On the ballot November 2: charter study commission candidate Jesse Garrison. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
Red Bank voters will have 11 candidates to choose from when they elect a five-member charter study commission November 2.
Here’s what candidate Jesse Garrison had to say in response to a questionnaire sent to all contenders by redbankgreen.
Name: Jesse Garrison
Age: 82
Address: 325 Shrewsbury Avenue
Length of Residence: 64 years
Married to Mattie Garrison; father of two children, and a grand father/great grand father. Member/deacon of the Pilgrim Baptist Church.
A registered Democrat since the late fifties. I served on the Red Bank Regional Board of Education for 13 years, twice as president.
Served on the juvenile Conference Committee, to help keep young people from getting a record for minor issues, so their names would not be tarnished before they began to really live.
Served on the Monmouth Victg. Advisory committee since 1996 to present. From 2013 to 2017, Served on the N.J. Supreme Court Ethics Arbitration Committee.
Worked at Fort Monmouth officers club. Then N.L. Industries.
Upon their closing I finally worked for Red Bank Public Works as an inventory control clerk and assistant purchasing agent.
Then I moved up to code enforcement officer. I was instrumental in helping to bring the first union into Red Bank public works, where I was elected to be the Chief Shop Steward.
Retired in 2004 as the Solid Waste/Recycling Supervisor of Red Bank public Works where I supervised eighteen employees for collecting sanitation/ recycling on a daily basis. My motto was to help the employees look at themselves as leaders one day and how would they handle the situations as on a day by day encounter. The aim was to bring peace out of confusion and make everyone feel important.
I have served on the Red Bank Drug Alliance, the Shade Tree Commission and as board member of the Red Bank Senior Center. Also have been involved in many other civic organizations. I also served on the Red Bank Zoning Board for many years and I knew I did make a difference, and not just a seat warmer. My voice was heard.
Is Red Bank’s present form of government problematic? Please explain your answer:
What would you bring to the table as a commission member?
I would strive to bring to the table as a commission member stability, equality, trustworthiness, honesty and compassion. Just as late John F. Kennedy said, ‘It’s not what the country can do for me, but it’s what I can do for my country.’ I see much work that needs to be recycled. Red Bank has much to continue to offer, although a lot has been done, but we can even do a lot more together; the old slogan, “better together.”
I, Jesse Garrison, should be on this Commission because I am not in this race just for me, but I want to be a beacon light for others to follow in this great town of Red Bank.
Red Bank’s future is depending on not just the leaders that have been voted on, but Red Bank’s future depends on every voting resident that cherishes this town that our founding fathers long ago planted the seed for others to improve on and make Red Bank even greater.
Remember: The seed has already been planted; now it’s time for us to continue to build on it, not just for ourselves, but for generations to come.
***** ELECTION GUIDE *****
• The election of the five-member charter study commission is on the ballot along with a referendum on whether the five-member commission should be formed to review Red Bank’s 113-year-old form of government.
Here’s the specific wording of the public question:
Shall a charter commission be elected to study the charter of the Borough of Red Bank and to consider a new charter or improvements in the present charter and to make recommendations thereon?
If the referendum passes, the commission’s eventual recommendation to the council could lead to change in the form of government used by Red Bank since 1908.
If the referendum fails, the election of the commissioners would be moot. Voters may choose candidates even if they vote ‘no’ on the question about the charter study.
• Find the Red Bank ballot here.
• For information on the various ways to cast your vote, check out this article. It includes information on mail-in ballots and early, in-person voting, which begins October 23.
Information about election-related deadlines is here.
• Monmouth County election offices (300 Halls Mill Road, Freehold Township) will offer extended hours to allow voters to apply for and drop off vote-by-mail ballots. The offices will be open on Friday, October 29 from 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Saturday, October 30 from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
• In-person, election day voting will take place at the polling stations shown below. Polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Note that in-person, election day voting for residents of the 1st and 8th districts will take place at borough hall (90 Monmouth Street).
• Finally, here’s a video on using Monmouth County’s new digital voting machines, which employ touchscreen technology familiar to users of smartphones and tablets:
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