RED BANK: BOARD OF ED SHRUGS OFF FLAP, RE-UPS VISCOMI AS PREZ

Suzanne Viscomi is sworn in for a new term as President of the Red Bank Borough Board of Education. (Photo by Brian Donohue. Click to enlarge.)

By BRIAN DONOHUE

Red Bank Mayor Billy Portman thought Suzanne Viscomi was unfit to serve on the board that manages the Red Bank Public Library due to remarks about a local immigrant advocate’s citizenship that a borough attorney testified she “much more likely than not” said two years ago.

But last week, it became clear that Viscomi’s fellow members of the Red Bank Borough Board of Education don’t seem to feel the same way.

Viscomi got a unanimous vote of confidence last Tuesday when members re-elected her to a new term as president of the nine-member board.

Christy Sunquist red bank borough board of education 01062026

Christy Sunquist, newly elected to the Red Bank Borough Board of Education in November, was also sworn in. (Photo by Brian Donohue)

In the meantime, Viscomi has dropped the subject of the alleged remarks, Julie Flores-Castillo, from the list of defendants in a defamation lawsuit she filed in federal court in the wake of her ouster from the library board.

The flap stems from a 2023 library storytelling workshop that seemingly would have underscored the commonality the two women share.

Borough Labor Attorney Jonathon Cohen told the council in July that Viscomi recounted her experience of being born in Ecuador and adopted by parents in the US. Flores-Castillo (photo below) also recounted her family story, including the trauma of watching her father being deported as a child.

Afterwards, Cohen said a witness who heard the comment second-hand told him in an interview that Viscomi asked the former library director after the workshop why Flores-Castillo herself was not deported.

“That doesn’t make sense,” Cohen said Viscomi commented. “She should be deported too.”

While the library did its own investigation and took no action against Viscomi, the Borough then had Cohen conduct second probe into the remarks, resulting in Viscomi’s removal.

Viscomi has vehemently denied the comments and filed a defamation lawsuit against Portman, Deputy Mayor Kate Triggiano; the entire Borough Council and Flores-Castillo herself.

Court filings in the case indicate Flores-Castillo was dropped as a defendant last week. The case against the elected officials is proceeding.

In a statement issued last week before the Board of Education’s annual reorganization meeting, Flores-Castillo said she was pleased to be dropped from the case and called it the “appropriate outcome.”

She also called the Board of Education’s selection of a president and vice-president “far beyond routine.”

“Board leadership should reflect a clear commitment to collaboration, transparency, and student-centered decision-making, as well as an understanding of the real lives and challenges facing our community,” she said. (Read the full statement here.)

Flores-Castillo ran unsuccessfully for a seat on the Board of Education in November.

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

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