RED BANK: PORTMAN SLATE’S WIN OFFICIAL

May 18, 2023

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.

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May 18, 2023 - 11:30 am |

RED BANK: BALLOT POSITIONS SET

Mar 16, 2023

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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March 16, 2023 - 7:30 am |

RED BANK: PETITIONS OK’D, BALLOTS UP NEXT

Mar 8, 2023

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 →

March 8, 2023 - 5:30 am |

RED BANK: CANDIDACIES APPEAR SET

Mar 6, 2023

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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March 6, 2023 - 4:40 pm |

RED BANK: COUNCIL DEMS, HOGAN FORM SLATE

Feb 22, 2023

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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February 22, 2023 - 8:00 am |

RED BANK: ZIPPRICH WON’T SEEK NEW TERM

Feb 21, 2023

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.

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February 21, 2023 - 7:20 am |

RED BANK: COUNCIL OKS EARLY, LIVE VOTING

Feb 14, 2023

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.

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February 14, 2023 - 7:46 am |

RED BANK: PIPES, RENTALS, VOTING ON DECK

Feb 7, 2023

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.

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February 7, 2023 - 2:00 pm |

RED BANK: PORTMAN-TRIGGIANO SLATE NAMED

Feb 6, 2023

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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February 6, 2023 - 10:00 am |

RED BANK: SPECIAL-ELECTION PLANS MULLED

Jan 13, 2023

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 →

January 13, 2023 - 7:55 am |

RED BANK: MENNA ERA ENDS

Dec 15, 2022

Mayor Pasquale Menna reading ridiculously low room rates from an old Molly Pitcher Inn matchbook. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

Mayor Pasquale Menna presided over his final Red Bank council meeting Wednesday night, closing out a political career unmatched for duration in borough history.

His successor will have to wait an extra four days to take up the reins of a form of government that’s also slated for retirement.

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December 15, 2022 - 7:45 am |

RED BANK: TWO NEWSLETTERS LAUNCHED

Sep 26, 2022

A screen grab from the first edition of the borough’s new newsletter. (Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

With the recent launch of newsletters, Red Bank residents have two additional ways to keep abreast of civic events and downtown goings-on.

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September 26, 2022 - 7:49 am |

RED BANK: BUDGET INTRO ON AGENDA

May 25, 2022

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.

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May 25, 2022 - 7:55 am |

RED BANK: CLERK BRINGS TINY-TOWN FOCUS

Apr 25, 2022

Laura Reinertsen in her office at Red Bank borough hall last week. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

Having begun her career in a town so small that she sometimes had to fill in as a bus driver, Red Bank’s new borough clerk, Laura Reinertsen knows what it means to wear multiple hats.

It’s an experience that informs her approach to her job, she told redbankgreen last week.

“I kind of veer out of my lane just to keep things moving,” she said.

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April 25, 2022 - 6:30 am |

RED BANK: SPARKS FLY YET AGAIN

Mar 24, 2022

A screen grab from Wednesday’s council meeting. (Photo from Zoom. Click to enlarge.)

See UPDATE below

By JOHN T. WARD

Red Bank’s mayor and the so-far only contender for his job squared off Wednesday night at yet another contentious borough council meeting.

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March 24, 2022 - 7:57 am |

RED BANK: HIRING DELAYED BY SALARY ISSUE

Mar 10, 2022

Mayor Pasquale Menna, left, and Councilman Michael Ballard, right, squared off over the proposed clerk’s salary. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

Red Bank’s council put off hiring a new borough clerk over salary issues Wednesday night.

During the governing body’s monthly workshop session, Councilman Michael Ballard, a contender to displace Pasquale Menna as mayor, accused Menna of playing “Monday night quarterback” for raising concerns late in the process.

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March 10, 2022 - 7:57 am |

RED BANK: NEW CLERK ON COUNCIL AGENDA

Mar 7, 2022

The council wants Monmouth County to improve pedestrian safety at Broad Street and Pinckney Road. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

Red Bank’s council is scheduled to appoint a new borough clerk this week.

Here are some highlights from the agendas as the council holds back-to-back workshop and regular meetings Wednesday night:

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March 7, 2022 - 7:35 am |