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.

LITTLE SILVER: CAMPAIGN SIGNS SPARK IRE

Ingrid Garcia says this video she recorded shows Little Silver GOP Chairman Stuart Van Winkle harassing her and her husband in their shop. (Video by Ingrid Garcia. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

election-2019-220x189-5314488The mom-and-pop owners of a Little Silver auto detailing shop say they have come under attack by supporters of Mayor Bob Neff in recent days for supporting his challenger in next week’s Republican primary election.

Exhibit A, they say, is a video showing them in a tense confrontation last Thursday with local GOP Chairman Stuart Van Winkle.

ingrid-will-garcia-053019-500x332-6709007Ingrid and Will Garcia in their shop Thursday. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

little-silver-shell-053019-220x146-7264985Ingrid and Will Garcia, owners of Expert Detail and Auto Repair within the Sycamore Avenue Shell station, told redbankgreen that twice within two hours on May 23, they found themselves in face-offs for allowing Rick Brandt to post campaign signs on the property.

In the first incident, former councilman David Gilmour appeared at the shop “screaming, demanding to know who authorized this,” Ingrid said of the numerous Brandt signs surrounding the triangular property. The encounter was so “distressing” that she called the police, she said.

Gilmour could not be reached for comment Thursday. No charges were filed by police.

About an hour and a half later, Van Winkle arrived and also inquired about the signs, said Ingrid, who was taking care of her four-month-old daughter at the time.

Ingrid said she heard Van Winkle in the garage asking her husband about the signs, and so she grabbed a cellphone to record the above video, which she later posted on YouTube under the heading, “Political Extortion and Harassment.”

In it, Van Winkle begins by asking Ingrid, “do you have permission to put your signs up?”

“I didn’t know I needed permission to do anything,” she replies. “What gives you the right to come here and ask me in my business if I have permission?”

Van Winkle tells her, “we have had complaints in town about signs being put up without permission.”

The encounter quickly becomes tense as Ingrid calls the police again and Will Garcia accuses Van Winkle of sticking a finger in his face.

No charges were filed in that episode, either. Ingrid told redbankgreen she thought the police should have charged Gilmour and Van Winkle with harassment.

The Garcias, who live in Long Branch and opened their shop 18 months ago, said they have not had any prior involvement in Little Silver politics. They allowed Brandt to put up his signs last week because he had brought them into this month’s Taste of Little Silver business promotion event, which they said was a positive experience.

After the fair, Brandt asked for permission to  put up signs on the property. “I said, ‘of course,'” Ingrid said. “He helped us spread the word about our business to the community. Why not?”

The issue being pressed by Gilmour and Van Winkle, she said, was not about the size or placement of signs. “The matter is, ‘how dare you put Rick Brandt’s signs here. The city is very unhappy.'”

“It’s not a coincidence these people came back-to-back,” said Will.

But that’s exactly what it was, Van Winkle told redbankgreen. He said he had “absolutely” had no idea about Gilmour’s visit, and that his decision to stop for gas and ask about the signs was “purely coincidental.”

He said he only wanted to know if the Garcias had allowed Brandt to erect the signs, so he could tell others in the community who were speculating about the answer.

“I thought they’d say ‘yes,’ and that would be it,” he said. But the encounter, he said, “was like hitting a hornet’s nest with a baseball bat.”

Had he known that Gilmour had already asked, he would not have raised the issue, Van Winkle said. Told that the couple were already upset by the prior encounter when he arrived, he said, “I can see why they would feel that.”

Asked why he didn’t drop the issue immediately when he saw the Garcias were distressed by his inquiries, Van Winkle said the situation escalated rapidly. “Within the span of 15 seconds, they’re calling the police,” he said, and he felt he couldn’t leave once they did.

The issue over the gas station flared as Brandt issued a 2,100-word press release Thursday saying his candidacy had uncovered “an underbelly of darker, manipulative, and unscrupulous political behavior” in Little Silver politics.

In the release, Brandt addresses some of the issues that arisen from his campaign, including a suspension from the volunteer fire department and a ban on entering school grounds, in both cases over his use of photos.

The release also alleges “repeated harassment of business owners by the local GOP Republican Chairman” and “the one-by-one banishment of Brandt from the organizations Rick has so tirelessly given years of service to.”

