Mike Whelan, left, and Mark Taylor kicking off their campaign in 2015. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
Red Bank’s two remaining Republican council members won’t run for re-election this year, they said late Thursday night.
The bombshell news from first-termers Mark Taylor and Mike Whelan would appear to end a chapter of brief resurgence for the local GOP after having been frozen out of power for a generation.
Incumbents Kathy Horgan and Cindy Burnham, above, and newcomer Erik Yngstrom, below, will vie for two open council seats in November. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
Less than three months into a new Republican era and eight months before the next election, Red Bank’s Democrats have chosen their candidates for council.
Incumbent Kathy Horgan and newcomer Erik Yngstrom, a member of the zoning board, have been nominated to run in the Democratic primary election to be held June 7, party chairman and Councilman Ed Zipprich announced Friday night.
Separately, Republican Councilwoman Cindy Burnham, who broke the Democrats’ seven-year lock on the council with her victory in 2013, told redbankgreen that she will seek re-election.
Councilman Mike DuPont at his final council meeting Wednesday night. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
A 25-year run of Democratic rule in Red Bank entered its final phase at a low-key borough council meeting Wednesday night.
Councilman Mike DuPont delivered his swan song after three terms, having been defeated by a Republican, Mike Whelan, who wasn’t yet born when the Democrats attained their current majority in 1990.
Mike Whelan, flanked by Councilman-elect Mark Taylor and GOP Chairman Sean DiSomma, celebrates at the county Board of Elections office Friday morning. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
[See update on DuPont concession below.]
Republican political newcomer Mike Whelan claimed victory, again, after a recount of votes in this month’s Red Bank council election Friday.
The new tally, ordered last week by a Superior Court judge at the request of incumbent Democratic Councilman Mike DuPont, showed that Whelan beat DuPont by three votes — one more than his apparent margin of victory going into the recount.
“I’m happy this process has worked out,” Whelan told redbankgreen, minutes after Monmouth County Clerk Christine Giordano Hanlon declared him the winner. “Now, it’s time to get to work.”
By JOHN T. WARD
Citing the thin vote margin, a Superior Court granted a request for a recount in the Red Bank council election Friday.
The action by Judge Katie Gummer, in Freehold, means that incumbent Democratic Councilman Mike DuPont still has at least one more shot at reversing his apparent two-vote loss in last week’s election.
Councilman Mike DuPont, with his wife, Doreen, beside him, addresses Democratic supporters on election night. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
Red Bank Republicans blasted incumbent Councilman Mike DuPont as a “sore loser” Thursday for seeking a recount of his apparent two-vote loss in last week’s election.
DuPont is scheduled to appear before a judge in Superior Court in Freehold Friday on his petition for a recount, which Republicans say would constitute an “unprecedented” fourth counting of votes from the November 3 squeaker.
An apprehensive Mike Whelan watches as election results are posted on election night. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
Red Bank Republicans did in fact oust Democrats for control of the borough council last week, GOP Chairman Sean Di Somma said following a count of provisional ballots in Freehold Monday morning.
But three-term incumbent Councilman Mike DuPont told redbankgreen that the Democrats will file for a recount.
Republicans Mark Taylor, left, Councilwoman Linda Schwabenbauer and Mike Whelan surround party chairman Sean Di Somma in celebration at the Chowda House Tuesday night. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
Red Bank Republican Chairman Sean Di Somma says he’s confident his party’s long-sought takeover of the borough council will stand up to a recount and the sorting-through of provisional ballots.
The still-uncertified vote tallies from Tueday’s election show the GOP won both open council seats to claim their first majority on the governing body in a generation Tuesday.
But with about two dozen provisional ballots yet to be counted, just four votes separate Republican Mike Whelan and three-term incumbent Democrat Mike DuPont, according the Monmouth County Clerk’s website.
Republican Mark Taylor speaks to followers at the Chowda House as running mate Mike Whelan looks on Tuesday night. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
Red Bank Republicans won both open seats to claim their first borough council majority in a a generation Tuesday.
Political newcomers Mark Taylor and Mike Whelan — who wasn’t yet born when his party last controlled the governing body — outpolled three-term incumbent Democrat Mike DuPont and his running mate, Mike Ballard, to give the GOP a 4-2 majority.
Here’s redbankgreen’s town-by-town rundown of what offices are at stake and who’s running in Tuesday’s elections.
We’ve also got some information down near the bottom on what you need to bring to a polling station in order to vote; how to operate the voting machines; and what do do when things go awry.
From left at top: Democrats Mike Ballard and Mike DuPont face Republicans Mark Taylor and Mike Whelan in the November 3 election. (Photos by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
Below are the results of redbankgreen’s first, totally unscientific, finger-in-the-wind attempt at election polling: a survey intended for Red Bank voters about the borough council race.
On the November 3 ballot are Mike Ballard and Mike DuPont, Democrats, and Mark Taylor and Mike Whelan, Republicans. (The links take you to their answers to a Q&A earlier this month.)
The Monmouth County clerk has posted ballots for the November 3 elections.
For the benefit of Red Bank-area voters who swear every year to study the ballot before entering the voting booth but never quite get around to it, here’s redbankgreen’s town-by-town rundown of what offices are at stake and who’s running.
Click the town name to see its sample ballot.
From left at top: Democrats Mike Ballard and Mike DuPont face Republicans Mark Taylor and Mike Whelan in the November 3 election. (Photos by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
Here’s redbankgreen’s first, totally unscientific, finger-in-the-wind attempt at election polling: a survey intended for Red Bank voters about the borough council race.
Running are Mike Ballard and Mike DuPont, Democrats, and Mark Taylor and Mike Whelan, Republicans. (The links take you to their answers to a Q&A earlier this month.)
Scroll down to participate.
Somebody flushed a mop head down a toilet.
That feat of hydraulic waste removal and others, including the flushing of a towel, led to a three-day crash of a Red Bank sanitary sewer pump earlier this week that will cost taxpayers at least $30,000, officials said Wednesday night.