Trenton have already participated in multiple public forums, listened to the candidates, examined their records, and cast their ballots in the November 3 election. The results deserve serious attention.

Our campaign received the largest share of the vote in a crowded field. A substantial number of residents chose candidates other than the incumbent mayor. Those results cannot be ignored, although the runoff election will ultimately determine who leads Trenton.

The election results are not the end of the conversation. They are a demand that the conversation include the people who have been waiting far too long to be heard.

I have no intention of spending the remaining weeks of this campaign repeating arguments on a debate stage when I can spend that time face to face with residents in their neighborhoods.

I want to walk the streets of Trenton. I want to visit our senior centers, businesses, community organizations, and neighborhoods. I want to listen to the people who deal every day with rising housing costs, public safety concerns, deteriorating properties, limited economic opportunities, and city services that do not always meet their needs.

These are not simply campaign talking points. They are real problems affecting real families.

The residents of Trenton deserve more than another political exchange. They deserve serious attention, honest answers, and a government prepared to act.

I intend to listen to residents who supported me, residents who supported Mayor Gusciora, and residents who supported other candidates. Every one of them deserves a voice in the future of this city.

Let me also be clear: declining a four-part debate does not mean declining accountability.
I will continue to answer difficult questions about my qualifications, my priorities, my proposed policies, and how I intend to govern. I welcome those questions directly from the people whose lives will be affected by the decisions made at City Hall.

I recognize that the runoff election is not over and that no candidate has earned the right to claim victory before the final votes are counted.

But the November 3 results have made one thing unmistakable: the concerns expressed by Trenton residents must be taken seriously.

The responsibility of leadership is not simply to speak. It is to listen, understand, make decisions, and deliver results.

If elected, I intend to enter City Hall with a clear understanding of the needs of our residents and a commitment to use every lawful authority available to municipal government to address those needs.

I will not make promises that cannot be kept. I will not pretend that decades of challenges can be resolved overnight. But I will insist that residents receive honest communication, respectful treatment, and a government that takes responsibility for its performance.

Mayor Gusciora is entitled to propose additional debates. I am entitled to determine how best to engage with the public during this campaign. And the voters are entitled to evaluate both of our decisions.

With all due respect to the mayor, my decision is final: I will not participate in the proposed four-part debate series.

Instead, I will spend that time in our communities, hearing directly from the people of Trenton.

The future of this city is too important to be reduced to another exchange between two candidates.

The people have spoken. Now it’s time for City Hall to listen.

Corey Isiah McNair
Candidate for Mayor,
City of Trenton, New Jersey