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.
Former Councilwoman Kathy Horgan at home in December, above, and on the night of her first council win, in 2007, below. (Photos by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
What’s a 77-year-old former Red Bank councilwoman to do when her political career ends and she’s suddenly got loads more free time?
Go back to college, maybe. That’s one item on Kathy Horgan‘s bucket list, she told redbankgreen.
Red Bank would still be known as the “Borough of Red Bank,” even if the form of government is changed by referendum, Charter Study commissioners say. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
While Red Bank’s 114-year run under a “borough” form of government is widely thought to be nearing an end, that’s still a matter for voters to decide in the November 8 election.
And even though no widespread opposition to the ballot referendum on the change has materialized, there has been some pushback. In addition, voters continue to seek clarity about the stakes, said Charter Study Commission Chairwoman Nancy Facey-Blackwood.
Democratic mayoral candidate Billy Portman flipped burgers at the event. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
The outcome of the public question on the ballot in Red Bank’s November election – whether to change the forms of both government and elections – appears an easy call.
Voters last year overwhelmingly approved the creation of a Charter Study Commission, which in turn unanimously moved the referendum to the ballot in July. And so far, no organized opposition has emerged.
Still, looking over their shoulders, referendum advocates held a Labor Day campaign launch event with the aim of drumming up support at the polls.
Attorney Greg Cannon at borough hall last November. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
It was another night of political fireworks, this time punctuated by Cannon fire, as the Red Bank council terminated borough attorney Greg Cannon without explanation Wednesday night.
The abrupt action created a vacancy Mayor Pasquale Menna angrily refused to fill when Councilman Ed Zipprich nominated a lawyer who recently “exonerated” him of impropriety.
A view of Wednesday’s Charter Study Commission meeting. (Photo from Zoom. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Red Bank residents would vote on whether a “council-manager” form of municipal government should be implemented under an agreement by the Charter Study Commission last week.
If approved by voters in a referendum expected in November, the change would would replace the management structure in place since the borough’s creation in 1908.
The mayor and council meet at borough hall for their first in-person session in 26 months Wednesday night. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
A budget for 2022 is on the agenda when the Red Bank mayor and council hold their first in-person meeting since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic Wednesday night.
The session is also the first to simultaneously employ technology allowing participation from home.
Councilman Ed Zipprich attaches a borough pin to the jacket of Angela Mirandi after her swearing-in ceremony February 11. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
A legal challenge to Angela Mirandi‘s appointment to the Red Bank council earlier this year has been dropped, redbankgreen has learned.
But while the lawsuit filed by Councilwoman Kathy Horgan and Democratic party secretary Kate Okeson failed to dislodge Mirandi, it shone a harsh light into the workings of the local party under Councilman Ed Zipprich, whose leadership faces an historic challenge next month.
A screengrab of Wednesday’s meeting, held via Zoom. (Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
An online public forum held Wednesday night by Red Bank’s Charter Study Commission was brief, as only two residents chimed in.
But more have weighed in by email, according several commission members. And one consistent theme is that residents don’t want an appointed mayor, they said.
Ed Zipprich, center, with council colleagues Kathy Horgan and Erik Yngstrom in 2017. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Red Bank councilman and Democratic party chairman Ed Zipprich issued a “demand” Tuesday that two party members who sued for the removal of Angela Mirandi from the council reimburse the borough for its legal expenses.
Angela Mirandi at her swearing-in ceremony February 11. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Angela Mirandi retained her seat on the Red Bank council after a judge rejected a motion calling for her temporary removal Tuesday.
Attorney Dan O’Hern, seen at right with Mayor Pasquale Menna in 2014, represents the borough in the lawsuit. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
A Superior Court judge deferred an immediate decision Friday morning on whether to temporarily remove Angela Mirandi from the Red Bank council, as demanded by a pending lawsuit.
Councilwoman Kathy Horgan greets Mayor Pasquale Menna at the Mayor’s Ball in 2016. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Yet another Red Bank Democratic official is heading for the exit while decrying “divisiveness” stoked by party leadership.
Councilwoman Kathy Horgan told redbankgreen Tuesday that, “with a heavy heart,” she’s not seeking a sixth three-year term.
