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RED BANK: PORTMAN VETOES RENTAL LAW

Mayor Billy Portman called the ordinance “an effort to appease a few people” who oppose short-term rentals. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

hot topicRed Bank Mayor Billy Portman vetoed a controversial law restricting short-term, Airbnb-style residential rentals Wednesday night.

Portman, just seven weeks into his term, announced the rarely used action after the conclusion of a council meeting that ran for three and a half hours without any hint of his intention.

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RED BANK: PORTMAN-TRIGGIANO SLATE NAMED

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.

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RED BANK: PORTMAN TAKES MAYOR’S SEAT

Mayor Billy Portman opens the reorganization meeting as Attorney Dan Antonelli looks on, above; new fire chiefs were sworn in, below.  (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

Red Bank entered into a period of transition Wednesday night, as a new mayor took the helm of a government that’s slated to vanish in seven months.

Billy Portman, a political neophyte who helped dismantle the local Democratic machine last year, was sworn into the town’s highest elected position pledging he’ll “keep the ship running smoothly” in the interim.

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RED BANK: PORTMAN Q&A

Mayoral candidate Billy Portman. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

In the November 8 election, Red Bank voters will pick three members of the municipal government –  the mayor and two council members – for terms that begin January 1.

But the winners may be in office for only six months, depending on the outcome of a ballot referendum on whether to change the town’s form of government. Adoption would trigger another election in May, 2023, for mayor and all six council seats.

To learn their views of the referendum and other issues, redbankgreen recently sent a set of questions to each of the candidates: mayoral contender Billy Portman, who is running unopposed; and council candidates John Jackson, Angela Mirandi, Jonathan Maciel Penney and Mark Taylor.

Here’s what Portman had to say.

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RED BANK: PORTMAN READY FOR MAYOR’S MIC

Billy Portman in a scene from the 1994 short film ‘No Time,’ directed by Darren Aronofsky. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

After his mic-drop win in the Red Bank Democratic primary last month, Billy Portman enters the general election campaign as – in all likelihood – the first mayoral candidate in borough history with an IMDB listing and a “filthy” rap record on his résumé.

It turns out the 53-year-old building contractor/cover-band singer has had a long involvement in comedy and films, too.

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RED BANK: PORTMAN MOCKS BALLARD CLAIMS

Billy Portman at home on John Street Sunday. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

Why did Red Bank mayoral candidate Michael Ballard sign a petition for a candidate who would oppose him if he won last week’s Democratic primary?

To counter “secret deal-making” engineered by opponent Billy Portman, Ballard told redbankgreen Friday night.

In response, Portman mocked the allegation as “business as usual” from a “dying machine.”

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RED BANK: PORTMAN CLAIMS LANDSLIDE WIN

Billy Portman at Red Rock Tap + Grill Tuesday night. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

Political neophyte Billy Portman claimed a landslide victory in Red Bank Democrats’ mayoral primary Tuesday night.

At the same time, enough members of an 18-candidate reform slate for the party’s county committee appeared to win races to ensure a change at the top of an organization Portman had criticized for “machine politics.”

 

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RED BANK: PORTMAN SEES INTERIM ROLE

Billy Portman addressing supporters at a fundraiser held at Tino’s Restaurant in late April. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

Red Bank mayoral contender Billy Portman is “not looking for a lifetime in politics,” he says.

In fact, if all goes according to plan, he’ll be able to hand the reins to his successor just five months after being sworn in, he says.

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RED BANK: BALLARD AND PORTMAN TO FACE OFF

 

The two contenders for mayor in Red Bank’s June 7 Democratic primary have agreed to a virtual debate.

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RED BANK: MAYOR HOSTS OFFICE HOURS

Only one Red Bank resident dropped in on Mayor Billy Portman when he hosted the first of a promised series of one-on-one sessions in his borough hall office last week.

Still, the Democratic newcomer to politics and government is committed to opening his office weekly to residents, business owners and others who want to bend his ear, he told redbankgreen.

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RED BANK: MAYORAL CONTENDERS UP FOR ‘FACEOFF’

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’sFaceoff 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.

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RED BANK: PAIR PRODS ACTION ON BROADWALK

Robinson Ale House owner Tim McLoone at Wednesday’s council session. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

hot topic red bank njRed Bank’s Broadwalk dining plaza will return for at least a four-month run May 15, following informal agreement by the borough council Wednesday night.

The consensus arose after Mayor Billy Portman and Councilwoman Kate Triggiano goaded the reluctant majority bloc into an immediate decision.

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RED BANK: CANDIDATE FACEOFF SET

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.

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RED BANK: BALLOT POSITIONS SET

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.

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RED BANK: SIX-MONTH BROADWALK ON HOLD

RiverCenter’s proposal includes plans to boost weekday activity in the Broadwalk zone. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

hot topicA six-month season for Red Bank’s Broadwalk dining plaza would feature enhanced efforts to boost weekday visitors and battle litter, a business representative told the borough council Wednesday night.

The council, however, withheld an immediate decision on the request.

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RED BANK: PETITIONS OK’D, BALLOTS UP NEXT

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 →

RED BANK: CANDIDACIES APPEAR SET

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.

 

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RED BANK: SPARKS FLY BEFORE OVERRIDE VOTE

Area NAACP president William Poku addressing Councilmembers John Jackson, Michael Ballard and Ed Zippich during the special session. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

hot topicControversy over an ordinance restricting short-term residential rentals such as Airbnbs in Red Bank continued at a special hearing Friday morning on whether to override Mayor Billy Portman‘s veto of the law.

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RED BANK: HOGAN ADDRESSES ‘CONFLICTS’

Mayoral candidate Tim Hogan, seen here in 2018. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

Riverview Medical Center president Tim Hogan says his day job would not present a conflict of interest should he succeed in his bid to become Red Bank’s mayor.

Also in borough politics: watchdog Sue Viscomi has announced another run for council in the May 9 special election.

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RED BANK: HOUSING, POT DOMINATE SESSION

Evergreen Terrace is one of two apartment complexes slated for possible rehabilitation or redevelopment. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

hot topic

The Red Bank Housing Authority asked the borough council for money to explore possible redevelopment of two subsidized apartment complexes Wednesday night.

At its second three-plus-hour meeting in three days, the governing body also heard more testimony for and against a possible overhaul of the zoning law governing cannabis businesses.

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RED BANK: COUNCIL DEMS, HOGAN FORM SLATE

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.

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RED BANK: POT LAW OVERHAUL PROPOSED

Cannabis proponent Andy Zeitlin testifying at the special session. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

hot topicExpecting to hear about proposed tweaks to Red Bank’s pot law, attendees at a special council session Monday night instead learned that it may be completely rewritten to make it more restrictive.

Councilwoman Angela Mirandi fiercely defended the proposed changes, calling the original 2021 ordinance “reckless.”

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RED BANK: ZIPPRICH WON’T SEEK NEW TERM

Councilman Ed Zipprich, right, with Councilman Michael Ballard in December. (Photos by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

hot topic red bank njFive-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.

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