RED BANK: HISTORIC REFERENDUM ON BALLOT

Nov 4, 2022

Red Bank would still be known as the “Borough of Red Bank,” even if the form of government is changed by referendum, Charter Study commissioners say. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

While Red Bank’s 114-year run under a “borough” form of government is widely thought to be nearing an end, that’s still a matter for voters to decide in the November 8 election.

And even though no widespread opposition to the ballot referendum on the change has materialized, there has been some pushback. In addition, voters continue to seek clarity about the stakes, said Charter Study Commission Chairwoman Nancy Facey-Blackwood.

November 4, 2022 - 4:15 pm |

RED BANK: BBQ KICKS OFF REFERENDUM PUSH

Sep 6, 2022

Democratic mayoral candidate Billy Portman flipped burgers at the event. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

The outcome of the public question on the ballot in Red Bank’s November election – whether to change the forms of both government and elections – appears an easy call.

Voters last year overwhelmingly approved the creation of a Charter Study Commission, which in turn unanimously moved the referendum to the ballot in July. And so far, no organized opposition has emerged.

Still, looking over their shoulders, referendum advocates held a Labor Day campaign launch event with the aim of drumming up support at the polls.

September 6, 2022 - 6:00 am |

RED BANK: REFERENDUM ON CHANGE SET

Jul 20, 2022

Chairwoman Nancy Facey-Blackwood at the Charter Study Commission’s final meeting. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

Red Bank residents will decide whether to give the town’s governmental structure an historic overhaul following action by the Charter Study Commission Tuesday night.

Adopting its final report en route to dissolving itself, the commission made one last tweak to the November referendum, calling for run-off elections in cases where no candidate wins a majority of votes.

July 20, 2022 - 10:50 am |

RED BANK: CHARTER REFERENDUM ADVANCES

Jul 11, 2022

A view of Wednesday’s Charter Study Commission meeting. (Photo from Zoom. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

Red Bank residents would vote on whether a “council-manager” form of municipal government should be implemented under an agreement by the Charter Study Commission last week.

If approved by voters in a referendum expected in November, the change would would replace the management structure in place since the borough’s creation in 1908.

July 11, 2022 - 6:00 am |

RED BANK: NONPARTISAN ELECTIONS ADVANCE

Jun 16, 2022

Ben Forest outside Sickles Market last September. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

Lamenting the “unpleasantness” of Red Bank politics in recent years, Charter Study Commission member Ben Forest made a tearful plea for nonpartisan elections Wednesday.

The commission’s other four members informally agreed. They also began sorting through alternatives to the borough form of government in use since the town was carved out of then-sprawling Shrewsbury Township in 1908.

June 16, 2022 - 7:50 am |

RED BANK: BALLARD TOUTS ‘TEAM’ GOALS

Jun 6, 2022

Michael Ballard at Sickles Market in Red Bank in May. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

Unlike his opponent in the June 7 Red Bank Democratic primary, Michael Ballard says he’s in it for the long haul.

“I am running to be the mayor of Red Bank for the next four years,” Ballard told redbankgreen last month. And with his “team,” he vows to return the governing body “to a pre-2018 council that was not at each others throats.”

June 6, 2022 - 7:55 am |

RED BANK: ELECTED OFFICIALS QUIZZED

May 18, 2022

Marlboro Mayor John Hornick, in highlighted pane, was among the five municipal officials from two counties interviewed about forms of government by the Red Bank Charter Study Commission Tuesday night.

May 18, 2022 - 7:45 am |

RED BANK: MIRANDI CHALLENGE DROPPED

May 6, 2022

Councilman Ed Zipprich attaches a borough pin to the jacket of Angela Mirandi after her swearing-in ceremony February 11. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

A legal challenge to Angela Mirandi‘s appointment to the Red Bank council earlier this year has been dropped, redbankgreen has learned.