Meanwhile, a political newcomer has stepped forward hoping to succeed Pasquale Menna as mayor.
Councilmen Ed Zipprich and Michael Ballard at last year’s September 11 memorial ceremony. (Photos by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
In the rare Democratic primary race shaping up in Red Bank for June 7, all candidates from two opposing factions will share the coveted “party line,” redbankgreen has learned.
Monmouth County Democratic Chairman David G. Brown II has rejected a demand by borough party Chairman Ed Zipprich that only incumbents from the 18-member committee that runs the party be given the preferred ballot position.
Angela Mirandi, in black mask, as she was sworn to office by Congressman Frank Pallone outside borough hall February 11. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
A Monmouth County court denied a request Monday that Angela Mirandi be temporarily removed from her seat as an appointed member of the Red Bank council.
Superior Court Judge David F. Bauman instead ruled that Mirandi can continue in the post at least until April 8.
Attorney Dan O’Hern with Councilwoman Kathy Horgan at the Mayor’s Ball in 2015. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Reduced by conflicts of interest to half-power, the Red Bank council hired attorney Dan O’Hern Jr. to defend the borough against a lawsuit Friday afternoon.
The selection was formalized at a special council session called in advance of a Monday morning hearing at which a Superior Court judge could oust one council member at the behest of another.
A view of a closed-door Red Bank council executive session in 2019. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
With one Red Bank council member suing two others and the municipal government itself, who gets to be the “borough” in attorney-client discussions?
It’s complicated.
Angela Mirandi at her February 11 swearing-in ceremony. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
A Monmouth County judge postponed a decision Wednesday on whether Angela Mirandi can retain her seat as an appointed member of the Red Bank council.
Voters may get to decide in November on a new form of government. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
As the Red Bank Charter Study Commission heads into a public hearing on the first phase of its work Tuesday night, this much is clear: partisan elections are in the crosshairs.
Mark Taylor, center, grilled two sitting councilmen, including Michael Ballard, bottom right. (Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Aggressive questioning of two current council members by a former councilman marked a special session of the Red Bank Charter Study Commission Thursday night.
Appearing as the final witnesses for phase one of the commission’s review, both Ed Zipprich and Michael Ballard defended the borough form of government in place since 1908, and recent changes to shift power away from the town’s unelected administrator.
Angela Mirandi at her February 11 swearing-in ceremony, with Mayor Pasquale Menna, center, and Councilman Ed Zipprich at right. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Red Bank’s establishment Democrats have “admitted” in a court filing that last month’s appointment of Angela Mirandi to the borough council was tainted, challengers contended Tuesday.
Two party dissidents said in their own court filing that the purported admission bolsters their argument that Mirandi should be swiftly removed from the governing body.
Councilwoman Angela Mirandi at her February 11 swearing-in ceremony. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Red Bank’s establishment Democrats contend that their own failure to meet a deadline means the appointment of Angela Mirandi to the council should stand.
The unexpected argument was made in a letter filed in Superior Court Monday in a response to a lawsuit filed last week by Councilwoman Kathy Horgan and Charter Study Commission member Kate Okeson.
Councilman and Democratic party Chairman Ed Zipprich attaches a borough pin to Angela Mirandi’s lapel after her February 11 swearing-in. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
The civil war among Red Bank Democrats shifted to the courts Wednesday, as two local party committee members announced they sued to have newly-sworn council member Angela Mirandi removed from office.
The Superior Court lawsuit against party Chairman Ed Zipprich and others alleges he illegally froze out committee members Kathy Horgan and Kate Okeson in filling a council vacancy earlier this month.
News of the lawsuit broke just hours before Mirandi was expected to attend her first council session as a member.
Ziad Shehady at borough hall in February, 2020. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
See CORRECTION below
By JOHN T. WARD
Eight months after he ended a stormy stint as Red Bank’s top unelected official, Ziad Shehady is scheduled to offer his perspective on how well the town’s government works Wednesday night.
Joe Hartnett, right, with Ken DeRoberts at a Red Bank council meeting in 2018. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Whatever new form of government it might adopt, Red Bank needs a strong chief executive officer, a consultant who co-authored a critical review of borough operations said last week.