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.

MAYORAL CANDIDATE OWES BACK TAXES

jo-ann-kalaka-adams

File photo of former mayor and current mayoral candidate Jo-Ann Kalaka Adams. Below, a notice of tax sale in Tuesday’s Asbury Park Press. (Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

sb-tax-sale-notice-10-25-11Sea Bright mayoral candidate Jo-Ann Kalaka Adams owns or co-owns properties that are in arrears on borough taxes and scheduled for auction less than two weeks after next month’s election, according to a public notice published Tuesday.

Also on the list: a sitting council member, William Keeler, who’s not up for re-election next month.

The records show Kalaka-Adams, alone or with James R. Adams, owes a combined $23,372 in arrearages on three addresses: 1184 Ocean Avenue, units B1 and B2; and 4 Peninsula Avenue.

Kalaka Realty is reported to owe another $13,739 on 1 Peninsula Avenue. Kalaka Adams’ connection to the firm was not immediately known. Tax bills for the property are sent to 1184 Ocean Avenue, unit B2, according to Monmouth County tax records.

Kalaka Adams, who served as mayor from 2004 through 2007, could not be reached Wednesday morning for comment.

Last April, Mayor Maria Fernandes called out a commercial building owned by Kalaka Adams on Ocean Avenue as “dilapidated” and in need of fixing.

Fernandes, who edged out Kalaka Adams after an epic recount lawsuit following the 2007 election, said that the reported figures are for 2010 only, and that as of October 11, Kalaka Adams actually owed the town about $91,000 in taxes and unpaid sewer bills. Keler, she said, owed about $34,000.

“The question is, how can these people face the residents, the taxpayers, that they seek to serve?” Fernandes said. “Between them, they owe the town more than $124,000. The taxpayers are supporting their lifestyles.”

Fernandes, who decided not to seek second term term following health issues, said she finds it “very scary” that someone who owes the town so much money could become its mayor.

Also on the list of property liens to be sold November 22 are two properties listed as owned by Keeler: 786 Ocean Avenue, and an unimproved parcel across the street abutting the sea wall, with arrearages totaling $20,323.

In an email, Democratic mayoral contender Councilwoman Dina Long, declined comment, saying that she would not “exploit” Kalaka Adams’ financial situation for her own gain.

Long is running with council contenders Marc Leckstein, who ran unsuccessfully last year, and newcomer Desiree Pierce.

On the GOP ticket with Kalaka Adams are incumbent council members Read Murphy and James LoBiondo.

tipped-off

Remember: Nothing makes a Red Bank friend happier than to hear "I saw you on Red Bank Green!"
redbankgreen Classics
Partyline
Red Bank 5K Fun!!!
Red Bank Classic – June 14th, 2025 (photo by Partyline contributor Adam Kaplan)  
RAINBOW OVER RED BANK
Saturday, before and after the storm that rolled through town. (photo by Partyline contributor Thomas Doremus)    
Mini Ballers Bring the Heat at Fusion Basketball School
As the temperatures heat up, so does the competition in the mini baller clinic at Fusion School of Basketball. These little tykes are intens ...
DOZENS OF PLEIN AIR ARTISTS “PAINT RED BANK”
Plein air artists take over town for first ever "Paint Red Bank" event. (click to read)
RED BANK: SIGN ON ICONIC DANNY’S STEAK HOUSE COMES DOWN
The sign hanging from the shuttered Danny's Steak House comes down ten months after a manager reported Danny's Steakhouse would be back "bet ...
FOR YANKEES FANS, GOOD TRASH PICKIN’
A collection of framed photographs of Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio and other New York Yankees greats was placed curbside along with a ...
RED BANK: NEW HANDICAPPED PARKING, WEST SIDE MEETING PLANNED
New handicapped parking sign West Side advocate had pressed for is installed, with meeting planned to discuss other concerns. (click to read ...
SUNSET AT SUMMER’S START
Crazy sunset clouds shot from Monmouth Boat Club on the Friday evening at the start of Memorial Day weekend, the unofficial start of summer. ...
SIDEWALK GOES FROM WORST TO FIRST
P (photo by Brian Donohue) What had been, in our estimation – and apparently in the eyes of the several people who have emailed and te ...
RED BANK: PEERING FROM ON HIGH, ACROSS THE DECADES
Roofers on the Azalea Red Bank top off the project in the shadow of a sculpture depicting another generation of construction workers who toi ...
BRICK FACELIFT CONTINUES ON MONMOUTH STREET
A million-dollar brick sidwalk makeover of Monmouth Street in Red Bank continues.
JAY AND SILENT EAGLE
A very loud blue jay squawks at an indiferent bald eagle in a treetop alongside the Swimming River in Red Bank this week. (Partyline photo b ...
PIZZA LOVING SQUIRREL SPOTTED IN RED BANK
Pizza squirrel spotted in Red Bank. (click to read)
GET YOUR MA SOMETHIN’ NICE AT THE RED BANK FARMERS MARKET
It’s a beautiful and sunny Mother’s Day for the first instance of the farmer’s market, held every Sunday, beginning in May ...
SIGN? WHAT SIGN?
Folks in Red Bank Wednesday exercising their riparian rights to access tidal waters first encoded into Roman law in 500 AD and later adopted ...
FANTASTIC MR. FOX
Partyline contributor captures photo of backyard fox.
STRIPER RUN AT MARINE PARK
An angler pulls in a striped bass from the Marine Park bulkhead Tuesday evening. (photo by Partyline contributor Boris Kofman)  
COLD AS CANADA? CHECK.
A pair of goose sculptures propped atop an air conditioning unit on River Street in Red Bank.
SUNRISE OVER A GLASSY NAVESINK
Sunrise over the Navesink River, seen from NJ Transit Train 3320. (photo by Partyline contributor Karly Swaim)  
A BLAST FROM THE PAST
NJ Transit "heritage" locomotive makes an appearance at the Red Bank station.