RED BANK COUNCIL: NEW FIRE CHIEF, NEW COUNCILMAN MEMBER, SAME OLD HARMONY

Pastor Janet Jones of Shrewsbury Avenue AME Church leads the invocation at the Red Bank Borough Council 2026 reorganization meeting on New Year’s Day. (Photo by Brian Donohue. Click to enlarge.)

By BRIAN DONOHUE

A New Year’s ritual that once set the tone with political fireworks and division instead continued the Red Bank governing body’s more recent spirit of remarkable unanimity Thursday.

To sum up the annual reorganization meeting of the Red Bank Borough Council: everyone agreed on everything and then they all went to Jamian’s for lunch.

The agenda was topped by a series of heartwarming family-attended swearing-ins, including newly elected Councilman Ben Yuro.

Yuro was hailed by Mayor Billy Portman as “yet another wonk” whose interest in the workings of public policy he predicted would mesh with the team of “geeks” that populate his administration.

Also taking their oaths of office were top brass of the Red Bank volunteer Fire Department, including Second Deputy Chief Francis Scott Calabrese; First Deputy Chief Brett MacDonald; and Chief Michael J. Welsh.

Michael Welsh shakes hands with Mayor Billy Portman after being sworn in as Chief of the Red Bank Fire Department on New Year’s Day. Alongside Chief Welsh (from left to right) are his wife Michelle, daughter Mackenzie and son Kevin. (Photo by Brian Donohue)

Welsh takes over the helm from outgoing chief Frank Woods.

By the time he was sworn in, Welsh had already led firefighters on his first call as chief, a smoky basement furnace malfunction on Linden Place. He had spent the previous evening at a lengthy evacuation of the West Side Lofts at 1 Bridge Avenue. (see photo below)

Chief Michael Welsh at the West Side Lofts, where a steak left on a stove filled the building with smoke and forced an evacuation on New Year’s Eve. (Photo by Brian Donohue)

The council also re-appointed Borough Attorney (and recently elected mayor of Aberdeen) Greg Cannon. In a bid to the aforementioned history of acrimony and turmoil, Councilman Ben Forest garnered laughs when he referred to the previous council abruptly voting to fire Cannon in 2022.

“We had all kinds of crazy stuff going on,” Forest recalled.

Deputy Mayor and council member Kate Triggiano was also voted in for another year as deputy mayor.

The full agenda for the meeting (all of which passed unanimously) can be found here.

Ben Yuro is sworn in as the newest member of the Red Bank Borough Council by State Sen. Vin Gopal. Joining Yuro are his wife, Carla, son, Sebastian and baby Margot. (Photo by Brian Donohue)

The council also made a series of appointments to borough commissions and committees.

Here’s a list:

Animal Welfare Committee

(6 Members – 3 years / 2 Alternates – 2 years)

Carla Alvarez — Member — 1/1/2026–12/31/2028
Mark Delaney — Member — 1/1/2026–12/31/2028
Taylor Chalmers — Alternate #1 — 1/1/2026–12/31/2027

Environmental Commission

(7 Members – 3 years / 2 Alternates – 2 years)

Dave Johnson — Member — 1/1/2026–12/31/2028

Environmental Commission Green Team:
Travers Martin, Helena Blyskun, E. Pamela McArthur, Eric Wokas,
Sal Trifiro, Daniel Harris, Terrence Walton, Oscar Salinas

Historic Preservation Commission

(5 Members – 4 years / 2 Alternates – 2 years)

Marjorie Cavalier — Class B Member — 1/1/2026–12/31/2029
Karen Schmelzkopf — Class C Member — 1/1/2026–12/31/2029
Bethzy Varela — Alternate #1 — 1/1/2026–12/31/2028
Matthew Cummings — Alternate #2 — 1/1/2026–12/31/2028

Planning Board of Adjustment

(9 Members / 2 Alternates – 2 years)

Shawna Ebanks — Class II Member — 1/1/2026–12/31/2026
Barbara Boas — Class IV Member — 1/1/2026–12/31/2029
Brian Parnagian — Alternate #2 — 1/1/2026–12/31/2027

Zoning Board of Adjustment

(7 Members – 4 years / 4 Alternates – 2 years)

Greg Fitzgerald — Member — to fill unexpired term ending 12/31/2028
John Gilday — Member — 1/1/2026–12/31/2029
Anna Cruz — Member — 1/1/2026–12/31/2029
Gene Horowitz — Alternate #1 — to fill unexpired term ending 12/31/2026
Chris Havens — Alternate #2 — 1/1/2026–12/31/2027
Dorothy Cerulo — Alternate #3 — 1/1/2026–12/31/2027
Rebecca Flynn — Alternate #4 — to fill unexpired term ending 12/31/2026

Parks and Recreation Committee

(7 Members – 3 years / 2 Alternates – 2 years)

John Lefever — Member — 1/1/2026–12/31/2028
Kristen Gall — Member — 1/1/2026–12/31/2028
Michael Lennon — Member (unexpired) — 1/1/2024–12/31/2026
Pat Richter — Member — 1/1/2026–12/31/2028
Joe Simon — Member — 1/1/2026–12/31/2028

Library Board

Alexandra Nicolajsen — Mayor’s Alternate — 1/1/2026–12/31/2026
Marjorie Cavalier — Member (Treasurer) — 1/1/2026–12/31/2030
Mary Burke — Member — 1/1/2026–12/31/2030

Community Engagement Equity Committee

(7 Members – 3 years / 2 Alternates – 2 years)

Christopher Harrison — Member — 1/1/2026–12/31/2028
Hermione Cervante-Lopez — Member (unexpired) — 1/1/2024–12/31/2026
Selena Martinez — Member — 1/1/2026–12/31/2028
Kali Garita — Alternate #1 — 1/1/2026–12/31/2027
Anita Pierce — Alternate #2 (unexpired) — 1/1/2025–12/31/2026

Shade Tree Committee

(5 Members – 3 years / 2 Alternates – 2 years)

Bill Brooks — Member — 1/1/2026–12/31/2028
Brigid McCarthy — Alternate #1 — 1/1/2026–12/31/2027

Rent Leveling Board

(5 Members – 3 years / 2 Alternates – 3 years)

Scott Heck — Member — 1/1/2026–12/31/2028
Judy Giunta — Alternate #1 — 1/1/2026–12/31/2028

Housing Authority

(5 Members – 5 years)

John Paul Nicolaides — Member — 1/1/2026–12/31/2030

RiverCenter

Jared Patrick Anthony Yuro — Mayor’s Representative — 1/1/2026–12/31/2026
Marta Quinn — Citizen Representative — 1/1/2026–12/31/2026

Navesink River Municipalities Committee

Paulo Rodriguez Heyman — (term not listed)

redbankgreen editor Brian Donohue may be reached via email at [email protected] or by calling or texting 848-331-8331.

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