On the ballot November 2: charter study commission candidate Scott Broschart. (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 Scott Broschart had to say in response to a questionnaire sent to all contenders by redbankgreen.
Clockwise from top left: Mike DuPont, Nancy Facey-Blackwood, Ben Forest, Mark Taylor and Kate Okeson. (Photos by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
CLARIFICATION: This article reported results as of 11 p.m. on election day, and the outcome may change as mail-in ballots are counted.
By JOHN T. WARD
Red Bank voters went with four of five slate candidates in the borough’s historic election for charter study commission Tuesday.
But first, they said “yes,” overwhelmingly, on whether the study should take place.
Eleven Red Bank residents are running for five seats in this year’s election for charter study commission.
See what they had to say about the issues – and their qualifications to tackle them – in these Q&As with redbankgreen:
Scott Broschart
Mike DuPont
Nancy Facey-Blackwood
Ben Forest
Jesse Garrison
John Gosden
Aimee Humphreys
John Jackson
Kate Okeson
Mark Taylor
Tom Wieczerzak
In addition, check out the voter resource guide below, with information on the public question that would authorize formation of the commission.
On the ballot November 2: charter study commission candidate John Gosden. (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 John Gosden had to say in response to a questionnaire sent to all contenders by redbankgreen.
On the ballot November 2: charter study commission candidate Nancy Facey-Blackwood. (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 Nancy Facey-Blackwood had to say in response to a questionnaire sent to all contenders by redbankgreen.
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.
On the ballot November 2: charter study commission candidate Mike DuPont. (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 Mike DuPont had to say in response to a questionnaire sent to all contenders by redbankgreen.
On the ballot November 2: charter study commission candidate Tom Wieczerzak. (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 Tom Wieczerzak had to say in response to a questionnaire sent to all contenders by redbankgreen.
On the ballot November 2: charter study commission candidate John Jackson. (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 John Jackson had to say in response to a questionnaire sent to all contenders by redbankgreen.
On the ballot November 2: charter study commission candidate Mark Taylor. (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 Mark Taylor had to say in response to a questionnaire sent to all contenders by redbankgreen.
On the ballot November 2: charter study commission candidate Aimee Humphreys. (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 Aimee Humphreys had to say in response to a questionnaire sent to all contenders by redbankgreen.
On the ballot November 2: charter study commission candidate Kate Okeson. (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 Kate Okeson had to say in response to a questionnaire sent to all contenders by redbankgreen.
On the ballot November 2: charter study commission candidate Ben Forest. (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 Ben Forest had to say in response to a questionnaire sent to all contenders by redbankgreen.
On the ballot in November: whether to review Red Bank’s form of government, and who should do it. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
It’s official: Red Bank voters will have 11 candidates to choose from when they elect a five-member charter study commission in November.
Also on the ballot: a referendum on whether the study itself should be conducted.
Mike DuPont, right, riding with law partner and former mayor Ed McKenna in the Red Bank centennial parade in 2008. (Photo by John T. Ward and Chris Ern. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
UPDATE: After publication of this article, redbankgreen learned that John Jackson filed a petition with the borough clerk for a candidacy Tuesday afternoon. This update also adds John Gosden as a resident known to be gathering petition signatures.
Former Red Bank councilman Michael DuPont has made the November election for charter study commission a race.
DuPont told redbankgreen he filed his candidacy petition Wednesday morning, making him the sixth declared candidate for a seat on a five-member body.
Running as a team, clockwise from upper left: Nancy Facey-Blackwood, Mark Taylor, Kate Okeson, Scott Broschart and Ben Forest. (Photos by John T. Ward and Chris Ern. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Five self-described “forward-thinking” Red Bank activists have united in pursuit of seats on Red Bank’s charter study commission in the November election.
A customer checks her email at one of the new seating areas at Coffee Corral. (Photo by Chris Ern. Click to enlarge.)
By CHRIS ERN
It’s a warm summer night as Jessica Olszewski relaxes in an Adirondack chair while her wife and young daughter dance to live jazz under glimmering lights outside the Coffee Corral in in Red Bank.
A new, post-pandemic vibe has captured the attention of locals at the busy corner of Shrewsbury Avenue and Drs. James Parker Boulevard. There, owners Courtlyn Crosson and Erich Reulbach have developed their business into what Reulbach said is now “more than just a coffee shop on the corner.”
“It’s family-friendly. I have my wife and daughter here, and she’s able to run around and enjoy the live music,” says Olszewski, of Tinton Falls. “It’s a lot of what we couldn’t do for so long.”
A screengrab from Wednesday’s virtual meeting, which was chaired by Councilman Hazim Yassin, top right. (Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Red Bank property owners will see no increase in the local tax rate under the budget introduced by the borough council Wednesday night.
The governing body also finalized a plan for a charter study referendum that several commenters referred to as “historic;” eliminated the job of animal control officer to make way for the Monmouth SPCA; and tabled the hiring of a new executive director of the Redevelopment Agency.
Authorization of the charter study, and all five seats on it, would be on the November ballot if the council follows through on Wednesday’s informal vote. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
[Updated to include borough attorney memo on charter review timeline.]
By JOHN T. WARD
Red Bank’s council informally agreed Wednesday night to have voters decide whether the borough’s form of government should be reviewed for possible overhaul.
The unanimous action by the council, all Democrats, could eventually lead to nonpartisan elections, watering down the party’s long dominance of municipal government.
Kathy Horgan with fellow Democrats and council members Ed Zipprich, center, and Michael Ballard in 2017. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Again taking aim at their own party’s chairman, four Red Bank council members and Mayor Pasquale Menna have called for a charter study to review the borough’s form of government – and possibly, change the electoral process.
Mayor Pasquale Menna speaking with activist Ben Forest in 2019. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Nearly three years after they briefly moved to the fore, calls to reform Red Bank’s government and electoral process have yet to yield noticeable results.
Red Bank First leader Scott Broschart at home on Hudson Avenue in August. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Scott Broschart is on a one-man quest to reform both Red Bank’s government and how people get elected to it.
Neither will happen this year. A referendum Broschart has been pushing for since July is not on the November 3 ballot. But Broschart says he’s perfectly fine with that.
A screengrab from Wednesday’s virtual meeting, with Councilman Michael Ballard at top center and Business Administrator Ziad Shehady at center right. (Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Red Bank property owners would pay 2.8 percent more in municipal taxes this year, under a budget advanced by the borough council Wednesday night.
The still-evolving $22.4 million spending plan was the centerpiece of a nearly three-hour online council meeting that left viewers with a lot to unpack.
Ginny and Bob Koehler have reopened the Inbetween Café in Red Bank for takeout breakfast and lunch.
The English Plaza eatery is among a recent wave of borough restaurants stirring back to life, while many others have continued to serve hungry, stuck-at-home area residents and first responders throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
Leandro Batista, co-owner of Paradiddle Griddle on West Front Street in Red Bank, awaits customers picking up orders last week.
Here’s some updated information about restaurant operations in town, as well as a way to help feed healthcare workers on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)