Ready to serve, he says: John Tyler at borough hall last night.
As expected, the Red Bank Republican organization has nominated John Tyler of Leighton Avenue and two others for the borough council spot vacated by the resignation of John Curley two weeks ago.
The council, led 4-1 by Democrats in the interim, now has 15 days to choose from among the three.
Tyler’s inclusion on the list, with Steve Fitzpatrick and John Giannell, is unsurprising given that he’s already on the GOP council ticket with incumbent Grace Cangemi as the party seeks to hold onto to the little it’s got at the local level. They’ll face Dems Juanita Lewis and Ed Zipprich in November.
Tyler’s on the ticket because of his impressive first-time run for council last year, when he lost a squeaker to Kathleen Horgan.
Tyler’s profile rose over the past two years as he, his wife Krishna, and another Leighton Avenue resident, John Ross, pressed the council to take action against Best Liquors for what they say is constant noise and littering, occasional prostitution and other law violations in the vicinity of the store.
In June, 2007, the council voted after a series of hearings to revoke the store’s license to distribute alcohol, but owner Sunny Sharma appealed the decision to the state Alcoholic Beverage Control agency, which has yet to rule on the matter.
Giannell is a former local GOP chairman who the Asbury Park Press sys lives on Pearl Street. Fitzpatrick, of Hudson Avenue, is a regular at council meetings who often presses for transparency in campaign contributions.
Mayor Pasquale Menna says he’ll now “invite the three candidates to meet with me or the council, or at bare minimum submit resumes” for what he says will be an informal evaluation.
“It’s not an inquisition,” he says, “just a little chat.”
Tyler, who agrees he’s the presumptive lead in the beauty contest, says he’ll comply with “whatever [Menna] wants.”
As for Giannell and Fitzpatrick, Tyler says, they’re just as qualified for the council job as he is, but “I think I want it a little more than they do, so I’m ready for it.”
He added that filling Curley’s chair during election season would both give him council experience and boost his name recognition among voters as Nov. 4 approaches.
