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: A BACKYARD SWEARING-IN

stephanie-keenan-040920-2-500x333-8875683Mayor Bob Neff, joined by three council members standing far apart from one another, swears in Stephanie Keenan in her backyard April 9. (Photo by Elizabeth Keenan. Click to enlarge.)

[See UPDATE below]

By JOHN T. WARD

After what was probably the first socially distanced, backyard swearing-in ceremony in borough history, the Little Silver council will have a new member when it meets via Zoom Monday night.

stephanie-keenan-040920-1-500x329-3041966Keenan recites the oath of office as her husband, Jim, holds the Bible. (Photo by Elizabeth Keenan. Click to enlarge.)

Democrat Stephanie Keenan replaces Chris Healy, who announced his resignation January 27, effective March 30. He had 10 months to go on his first, three-year term.

[UPDATE: Healy’s letter of resignation dated January 21 cited work and family commitments.]

Keenan, who ran an unsuccessful campaign for a council seat in 2018, was chosen by the council April 6 from three nominees proffered by the Little Silver Democrats.

Three days later, Mayor Bob Neff, joined by  council members Mike Holzapfel, AJ McNally and Corinne Thygeson, met Keenan and her family in their Willow Drive backyard for a “unique” swearing in ceremony.

“I’m fairly certain this was the only backyard swearing in that Little Silver has ever had,” she told redbankgreen by email.

“We spread ourselves around the yard, so everyone had plenty of social distance,” she said. “To minimize contact, I even used my own Bible.”

Like Healy, Keenan will be the only Democrat on the governing body, where she hopes to bring another viewpoint to the mix. And she said she’s “ready to give it another go” by seeking a full term in the November election on a ticket with municipal committee co-chair and Little Silver Democratic Club president Joan Gotti.

But first, when she logs on as a member Monday night for her debut as a member, the council plans to review the proposed budget, so “I guess I will be starting in the deep end,” Keenan said.

Here’s the agenda. And here’s a Q&A with Keenan from 2018.

Remember: Nothing makes a Red Bank friend happier than to hear "I saw you on Red Bank Green!"
redbankgreen Classics
Partyline
STREETCORNER SERENADE
An Irish doodle named Cheddar listens to native New Jerseyan, singer/songwriter and former Houston resident Tom Foti, (identified in the hea ...
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)