 
Five voters wanted former Republican Mayor Mike Arnone, seen here in 2015, back in office. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Billy Portman may have been the only candidate on the ballot to succeed Pasquale Menna as Red Bank mayor in this month’s election, but 94 voters had other ideas, according to data released by the Monmouth County Clerk Tuesday.
Among the non-candidates receiving write-in votes were two former mayors, a rock guitarist and a recent Red Bank Regional High School graduate.
Charter Study Commissioner Ben Forest was among the write-ins for council. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
Councilman Michael Ballard drew 20 write-in votes, running a distant second to Portman, who had 2,475 votes, none of them write-ins. Portman, a political newcomer, had upset Ballard in the June Democratic primary,
Four-term incumbent Mayor Pasquale Menna, who in February was unceremoniously dumped as a potential nominee by the local Democratic organization in favor of Ballard, drew 8 write-in votes, and Councilwoman Kate Triggiano got one.
Also among the write-ins were former mayors Mike Arnone, a Republican who led the borough from 1982 to 1990 (five votes), and Ed McKenna, a Democrat who succeeded Arnone and served through 2006, (1); and former council members Cindy Burnham (2) and Sharon Lee (1).
Others receiving at least one vote of confidence – or possibly, self-regard – included former parks and recreation director Louis “Del” DalPra; local history advocate Marjorie Cavalier; “Vivian from In Between Cafe;” and Ribeye Brothers guitarist Brent Sisk. Lillian Woolley, a 2022 RBR graduate now attending Purdue University in Indiana, got two votes.
Notably absent from the tally was Councilwoman Jacqueline Sturdivant, who aborted a short-lived mayoral campaign in June. She received no votes.
The last uncontested mayoral race was in 2014, in which 69 voters wrote in candidate names rather than endorse Menna, who captured 1,669 votes that year to win his third four-year term.
By contrast, only 11 write-ins were tallied in the 2108 mayoral race, which pitted Menna against Republican Pearl Lee. Menna won his fourth term, 2,452 to 1,671.
In the latest race for two council seats, Democrats Angela Mirandi and running mate John Jackson topped Republicans Mark Taylor and Jonathan Maciel Penney.
Mirandi was appointed to fill a vacancy in February; Jackson will succeed Councilwoman Kathy Horgan, who did not seek a sixth three-year term.
Among the 30 write-in votes for council were one for Horgan; two for Burnham; two for Shade Tree Committee member Boris Kofman; three for Nancy Facey-Blackwood; and four for Ben Forest. Forest and Facey-Blackwood served on the five-member Charter Study Commission, which recommended a change in the form of government that voters overwhelmingly approved in a referendum November 8.
Here are the complete tallies from this year’s election:
MAYORAL RACE
William J. PORTMAN 2,475
Write-In: Michael Ballard 18
Write-In: Pat Menna 5
Write-In: Slater Richardson 3
Write-In: Scatter 3
Write-In: Fred Johnson 3
Write-In: Michael Arnone 3
Write-In: Robert Narucki 2
Write-In: Paquale Menna 2
Write-In: Michael J Arnone 2
Write-In: Cindy Burnham 2
Write-In: Evan Walker 1
Write-In: Donald J Trump 1
Write-In: Michael OBrien 1
Write-In: David Pallister 1
Write-In: Paul Sullivan 1
Write-In: Kory Sansone 1
Write-In: Sharon Barrows 1
Write-In: Donald Trump 1
Write-In: Michael K Ballard 1
Write-In: Cindy Berman 1
Write-In: Diane Davis 1
Write-In: Bill King 1
Write-In: Johnathan Velardi 1
Write-In: Del Dalpra 1
Write-In: George Fayr 1
Write-In: Steve Murphy 1
Write-In: Blank 1
Write-In: David Jacob Lindsey 1
Write-In: Sharon Lee 1
Write-In: Chris McNamara 1
Write-In: Mike Ballard 1
Write-In: Ron Lipp 1
Write-In: Suzanne Viscomi 1
Write-In: Lillian Woolley 1
Write-In: Majorie Cavalier 1
Write-In: Joseph Bedford 1
Write-In: Lillian Wooley 1
Write-In: Vegen Zohrabian 1
Write-In: Brian Irwin 1
Write-In: Jason Andrew Foster 1
Write-In: JQ Smith 1
Write-In: Charles John McCue 1
Write-In: Mindy 1
Write-In: Alexandros Alexopoulos 1
Write-In: Edward McKenna 1
Write-In: Richard Ashton 1
Write-In: Sue Viscomi 1
Write-In: Overvote 1
Write-In: Rich Angowski 1
Write-In: Frederico Buonano 1
Write-In: Joseph Haelig 1
Write-In: Tom McCan 1
Write-In: Kate Triggiano 1
Write-In: Vivian from In Between Cafe 1
Write-In: Thomas Hart 1
Write-In: Brian ONeill 1
Write-In: Menna 1
Write-In: Mary Maser 1
Write-In: Frederick Johnson 1
Write-In: William J Ryan 1
Write-In: Brent Sisk 1
No Nomination Made 0
Write-In Totals 94
Not Assigned 0
Total Votes Cast 2,569
Contest Totals 3,541
Precincts Reporting 9 of 9
COUNCIL RACE
Angela MIRANDI 1,798
John L. JACKSON 1,780
Mark D. TAYLOR 1,625
Jonathan PENNEY 1,516
Write-In: Boris Kofman 2
Write-In: Cindy Burnham 2
Write-In: Ben Forest 2
Write-In: Nancy Blackwood 2
Write-In: Patrick Noble 1
Write-In: Kathy Horgan 1
Write-In: Scatter 1
Write-In: Vegen Zohrabian 1
Write-In: Jason Andrew Foster 1
Write-In: Donald John Trump 1
Write-In: Joe Haegil 1
Write-In: Eric Yngstrom 1
Write-In: Sharon Lee 1
Write-In: Nancy Facey Blackwood 1
Write-In: Ben Forrest 1
Write-In: David Prown 1
Write-In: Frank T Corrado 1
Write-In: Edward Moran 1
Write-In: Bendict Forest 1
Write-In: John Gross 1
Write-In: Jonathan Penny 1
Write-In: Armand Crupi 1
Write-In: Barack Obama 1
Write-In: Overvote 1
Write-In: David Cookson 1
Write-In: Joe Biden 1
Write-In Totals 30
Not Assigned 0
Total Votes Cast 6,749
Contest Totals 7,082
Precincts Reporting 9 of 9
