The Trenton Times published the following article on April 22, 2014. To read the full article, click here.
Trenton Mayor George Muschal sues city council for right to hire and fire officials
By Jenna Pizzi/The Times of Trenton
on April 22, 2014 at 11:41 PM, updated April 22, 2014 at 11:53 PMTRENTON — Mayor George Muschal will go to court defending his action to remove Fire Director Qareeb Bashir in favor of his own selection to the post.
Muschal said he removed Bashir to replace him with deputy fire chief Leonard Carmichael, whom he swore in as fire director on Monday, because Bashir was an appointment of former Mayor Tony Mack. City council members disagreed, saying under state law they could overturn a dismissal and by a vote of 4-1 city council reinstalled Bashir as director last week.
Because two branches of the city’s government are pitted against one another in the disagreement, Muschal’s court filing asks Mercer County Assignment Judge Mary Jacobson to issue a ruling. Jacobson set a court date for May 19 at 10:30 a.m. to hear arguments from both sides.