Trenton residents will have a chance to meet candidates for mayor one-on-one Tuesday, Oct. 13, during a forum sponsored by the Kiwanis Club of Trenton.
The “Meet the Candidates” forum will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Steeple Center, 120 E. State St. The event is free and open to Trenton residents.
Six candidates are seeking a four-year term as mayor in the Tuesday, Nov. 3, general election. They are Austin J. Edwards, Jasi Edwards, Edward Forchion, incumbent Mayor W. Reed Gusciora, Corey Isiah McNair and Rolando Ramos.
Edwards, Gusciora, and Ramos have confirmed they will attend the forum. All six mayoral candidates have been invited.
The event will not be a traditional debate. Candidates will give brief introductions before residents have an opportunity to speak with them individually about their concerns, issues and hopes for the city.
“It is a chance for Trentonians to do the talking and for candidates to listen to their constituents,” organizers said in an announcement.
Austin Edwards is an attorney and former president of the Trenton NAACP. A Trenton native, he has worked for the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office and previously served on the Trenton Board of Education. He holds a law degree from Howard University and a master’s degree in domestic and public policy from Princeton University.
Jasi Edwards, who is not related to Austin Edwards, is serving her first term as an at-large member of Trenton City Council. A third-generation Trenton resident, she previously worked in constituent services for Bonnie Watson Coleman and later in Mercer County’s economic development office. She holds degrees from Mercer County Community College and Kean University.
Forchion, widely known as “NJ Weedman,” is a longtime cannabis legalization activist, businessman and frequent political candidate. He has previously run for Congress and the New Jersey Legislature and operates a business on East State Street in Trenton.
Gusciora is seeking a third term as mayor. He was first elected in 2018 after serving more than two decades in the New Jersey General Assembly, representing the 15th Legislative District. An attorney, he has also worked as a municipal prosecutor and adjunct professor at The College of New Jersey.
McNair is a detective with the Trenton Police Department who has served in the department’s Community Affairs Unit. His campaign has emphasized public safety, housing and economic development and services for youths and senior citizens.
Ramos is a retired Trenton police detective lieutenant who spent 26 years with the department. A Trenton Central High School graduate, he earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from Rutgers University and served eight years in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve. He later worked in law enforcement outside New Jersey before returning to Trenton.
The mayoral race is only part of the city election. Voters also will choose three members of City Council to represent Trenton at large for four-year terms. The Oct. 3 forum is for mayoral candidates only.
Six candidates are on the ballot for the three seats: incumbent council members Crystal Feliciano and Yazminelly Gonzalez, along with Mary A. Horne, Eric McRoy, Richa Thompson and Evangeline Ugorji.
Feliciano was elected to council in 2022 and has served as both council president and vice president. A Trenton native, she has worked as an educator and previously worked as an auditor and investigator.
Gonzalez also was elected to an at-large seat in 2022. A Trenton Central High School graduate, she earned a degree in special education from the University of Maryland Eastern Shore and has worked as a special education and life-skills instructor in the Trenton school district.
Horne has previously sought a seat on City Council and was among the candidates involved in a legal challenge following the 2022 council election.
McRoy is a longtime Trenton resident who has worked as a social worker with the Mercer County Board of Social Services.
Thompson is making her first run for City Council. Little additional biographical information about her campaign has been made publicly available.
Ugorji has previously run for City Council and has been active in city civic affairs. She has served on the Trenton Parking Authority and previously described herself as a former Army reservist, community activist and civic organizer.
Jasi Edwards is not seeking re-election to her at-large council seat because she is running for mayor.
Trenton operates under a mayor-council form of government with a seven-member council. Three members are elected at large, while the remaining four represent the city’s four wards. The mayor and at-large council members are elected at the same time on a nonpartisan basis.
The Mercer County Clerk’s official ballot lists the at-large candidates as Feliciano, Gonzalez, Ugorji, Thompson, Horne and McRoy.
The Kiwanis forum falls on the deadline to register to vote in the general election. New Jersey’s voter registration deadline is Tuesday, Oct. 13. Early voting will run from Saturday, Oct. 24, through Sunday, Nov. 1, with Election Day on Tuesday, Nov. 3.
For more information about the forum, contact Mike McCormick at mccormicknj@aol.com or 609-208-9991.
