Councilman Michael Ballard, seen here in 2022, said the ordinance was the subject of 15 hours of “impassioned” debate. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
See UPDATE below
By JOHN T. WARD
Red Bank Mayor Billy Portman “blindsided” most of the borough council when he vetoed controversial limits on short-term residential rentals, Councilmember Michael Ballard said this week.
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
Red 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.”
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.”
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.
The two contenders for mayor in Red Bank’s June 7 Democratic primary have agreed to a virtual debate.
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.
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.
Robinson Ale House owner Tim McLoone at Wednesday’s council session. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Red 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.
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.
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
A 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.
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.
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
Controversy 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.
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.
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
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.
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.
Cannabis proponent Andy Zeitlin testifying at the special session. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Expecting 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.”
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.
The Red Bank council has scheduled a special session next week to consider easing limits on cannabis shop sitings.