One issue to be resolved: whether to hold a weekend of early voting at borough hall. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Following the will of voters as expressed in November, Red Bank officials have begun organizing a special election in May.
That’s when voters will return to the polls, this time to choose a mayor and six council members to be seated under an all-new form of government July 1. More →
Mayor Billy Portman meeting with a borough resident during his weekly open hours Monday night. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Coming off a slam-dunk win in the May 9 election, Red Bank Mayor Billy Portman says he and his council running mates are gearing up to use the ‘mandate’ given them by voters.
That includes setting new priorities, he told redbankgreen in an interview Monday night.
Incumbents Billy Portman and Kate Triggiano led a slate that swept all seven offices on the ballot. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
It’s official: incumbent mayor Billy Portman won re-election with nearly 61 percent of the vote in Red Bank’s May 9 election.
Borough Clerk Laura Reinertsen certified the win by Portman and his Red Bank’s Ready slate of council candidates Wednesday.
Riverview Medical Center President Tim Hogan garnered just 38.5 percent of the vote, marking Portman’s third consecutive victory since getting into politics 13 months ago.
On the ballot May 9: Red Bank council candidate John Jackson. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
Red Bank voters will have 13 candidates to choose from when they elect six council members May 9.
Here’s what candidate John Jackson said in response to a questionnaire sent to all by redbankgreen.
On the ballot May 9: Red Bank council candidate Ben Forest. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
Red Bank voters will have 13 candidates to choose from when they elect six council members May 9.
Here’s what candidate Ben Forest said in response to a questionnaire sent to all by redbankgreen.
On the ballot May 9: Red Bank council candidate Kristina Bonatakis. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
Red Bank voters will have 13 candidates to choose from when they elect six council members May 9.
Here’s what candidate Kristina Bonatakis said in response to a questionnaire sent to all by redbankgreen.
Mayoral candidates Tim Hogan, left and Billy Portman, right, at last week’s dedication ceremony at the Senior Center. (Photos by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Red Bank’s two mayoral candidates disagreed Monday on whether one of them has “refused” a call for a one-on-one debate.
All council candidates participated in the League of Women Voters’s online event. (Photo from Zoom. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Thirteen candidates for Red Bank council sought to make an impression on voters during a fast-paced candidates showdown Monday night.
The occasion was an online event hosted by the hosted by the League of Women Voters of Monmouth County, the first of two planned showdowns ahead of an historic election May 9.
Mayoral candidates Billy Portman, upper right, and Tim Hogan, lower left, with league volunteers during the forum. (Photo from Zoom. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Red Bank mayoral candidate Tim Hogan‘s job as president of Riverview Medical Center would present a “massive conflict of interest” if he wins, incumbent Billy Portman said Monday night.
The two jostled for position at the first candidate showdown leading to an historic May 9 election.
By JOHN T. WARD
Up to 15 candidates for Red Bank office may appear together at an online forum Monday night.
The League of Women Voters of Monmouth County event will offer borough voters the first opportunity to compare the two mayoral contenders and 13 candidates for six council seats in the historic May 9 election.
Mayoral candidates Billy Portman, left, and Tim Hogan. (Photos by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
Incumbent mayor Billy Portman and challenger Tim Hogan have agreed to participate in redbankgreen’s “Faceoff Over Red Bank’s Future” next month.
So far, nine of the 13 candidates for council also have agreed to answer questions at the event.
With a high-stakes election nearing, Red Bank voters will have a chance to see and hear from up to 15 candidates for municipal office at a future-oriented redbankgreen forum next month.
The League of Women Voters of Monmouth County is also doing a thing.
A schematic of the May 9 ballot, provided by the Red Bank clerk. (Click to enlarge.)
See CORRECTION below
By JOHN T. WARD
Incumbent Billy Portman will have the inside lane against challenger Tim Hogan in the two-candidate race for Red Bank mayor.
A drawing by borough Clerk Laura Reinertsen Wednesday also established the ballot positions for all 13 council candidates in the borough’s first-ever nonpartisan election May 9.
Borough Clerk Laura Reinertsen in her office last April. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
All 15 candidates for Red Bank mayor and council in the May 9 election submitted the minimum number of valid petitions to get on the ballot, Clerk Laura Reinertsen told redbankgreen Tuesday.
Up next: a drawing to determine the order of names on the ballot in the historic nonpartisan election. More →
Fifteen candidates are expected be on the ballot for the May 9 election. (Photo by Red Bank Together. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Looks like Red Bank voters will have two mayoral candidates and 13 contenders for six council seats to choose from in the historic election scheduled for May 9.
From left: John Jackson, Jacqueline Sturdivant, Michael Ballard, Tim Hogan, Linda Hill, Erin Fleming and Sean Murphy. (Photo by Red Bank Together. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Three incumbent council Democrats have teamed up with the president of Riverview Medical Center in a bid to form Red Bank’s new government this summer.
The seven-member “Red Bank Together” slate is the second hoping to capture six council seats and the mayor’s chair in the May 9 special election.
Councilman Ed Zipprich, right, with Councilman Michael Ballard in December. (Photos by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Five-term incumbent Red Bank Councilmember Ed Zipprich won’t run for a seat in the new form of government he opposed, according to a news report.
In recent years, Zipprich has been a lightning rod for controversy as the the Democratic party, which dominates borough politics, split into warring tribes under his leadership.
Voting machines at borough hall in advance of last November’s election. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Red Bank voters would be able to cast ballots in-person over the weekend prior to the upcoming special election under an ordinance introduced last week.
The borough council signaled at its February 8 meeting that it will authorize an additional $21,000 to enable early voting in the historic election.
Branch Avenue resident Alberto Larotonda with a lead pipe he brought to a council meeting in 2015. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
See Correction below
By JOHN T. WARD
The Red Bank council may authorize spending up to $2.4 million to replace water service lines made of lead when it meets Wednesday night.
Also on the heavy agenda: possible adoption of a controversial law restricting short-term residential rentals; a study of water rates; a change in the zoning law governing cannabis sales; and authorizing early, in-person voting for an historic May election.
Billy Portman and Kate Triggiano at an event in Riverside Gardens Park last June. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
A slate that includes Mayor Billy Portman and Democratic party Chairperson Kate Triggiano will run to initiate Red Bank’s first new form of government in 115 years.
The seven-candidate slate, announced late Sunday, is the first out of the gate in what may be a crowded field in the the May 9 special election.
Chairwoman Nancy Facey-Blackwood at the Charter Study Commission’s final meeting. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Red Bank residents will decide whether to give the town’s governmental structure an historic overhaul following action by the Charter Study Commission Tuesday night.
Adopting its final report en route to dissolving itself, the commission made one last tweak to the November referendum, calling for run-off elections in cases where no candidate wins a majority of votes.