Here’s the full release: Rick Brandt release 053019

Nick West, a former Little Silver resident, told redbankgreen that he drove into town from Colts Neck Thursday to buy gas at the Shell station as a show of support for the Garcias, even though they don’t own or manage the fuel operation, after seeing what he called “harassment” on the video.

West said he’d also seen a young man jump out of a car two weeks ago to steal a Brandt sign from a lawn on Prospect Avenue.

“I have no horse in this race, nothing negative to say about the mayor,” West said. “But I think he should call his dogs off. What they’re doing to Rick Brandt is dirty politics at its highest level.”

Van Winkle said there is no effort among Neff backers to undermine Brandt’s candidacy, adding that the Republican committee had been fair to “all candidates.”

“It sounds like Rick is playing the victim card and trying to make his problems our fault,” said Van Winkle. “It’s looking like we made the right choice.”

Remember: Nothing makes a Red Bank friend happier than to hear "I saw you on Red Bank Green!"
redbankgreen Classics
Partyline
RBMS HOOPS CHAMPS HONORED
The Red Bank Middle School girls basketball team is honored for their championship season. (click for more)
NAVESINK SUNSET
Sunset sunburst over Riverside Gardens Park (photo by Partyline contributor Thomas Doremus)
RIVERSIDE SUNSET
Sunday’s sunset shot from Riverside Gardens Park. (Photo by Partyline contributor Thomas Doremus) —
MARINE PARK SUNSET
Stunning sunset from Red Bank's Marine Park.
GULLS AND GRAY OVER MOLLY PITCHER INN
On a cold rainy spring day, bulls soared high above the Navesink River and the golden cupola of Red Bank's Molly Pitcher Inn.
Red Bank Commuters Enjoy Stunning Sunrise Over Navesink River
Thursday morning sunrise over the Navesink River, a commuter view from NJ Transit Train 3320. (photo by Partyline contributor Karly Swaim) & ...
SUNRISE OVER MONMOUTH STREET
Sunrise over Monmouth Street Thursday morning (photo by Partline contributor Thomas Doremus)
FINAL STRAW FOR MARINE PARK REMAKE
Workers place a straw covering over the now-dirt (soon to be grass) stretch of Marine Park that had been an asphalt parking lot for generati ...
DEER IN RED BANK
Dear Friends –Original before GPT– Deer Friends
GHOSTBUSTERS ON MONMOUTH STREET
Ghostbusters vehicle spotted on Monmouth Street. (photo by Partyline contributor Roseann DalPra)
BOAT CLUB AND BATTLESHIP GREY
Monmouth Boat Club under the past weekend’s clouds. (Photo by Partyline contributor Thomas Doremus)    
CURBSIDE BLOOMS
Broad Street beautified. (photo and text by Partyline contributor Boris Kofman)  
NEW MURAL TAKES SHAPE AT CANNABIS SHOP
Red Bank artist Michael White, donning a hat fitting for the day of the New York Mets’ home opener, works on a new mural at Canopy Cro ...
CHERRY BLOSSOMS ABOUND IN RED BANK
Cherry blossoms are everywhere! (photo and text by Partyline contributor Boris Kofman)  
DOWNTOWN RED BANK ON A FRIDAY AFTERNOON
Downtown on a Friday afternoon. (partyline Photo by Thomas Doremus)  
LIGHTS ON THE NAVESINK
Thursday’s post-sunset clouds over the Navesink (Partyline photo by Thomas Doremus)  
A SPRING IN THE STEP
A man walks carrying a bouquet of flowers beneath the blooming trees in Red Bank. (Partyline photo by John T. Ward)  
ROWING INTO SPRING
Beyond the magnolia trees in full bloom at the Red Bank Library, the Navesink River Rowing Advanced Youth Program heads out for their weekda ...
RED BANK GREEN VISITS AUSTRALIA
Publisher Kenny Katzgrau is representing Red Bank and Red Bank Green at the Local and Independent News Association Summit in Melbourne, Aust ...
MAGNOLIA IN BLOOM
My neighbors’ magnificent magnolia. (photo and text by Partyline contributor Raseann Dal Pra)