RED BANK: BALLARD AND PORTMAN TO FACE OFF
The two contenders for mayor in Red Bank’s June 7 Democratic primary have agreed to a virtual debate.
RED BANK: POLICE-COMMUNITY FORUM SLATED
A Red Bank police officer speaking with a motorist during a stop on Leighton Avenue in 2015. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
[See UPDATE below]
By JOHN T. WARD
With cities across America erupting in violence in recent days over police abuses, Red Bank’s police department plans to hold an online forum on community relations Thursday.
RED BANK: CLINTON COATTAILS HELPED DEMS
Hillary Clinton won every district in Red Bank but the fifth, lifting the party’s entire ticket. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
She lost at the national level, but Hillary Clinton won Red Bank, and her coattails helped Democrats pull even with Republicans on the borough council Tuesday night, election returns tallied by the Monmouth County Clerk show.
Clinton captured all but one of the but one of Red Bank’s nine voting districts — the fifth — topping president-elect Donald Trump townwide, 2,633 to 1,510. (The figures don’t include mail-in ballots, said borough clerk Pam Borghi.)
RED BANK: DEMS WIN, GAIN COUNCIL PARITY
Erik Yngstrom at Democratic headquarters as the party’s local victory became clear. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
Knocked from their perch a year ago, Red Bank Democrats gained parity with Republicans on the borough council Tuesday night, as incumbent Kathy Horgan and newcomer Erik Yngstrom routed three other candidates, according to preliminary results.
The clearest loser in the race was incumbent Cindy Burnham, who ran a distant fifth three years after she broke a seven-year Democratic lock on the governing body.
RED BANK: CANDIDATES AGREE, MINUS TWO
Incumbents Kathy Horgan, a Democrat, and Cindy Burnham, running as an independent, at Wednesday night’s event at the Pilgrim Baptist Church. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
The Republican candidates for Red Bank council sent emissaries who watched from the sidelines at a community event Wednesday night.
First-time GOP candidates Brian Hanlon and Kellie O’Bosky Colwell disputed the circumstances under which the event, billed as a “community conversation,” came together, leaving them unable to attend, they told redbankgreen. Their expected absence had been termed an “insult” by one of the event’s organizers.
But the event itself turned out not to be as partisan as GOP chairman Mike Clancy had feared, he said afterward.
RED BANK: PORTER TEES UP GOP FOR ‘INSULT’
Reverend Terrence Porter said Wednesday’s event is intended as a nonpartisan opportunity for voters to see the candidates as individuals. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
The pastor of Red Bank’s Pilgrim Baptist Church lashed out Monday at borough Republicans, who he said had “insulted” African-American voters in avoiding a candidates’ event planned for Wednesday night at the church.
Reverend Terrence Porter teed up both the current and former GOP chairmen Sean DiSomma for what Porter said was groundless politicizing of an event that was envisioned as nonpartisan from the get-go.
“I’ve never been so disappointed in my experience in Red Bank,” Porter told redbankgreen. More →
RED BANK: CANDIDATES’ FORUM SET
From left at top: Democrats Michael Ballard and Michael DuPont square off against Republicans Mark Taylor and Michael Whelan at the annual Candidates’ Night on October 1. (Photos by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
With the balance of power at stake, election season for two open seats on the Red Bank council kicks into high gear on October 1.
That’s when the West Side Community Group is scheduled to host its 19th annual Candidates’ Night.
RED BANK: POLICE TO HOLD CRIME FORUM
Police Chief Darren McConnell and Mayor Pasquale Menna at a community meeting on the recent shootings last month. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
Responding to requests for increased community engagement, in the aftermath of recent shootings on the West Side, the Red Bank police department has scheduled an open forum for next week.
Here’s the announcement, sent out by borough hall Monday: