Dan Dodson has announced himself as a write-in candidate for mayor. Ten candidates will appear on the ballot.

You and a friend couldn’t count all the candidates for elected offices in Trenton on all your fingers and toes combined. So why have two Trenton residents – Mill Hill residents Dan Dodson and Jim Carlucci – added their names to the fray?

“As we got closer to the election, more and more people were approaching me with their concerns about qualified and experienced candidates,” said Carlucci, who announced last week that he is a write-in candidate for an at-large council seat. “At the same time I could identify one, possibly two, candidates that I would vote for, but not a third.”

Dodson, who has announced himself as a write-in candidate for mayor, gave a similar reason. “I had hoped a candidate would emerge that would really change the discussion about revitalization,” he said. “I’ve been writing about it for years on reinventtrenton.com … yet none of the candidates are really engaged in a pragmatic, by-the-numbers approach to stabilizing our city. We can’t survive four more years without that.”

Carlucci, a graduate of the first class of Leadership Trenton, presided over the Old Mill Hill Society for two years and the South District Citizen Police Advisory Council for more than nine years. He has been a member of the Trenton Museum and Trenton Historical Societies and an active participant in the city’s cultural life. He has worked in corporate communications, been a brewing consultant, and worked as a business manager for a local nonprofit organization. His campaign website is www.carlucci4council.com.

Dodson, a management consultant who has an M.B.A. from Harvard University, recently created the Committee to Fix Trenton’s Budget, whose goal is to define an open budget process for the city’s government. His website is www.reinventtrenton.com.

Both recently responded via e-mail to a series of questions from mercerspace.com. Their complete responses are below.

Mercerspace.com: Why get into this so late? You are both known as devoted civic participants and Jim, you have run for office before. Why didn’t you run from the start?

Jim Carlucci: While I had not originally intended to run this time, as we got closer to the election more and more people were approaching me with their concerns about qualified and experienced candidates in the at-large race. At the same time I could identify one, possibly two, candidates that I would vote for but not a third.

It became apparent that we need to elect people who are equipped to deal with the budget issue and who are prepared to live up to the full responsibilities of holding elected office. There just didn’t seem to be enough candidates with the combination of skills and understanding of the procedures and processes to help keep a new mayor on task and rebuild this city.

Dan Dodson: I had hoped a candidate would emerge that would really change the discussion about revitalization. I’ve been writing about it for years on reinventtrenton.com and have certainly put forward many articles about the way forward. Yet none of the candidates are really engaged in a pragmatic, by the numbers approach to stabilizing our city. We can’t survive four more years without that and therefore I decided I would serve if asked.

Mercerspace.com: Are you campaigning together in any way – the write-in ticket? Or are your campaigns separate?

Dan Dodson: Though Jim and I are good friends, the timing was coincidental and we’re not campaigning together. Jim’s the much more experienced campaigner.

Jim Carlucci: I prefer to think of it as a case of “Great Minds Think Alike.” Seriously, our announcements were a mutual surprise to one another. We certainly had not discussed such a possibility and the campaigns are completely separate.

Mercerspace.com: Obviously, by being a write-in candidate, you are potentially taking away votes from candidates you and your new supporters might have voted for. Are you taking this course because you don’t feel there are any candidates to “steal” votes from?

Jim Carlucci: To some extent, yes. As I have mentioned, the confusion and despair I was hearing from people around town mirrored my own misgivings about the choices available among the candidates who are on the ballot.

Dan Dodson: I can’t tell you how many voters I’ve talked to who say, “None of the above,” and have now said they would vote for me. It’s sad that it’s that way. There are candidates that would be dangerous for Trenton, and if I take voters away from them that’s good.

There are others, like Eric Jackson, that could potentially appeal to revitalization-minded residents, but who need to crystallize their message to win them back. I’m happy to lose to a candidate who’s got the same or better message and plan.

Mercerspace.com: You’ve talked about how there really aren’t qualified candidates on the ballot, but you have not held elected office before either. What makes you believe that you are a more credible candidate than the others who are running?

Dan Dodson: The lack of qualification isn’t one of government experience, it’s more about management and focus. Job no. 1 is revitalization and stabilization of the economy. I’m a management consultant and businessman by experience. We need to reinvent our city much like a business in turnaround.

For me, I’d view the next (and only) four years as mayor as a time to reconfigure our core processes. This is what I do for my clients.

Jim Carlucci: I have taken the lead in or been a part of several citizen led initiatives to hold council to task when they haven’t been prepared or willing to do so themselves. My participation as a concerned citizen fighting for common sense and transparency from our elected officials has provided a deeper understanding of the powers and responsibilities afforded a member of city council.

We can no longer afford, financially or any other way, to have a council that abdicates the rights and responsibilities afforded it under the Faulkner Act. There is no one on the ballot, even my sole personal choice, who can match my knowledge and understanding of how our city council should operate.

Mercerspace.com: What pushed you over the edge? Was there one thing or was it a combination of things?

Jim Carlucci: Definitely a combination of things. The realization that many shared my frustration at being able to identify three top choice at-large candidates; the uncertainty in some of the ward races and the big question of who will assume the mayor’s chair all figured into my decision.

I think my decision was validated by a comment a received from one supporter who said, “Thank you for doing what we have all been hoping for.”

Dan Dodson: I chair a group called Fix Trenton’s Budget which issued a 15-minute-long, multiple-choice survey on fiscal issues. Less than half of candidates responded and the ones that did had answers that were unsatisfactory.

In addition, we have abdicated our budget process to the state, and many of the candidates continue to whine about losing state aid rather than presenting a real plan. If you own property and will pay for those failures, you can’t help but be pushed over the edge. I decided that I have talents that can help and that I need to step up.

Mercerspace.com: How many votes do you feel you need to get? How many people have told you they will write your name in?

Jim Carlucci: We have set a target of 3,000 votes. Through the e-mail, website, Facebook, et cetera, I’ve directly reached probably a third of that number already. I haven’t yet had a person say they won’t write my name in.

Dan Dodson: I’ve heard from probably 50 people so far. I’ve probably reached another thousand.

Mercerspace.com: Jim’s website has explicit instructions on how to vote for a write-in candidate. Do you think the technical challenges of the process of voting for write-in candidates will be a detriment to your success?

Dan Dodson: Yes. Typing is harder than pushing buttons.

Jim Carlucci: It is a potential factor. I have written in votes before and it wasn’t as intimidating as it seems at first. Voters also need to remember they can always ask for help from the poll workers.

Mercerspace.com: What would happen if someone voted for “Jim Calvucci” or “Don Dodman”? Would those votes still go to you?

Jim Carlucci: That is a good question. I am under the impression that if it is reasonably close we should be OK. But to be sure…it’s Jim Carlucci. J-I-M C-A-R-L-U-C-C-I.

Dan Dodson: Apparently yes. The clerk’s office will interpret those that are close.

Mercerspace.com: Why did you choose to run for mayor (Dan) as opposed to council, or council (Jim) instead of mayor?

Jim Carlucci: I’ve been asked that question ever since my first campaign in 2002. For me it is about where I am the best fit…and right now, at this time in Trenton’s history, I think that best fit if for me to be on city council.

Dan Dodson: We need a top down reinvention of our city’s processes, people and systems. Working from the top is the best match for my skills and interest.

Mercerspace.com: Trenton faces a crushing budget crisis no matter what happens with the waterworks. Are you really prepared to take on the huge task of fixing this city?

Jim Carlucci: It is not going to be fixed overnight, but we can start by changing how we do things. The state is obviously in no position to bail us out; nor is the federal government. The change has to come from within, and we have to be committed to it with an eye towards the city’s future, not our political or professional futures.

Dan Dodson: The question is who is? None of the candidates have shown me that they grasp the end game for Trenton and what it will take to get there. At least, along with my colleagues in Fix Trenton’s Budget, we’ve created a model that shows our current situation and forecasts a way out to self sustainability.

Mercerspace.com: If you are not successful in running for elected office, would you accept a position in the administration of the next mayor? One way or the other, doesn’t the city need people like you who are so interested in seeing this city improve?

Dan Dodson: I’ve offered my services over the years to the current administration with no luck. I get paid a lot of money to help my clients fix or improve their business, so it seems strange that my offer of free time would be turned down.

I suspect it’s because the prescriptions I would recommend would be outside the political comfort zone of most Trenton politicians. My recommendations have been in the public discourse for years and yet only some of it has shown up in campaigns (i.e., five-year strategic plans, zero-based budgeting, tax reassessments, new budget process).

That said, I intend to continue promoting development through www.trentonlofts.com, to talk about Trenton’s economic issues through reinventtrenton.com and to chair a citizen’s budget advisory group, Fix Trenton’s Budget.

Jim Carlucci: We can’t have too many people dedicated to improving Trenton. I have always made myself available to that task and if a situation were offered in the next mayor’s administration that I felt would match my skill set, it would certainly be given consideration.

Jim Carlucci's campaign announcement: