RED BANK: SUE VISCOMI Q&A

Nov 2, 2018

Running as the only independent in this year’s council race is Sue Viscomi. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

At stake in Red Bank’s November 6 election: the mayor’s post and two council seats.

At stake in Red Bank’s November 6 election: the mayor’s post and two council seats.

On the ballot are: incumbent Mayor Pasquale Menna, a Democrat, and Republican challenger Pearl Lee; and council candidates Michael Clancy (R), Allison Gregory (R), Kate Triggiano (D), Sue Viscomi (I) and Hazim Yassin (D).

Here are Viscomi’s written responses to questions posed to all candidates recently by redbankgreen.

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November 2, 2018 - 7:01 am |

RED BANK: VISCOMI Q&A

May 3, 2023

On the ballot May 9: Red Bank council candidate Suzanne Viscomi. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

Red Bank voters will have 13 candidates to choose from when they elect six council members May 9.

Here’s what candidate Suzanne Viscomi said in response to a questionnaire sent to all by redbankgreen.

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May 3, 2023 - 6:38 am |

RED BANK: COUNCIL CANDIDATE VISCOMI

Oct 21, 2021

On the ballot November 2: Red Bank council candidate Sue Viscomi. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

Red Bank voters will have three candidates to choose from when they elect two council members November 2.

Here’s what candidate Sue Viscomi had to say in response to a questionnaire sent to the three by redbankgreen.

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October 21, 2021 - 3:19 pm |

RED BANK: GOP BAILS AND VISCOMI JUMPS IN

Sep 13, 2021

Sue Viscomi has mounted a candidacy as an independent, making it a three-way race for two council seats. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

Red Bank voters will have three candidates to choose from for two council seats in November.

For the second year in a row, none of them will be Republicans.

And for the second time in three years, Sue Viscomi is running as an independent.

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September 13, 2021 - 6:00 pm |

RED BANK: VISCOMI REBUTS RACISM CHARGE

Mar 4, 2021

Sue Viscomi at a school board meeting in March, 2018. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

Three Red Bank council members were silent Wednesday in the face of accusations that one of them had smeared a resident by accusing her of using “racist” language last month.

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March 4, 2021 - 2:45 pm |

RED BANK: VISCOMI ADDS WILD CARD TO RACE

Mar 27, 2018

Viscomi serves on the board of ed, where she leads the finance committee, and is on a number of borough committees. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

The 2018 race for two Red Bank council seats looks like it will have a wild card.

Sue Viscomi, a board of education member and former Republican stalwart who has expressed increasing antipathy in recent years to the local arm of the party, has started gathering signatures for a run as an independent in the November election, she told redbankgreen on Monday.

Her entry would appear to add to the challenge for the two presumptive Republican candidates, already facing the prospect of an anti-Trump backlash in a majority Democrat town, and could eat into support for the two Democrats in the race, both newcomers to elective politics.

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March 27, 2018 - 7:00 am |

RED BANK: SECOND-METER ISSUE RETURNS

Jul 31, 2017

 Action has been delayed on water meters that would allow Red Bankers to avoid sewerage charges for watering lawns and washing cars, according to the borough administrator. (Photo by Trish Russoniello. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

Where are the water meters that would let Red Bank homeowners irrigate their lawns without incurring sewer charges?

The secondary meters were a hot topic leading up to the borough council’s approval 18 months ago of $3.7 million in bonds to install new primary meters in every home and business, and to cover other upgrades to the municipal water utility.

Since then, though, there’s been little said about the meters — until last week, when the issue sputtered back to life.

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July 31, 2017 - 9:30 am |

RED BANK: VISCOMI DOUBLE-BARRELS CLANCY

Apr 4, 2017

Sue Viscomi at a 2015 board of education meeting. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

[Correction: The date of a controversial text was incorrectly reported in the original version of this article. References to it below have been corrected.]

By JOHN T. WARD

A Red Bank Republican loyalist blasted party Chairman Michael Clancy Tuesday, one day after she was bypassed in favor of a political newcomer to run for borough council this year.

Sue Viscomi, who serves on the board of education, also took aim at Clancy for what she said was a “dumbfounding” and “disgusting” text she claims he sent to her and three GOP council members last month in February asking for a list of undocumented alien students so he could “mail it to ICE,” referring to the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency.

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April 4, 2017 - 3:59 pm |

RED BANK: ATTORNEY MAKES ISSUE OF CAMERA

Mar 23, 2017

Borough Attorney Greg Cannon at Wednesday’s council meeting. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

Former Red Bank Council President Cindy Burnham blasted borough Attorney Greg Cannon after he redirected a video camera she was using to record the governing body’s semimonthly meeting Wednesday night.

Mid-meeting, while others on the dais were speaking about unrelated matters, Cannon walked from his seat beside Mayor Pasquale Menna to the front row of the audience and re-aimed Burnham’s tripod-mounted camera before returning to his seat.

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March 23, 2017 - 7:30 am |

RED BANK: VISCOMI WON’T RUN AS INDY

May 24, 2013

By WIL FULTON

Suzanne Viscomi, who last week quit-without-quitting the Red Bank council race, confirmed Thursday that she won’t run as either a Republican or an independent.

Viscomi told redbankgreen by phone that she would officially be dropping out of the race as a Republican. That leaves ex-running mate Cindy Burnham alone on the GOP ticket against Democratic incumbents Kathy Horgan and Sharon Lee.

“There were reports I might run as an independent,” Viscomi said, “but I’m not going to run this year. I wanted to serve on the council as a member of the Republican party, but that didn’t work out. I still want to be a watchdog for the community, though.”

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May 24, 2013 - 6:49 am |

RED BANK: VISCOMI DISPUTES SHE QUIT RACE

May 20, 2013

Suzanne Viscomi during her 2012 council run. (Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

[UPDATE: See Cindy Burham comments below]

Red Bank borough council candidate Suzanne Viscomi had not in fact dropped out of the race last week, as reported by the Asbury Park Press, she says in a web posting that tees up her former running mate, Cindy Burnham, for running on a “a personal vendetta and to appease her ego.”

But whether Viscomi is still running, well, you’ll have to wait until Wednesday to find out, she tells redbankgreen.

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May 20, 2013 - 12:56 pm |

RED BANK: HOGAN ADDRESSES ‘CONFLICTS’

Mar 2, 2023

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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March 2, 2023 - 8:50 am |

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: CITIZEN APPOINTMENTS 2023

Jan 9, 2023

Anne Torre, above, and Ray Mass, below, were reappointed for four-year terms on the zoning board. (Photos by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

Red Bank, like nearly all American municipalities, relies on unpaid citizens to help power its local government.

At meetings often held twice a month, the volunteers weigh land-use applications; research ways to help the environment; help organize recreation programs for kids, and lots more.

At last Wednesday’s annual reorganization meeting, the following individuals were nominated by Mayor Billy Portman and/or confirmed by the council to one-year appointments, if not otherwise specified; click the links to see who else is involved.

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January 9, 2023 - 7:56 am |

RED BANK: ZIPPRICH BLOC SETS NEW BYLAWS

Jan 5, 2023

Councilmen John Jackson, Michael Ballard and Ed Zipprich at Wednesday’s reorganization session. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

Red Bank’s council majority adopted a new set of bylaws Wednesday night that would give it broad power to block resolutions from even making it to the dais.

In the process, allies of Councilman Ed Zipprich rejected a request by new Mayor Billy Portman that the measure – which no one from the public or media saw in advance – be tabled.

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January 5, 2023 - 10:15 am |

RED BANK: INDOOR CANNABIS FARM APPROVED

Dec 6, 2022

The facility would operate in three buildings now used for warehousing at 15 East Leonard Street. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

Red Bank moved closer to scoring a wholesale cannabis growing facility Monday night.

Before granting approval, however, planning board members had to overcome misgivings about an all-cash operation – and an electrified security fence meant to give intruders a “kick in the chest” without killing them.

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December 6, 2022 - 7:59 am |

RED BANK: SOME VOTERS HAD OTHER IDEAS

Nov 30, 2022

 Five voters wanted former Republican Mayor Mike Arnone, seen here in 2015, back in office. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

Billy Portman may have been the only candidate on the ballot to succeed Pasquale Menna as Red Bank mayor in this month’s election, but 94 voters had other ideas, according to data released by the Monmouth County Clerk Tuesday.

Among the non-candidates receiving write-in votes were two former mayors, a rock guitarist and a recent Red Bank Regional High School graduate.

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November 30, 2022 - 7:50 am |

RED BANK: ‘CIVILITY’ ON VOTERS’ MINDS

Oct 20, 2022

The event was held in a room at Triumph Brewing Company restaurant. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

Civility was top-of-mind for some of the 65 or so Red Bank voters who packed a room for the first of two candidates’ nights held Wednesday.

Following a late change of heart by two candidates, all four contenders for council seats, as well as the lone candidate for mayor in the November 8 election, were present.

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October 20, 2022 - 7:59 am |

RED BANK: SCHOOL COPS ON HOLD

Jul 28, 2022

Councilman Michael Ballard, seen here at a June 29 forum, cited . (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

The Red Bank council tabled a plan to put armed police in the borough’s primary and middle schools Wednesday night.

The council’s second session of the month ended with quarreling among members over a requested change to the meeting schedule.

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July 28, 2022 - 7:55 am |

RED BANK: STURDIVANT TO RUN FOR MAYOR

Jun 9, 2022

Councilwoman Jacqueline Sturdivant attending her first in-person meeting of the governing body May 25, seated beside interim Business Administrator Darren McConnell. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

Hours before Billy Portman pulled off the biggest political upset in memory in the Red Bank Democratic primary Tuesday, another candidate slipped into the race for mayor.

Though elected to the council last November as a Democrat, and an avowed member of defeated mayoral candidate Michael Ballard‘s Democratic “team,” Councilwoman Jacqueline Sturdivant filed to run in the general election as an independent, she confirmed Wednesday.

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June 9, 2022 - 7:58 am |

RED BANK: DISTRICT TAX UP TWO PERCENT

Apr 27, 2022

The budget includes funding for a counselor to help stressed students, Rumage said. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

Federal and state grants to offset pandemic-related expenses helped keep the Red Bank school district tax increase at two percent for the second year in a row, Superintendent Jared Rumage said Tuesday night.

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April 27, 2022 - 7:35 am |

RED BANK: CENTER FIXES OK’D, RE-ARGUED

Feb 24, 2022

Angela Mirandi, in second pane from left in the top row, attended her first session as a council member. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

See CORRECTION below

By JOHN T. WARD

Three years after a fire suppression system leak forced a shutdown of Red Bank’s Senior Center, the borough council approved nearly $2 million in financing for repairs Wednesday.

As in the past, members clashed over the reasons for the time elapsed and cost. Added to the acrimony was a new element: blame for failure to identify money recently found sitting idle in old accounts and now earmarked for repairs.

Unmentioned during the virtual meeting was a lawsuit, announced hours earlier, that seeks to remove Angela Mirandi, who attended for the first time as a council member.

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February 24, 2022 - 2:45 pm |

RED BANK: COUNCIL WRAP

Jan 27, 2022

Council Councilwoman Kate Triggiano, center top row, chaired the meeting for the first time since her January 1 election as council president. (Photo from Zoom. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

Red Bank’s council debated several issues with less friction Wednesday night than often seen over the past two years.

 

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January 27, 2022 - 4:30 pm |

RED BANK: SCHOOLS MUSTER FOR RESTART

Jan 5, 2022

Domenic Kalorin, left, was elected board president, succeeding Fred Stone, right. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

With “a huge chunk” of their staff out on pandemic-related absences, Red Bank’s public schools mustered once again to provide instruction Tuesday, Superintendent Jared Rumage said that night.

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January 5, 2022 - 7:40 am |