Skip to content

A town square for an unsquare town

redbankgreen

Standing for the vitality of Red Bank, its community, and the fun we have together.

RED BANK: DI SOMMA TO STAY AS GOP CHAIR

disomma-1103152-500x375-6113860Sean Di Somma on election night 2015. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

hot-topic_03-220x138-2130637Sean Di Somma, whose first two years as Red Bank Republican chairman have been marked by both the party’s resurgence and bitter infighting, will stay on in the post, he tells redbankgreen.

Though he said he had told party loyalists on Sunday that he would forego a second term in order to devote more time to his wife and infant daughter, Di Somma said Wednesday that calls by “internet trolls” and “local Democrats” for his resignation convinced him to stay for a second term, which begins in June, and through the November election.

“Unfortunately, given some of the vitriol and hatred being spewed by sleazy, classless politicians and local Democrats, it’s clear my work isn’t done,” Di Somma said in a post on one of his two Facebook pages Tuesday night.

“Also, this is going to be a hard election and while we have a clear advantage, we are still going to need to execute well,” he told redbankgreen via text Wednesday.

Di Somma’s announcement came two days after he engineered the ouster of incumbent Councilwoman Cindy Burnham from the 2016 GOP ballot for two open council seats. Instead, the local GOP committee chose Brian Hanlon, who was briefly a council candidate in 2014, and Kellie O’Bosky Colwell. to face off against the likely Democratic candidates, incumbent Kathy Horgan and newcomer Erik Yngstrom.

Burnham has given contradictory statements over her plans to seek a second term as an independent. She said she’ll announce her decision Thursday.

After losing the 2013 race — which saw Burnham, as his nominal running mate, win a council seat — Di Somma succeeded Jack Minton as party chair in June, 2014. That year, he also ran for council a second time, but watched from the sidelines as his running mate, newcomer Linda Schwabenbauer, sailed to victory without him.

Burnham’s 2013 win gave the GOP its first seat on the governing body after seven years with an all-Democratic mayor and council. She and Di Somma were at arm’s length throughout that race, campaigning separately, and the animosity spilled into the open in recent weeks with a war of words in redbankgreen comments.

On Monday, after her ouster from the ballot, Burnham called Di Somma “despicable, hateful and jealous,” an attack that he called “character assassination” by a “desperate and failed” politician.

Under Di Somma, the party claimed two more council seats in the 2015 election, which saw victories by his hand-picked candidates, Mike Whelan and Mark Taylor. That gave the Republicans their first majority since 1990.

Di Somma told redbankgreen Wednesday that there was no one in line to fill the chairmanship had he stepped down. But that’s not why he’s staying on, he said.

“I could probably find someone,” he said. “It’s more of an issue that the Red Bank GOP isn’t going to let internet commenters and Democrats dictate the happenings of our party.”

Remember: Nothing makes a Red Bank friend happier than to hear "I saw you on Red Bank Green!"
Partyline
THEY’RE BACK!
Ospreys returned to the skies over Red Bank this week for the first time since they migrated to warmer climes in late fall. With temperature ...
SPRING IS SPRUNG
RED BANK: Spring 2024 arrives on the Greater Red Bank Green with the vernal equinox at 11:06 p.m. Tuesday.
RED BANK’S FINEST – AND NEWEST
Red Bank Police Officer Eliot Ramos was sworn in as the force’s newest patrolman Thursday, and if you’re doing a double take thinkin ...
EASTER EGG MAYHEM AT THE PARK
An errant whistle spurred an unexpectedly early start to the Spring Egg Hunt on Sunday, which had been scheduled to begin at eggsactly 11am ...
PRESEASON DOCKWORK
RED BANK: With winter winding down, marina gets ready for boating season with some dockwork on our beautiful Navesink River.
CORNED BEEF AND DISCO FRIES?
It’s Friday, and smart Lent-observing Leprechauns know the pot of gold at the end of Red Bank’s rainbow is actually the deliciou ...
SURFBOARD DITCHED
It’s a violation of etiquette in surfing to ditch your board.  (it could hit another surfer and hurt them). But someone appears to ha ...
ELSIE, TAKE ME WITH YOU!
Soaked by pouring rain with the temperature hovering in the low 40’s, this sign in the window of Elsie’s Subs on Monmouth Street ...
WALK THIS WAY
PARTYLINE: Before-and-afters of a sidewalk cleanup on West Street.
SOGGY NOTION
RED BANK: Breezeway sculpture captured the mood downtown as heavy rains fell Saturday morning.
HOME DELIVERY
RED BANK: After a subdivision, an instant house rises on a new Catherine Street lot.
COMMUNITY PROFILES
For Black History Month, Red Bank's Community Engagement and Equity Advisory Committee has been running a series of local profiles on Facebo ...
HEARTY FAREWELL FOR HARDY
RED BANK: Council to honor DPU supervisor Rich Hardy, who retired recently after almost 39 years of keeping things running.
HOMEBOUND? READ ON…
RED BANK: Can't get to the public library? It's now offering free delivery and pickups for homebound borough residents.
TAMING A BEAST OF A WEEK
RED BANK: After the second snowfall of the week, a borough family finds the perfect use for it – a Godzilla snow sculpture.
RED BANK: LIBRARY CLOSED, BUT THE HILL’S OPEN
RED BANK: Though the library was closed by a snowstorm, kids got to enjoy the riverfront property's steep slope Tuesday.
LIGHT(HOUSE) MAKEOVER
This year, getting ready for spring means a midwinter makeover for Strollo's Lighthouse in Red Bank.
TODAY: LOCAL PUPPY COMPETES ON ANIMAL PLANET’S “PUPPY BOWL”
Red Bank’s very own rescue puppy, Biscuit, is set to compete in Animal Planet’s Puppy Bowl this Sunday, February 11, at 2 PM. Th ...
WHAT? NO redbankgreen NEWSLETTER?
Apologies to redbankgreen newsletter subscribers: the daily email hasn’t gone out for two days because of technical issues.
RED BANK: TIRED OF SKEETERS?
RED BANK: Tired of mosquito bites every summer? Monmouth County has a free program to help eliminate skeeter breeding grounds.