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.

Chestnut Street resident Phil Blackwood discussed environmental issues with Portman last week. (Photos by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

Got a gripe, a question, a suggestion? Just want to meet the new guy? Office hours are 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Mondays in Portman’s fourth-floor office at borough hall, 90 Monmouth Street.

Walk-ins are welcome, Portman said. Appointments can be schedule by calling the borough clerk’s office at 732-530-2777.

Portman’s predecessor in office, four-term mayor Pasquale Menna, initiated a similar open-door schedule early in 2020. But Menna held only one session before the COVID-19 pandemic put the concept on hold, and the meetings never resumed.

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