Five candidates were scheduled for Trenton mayoral forum July 25
Five candidates in Trenton’s 2026 mayoral contest were scheduled to take part in a public forum on July 25, hosted by the African American Chamber of Commerce of New Jersey.
The event was set for 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Mercer County Community College’s James Kerney Campus in Trenton. The Trenton Journal reported on July 24 that it would livestream the forum.
Candidates listed for the forum
The report listed five candidates for participation. Among those named were Mayor Reed Gusciora, Councilwoman-at-Large Jasi Edwards and Rolando Ramos, identified as a former Trenton Police Department veteran.
It also named Austin J., described in the report as a former Trenton NAACP president and lawyer. The available report excerpt truncates at least one candidate’s full name, so the source packet does not support publishing a fuller identification for that candidate.
The report established that five candidates were listed, but it does not establish that every listed candidate ultimately attended. It also does not support treating the forum as a complete field of everyone seeking the office.
A voter-information event in the 2026 contest
The scheduled forum gave Trenton voters a public opportunity to compare candidates in the city’s mayoral race. It was a campaign-related event organized by the chamber, rather than an election result, a City Council vote or an official municipal action.
Gusciora’s inclusion placed the sitting mayor alongside challengers and other prospective officeholders in the listed forum lineup. Edwards was identified by her current elected role as councilwoman-at-large, while Ramos and Austin J. were identified through their prior professional and civic backgrounds.
No vote totals, endorsements, policy commitments, fundraising figures or polling results were reported in the approved material. The available reporting also does not establish whether the candidates debated particular issues or whether the event altered the course of the race.
Election materials remain separate from the forum
The City of Trenton issued its 2026 Candidate Packet on May 1, providing official candidate-election materials and deadlines. The approved source packet does not provide the text of those deadlines, so no filing or election date is stated here.
That distinction matters because the July 25 program was reported as a scheduled public forum, while the city’s candidate packet is the official source for election procedures. The next specific campaign or election deadline is not identified in the material provided.
For voters, the immediate verified development was the planned two-and-a-half-hour forum and its listed participants. The available record supports the event’s schedule, location and host, but not a conclusion about turnout, performance or the eventual outcome of the 2026 mayoral contest.
Sources
- Trenton Journal will livestream Trenton mayoral candidate forum, Trenton Journal
- 2026 Candidate Packet, City of Trenton