Ed Zipprich, left, won a fourth term and Michael Ballard, right, won his first as Democrats swept to victory Tuesday night. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
Two years after losing a generation-long majority on the Red Bank council, borough Democrats are back on top.
Helped by a statewide wave of anti-Trump and anti-Christie sentiment, incumbent Councilman Ed Zipprich won a fourth three-year term Tuesday night. He’ll be joined on the governing body by school board vice present Michael Ballard, after they easily vanquished one-term Republican Linda Schwabenbauer and her running mate, Dana McArthur.
Ballard with Mayor Pasquale Menna at Democratic HQ on election night. (Photos by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
Zipprich captured 31.7 percent of the vote, and Ballard notched 30.9, compared to 19.2 for Schwabenbauer and 18.1 for McArthur, according to results posted online by the Monmouth County Clerk.
Former Mayor Ed McKenna, who once again emceed the festivities at Democratic HQ — this year, the former Brownstone Dry Cleaners shop on Monmouth Street — said informal tallies showed nearly 1,700 registered Democrats cast votes, compared to about 700 Republicans.
With Kathy Horgan and rookie Erik Yngstrom awaiting their arrival on the dais, Zipprich and Ballard will give the Democrats a 4-2 majority, plus the mayoralty, held by Pasquale Menna.
Ballard attributed the win to a campaign in which he and Zipprich knocked on 6,700 doors, canvasing the borough three times, “pressing a message of community and togetherness,” he told redbankgreen.
