From left at top: Democrats Mike Ballard and Mike DuPont face Republicans Mark Taylor and Mike Whelan in the November 3 election. (Photos by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
Below are the results of redbankgreen’s first, totally unscientific, finger-in-the-wind attempt at election polling: a survey intended for Red Bank voters about the borough council race.
On the November 3 ballot are Mike Ballard and Mike DuPont, Democrats, and Mark Taylor and Mike Whelan, Republicans. (The links take you to their answers to a Q&A earlier this month.)
First, a disclaimer: We make no assertions whatsoever about the poll as a reflection of the electorate. For one thing, there’s no way of knowing if the 118 responses we got came from Red Bank residents, let alone voters. And while Survey Monkey, the service we used to conduct the poll, limits responses to one per IP address (the unique identifier assigned to each internet-connected device), determined ballot-stuffers can find their way around such barriers.
So why do it? Just to see. And to have some data we can compare to the actual results when the election’s over.
Our survey, which drew 118 responses, shows Republicans beating Democrats by a wide margin to take control of the council for the first time since 1989.
Here’s the exact breakdown:
And here’s where the responses purport to have come from, by voting district:
One key here is the weak representation of District 9 on the West Side, which has historically been a source of strength for the Democratic party.
Here are all the optional comments left with the surveys:
• Red Bank needs to pay attention to it’s residents needs – taxes here are out of control. New ideas and management is so needed.