But while the lawsuit filed by Councilwoman Kathy Horgan and Democratic party secretary Kate Okeson failed to dislodge Mirandi, it shone a harsh light into the workings of the local party under Councilman Ed Zipprich, whose leadership faces an historic challenge next month.

May 6, 2022 - 2:00 pm |

RED BANK: TURNOUT LIGHT FOR FORUM

May 5, 2022

A screengrab of Wednesday’s meeting, held via Zoom. (Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

An online public forum held Wednesday night by Red Bank’s Charter Study Commission was brief, as only two residents chimed in.

But more have weighed in by email, according several commission members. And one consistent theme is that residents don’t want an appointed mayor, they said.

May 5, 2022 - 7:50 am |

RED BANK: COMMISSION TO HOLD FORUM

Apr 28, 2022

Red Bank residents will have an opportunity next week to weigh in on the effectiveness of the borough form of government in place locally since 1908.

April 28, 2022 - 6:00 pm |

RED BANK: ZIPPRICH DEMANDS TOWN’S COSTS

Apr 13, 2022

Ed Zipprich, center, with council colleagues Kathy Horgan and Erik Yngstrom in 2017. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

Red Bank councilman and Democratic party chairman Ed Zipprich issued a “demand” Tuesday that two party members who sued for the removal of Angela Mirandi from the council reimburse the borough for its legal expenses.

April 13, 2022 - 3:30 pm |

RED BANK: MIRANDI RETAINS COUNCIL SEAT

Apr 12, 2022

Angela Mirandi at her swearing-in ceremony February 11. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

Angela Mirandi retained her seat on the Red Bank council after a judge rejected a motion calling for her temporary removal Tuesday.

April 12, 2022 - 6:00 pm |

RED BANK: MIRANDI DECISION AWAITED

Apr 8, 2022

Attorney Dan O’Hern, seen at right with Mayor Pasquale Menna in 2014, represents the borough in the lawsuit. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

A Superior Court judge deferred an immediate decision Friday morning on whether to temporarily remove Angela Mirandi from the Red Bank council, as demanded by a pending lawsuit.

April 8, 2022 - 11:40 am |

RED BANK: GOVERNMENT FORMS REVIEWED

Apr 7, 2022

By JOHN T. WARD

Wednesday night’s meeting of the Red Bank Charter Study Commission focussed on forms of government available should the commission recommend a change from the “borough” structure in place since 1908.

April 7, 2022 - 7:35 am |

RED BANK: HORGAN BAILS; NEWCOMER RUNS

Apr 5, 2022

Councilwoman Kathy Horgan greets Mayor Pasquale Menna at the Mayor’s Ball in 2016. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

Yet another Red Bank Democratic official is heading for the exit while decrying “divisiveness” stoked by party leadership.

Councilwoman Kathy Horgan told redbankgreen Tuesday that, “with a heavy heart,” she’s not seeking a sixth three-year term.

Meanwhile, a political newcomer has stepped forward hoping to succeed Pasquale Menna as mayor.

April 5, 2022 - 5:00 pm |

RED BANK: MIRANDI KEEPS SEAT, FOR NOW

Mar 21, 2022

Angela Mirandi, in black mask, as she was sworn to office by Congressman Frank Pallone outside borough hall February 11. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

A Monmouth County court denied a request Monday that Angela Mirandi be temporarily removed from her seat as an appointed member of the Red Bank council.

Superior Court Judge David F. Bauman instead ruled that Mirandi can continue in the post at least until April 8.

March 21, 2022 - 10:50 am |

RED BANK: COUNCIL PICKS O’HERN

Mar 18, 2022

Attorney Dan O’Hern with Councilwoman Kathy Horgan at the Mayor’s Ball in 2015. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

Reduced by conflicts of interest to half-power, the Red Bank council hired attorney Dan O’Hern Jr. to defend the borough against a lawsuit Friday afternoon.

The selection was formalized at a special council session called in advance of a Monday morning hearing at which a Superior Court judge could oust one council member at the behest of another.

March 18, 2022 - 5:00 pm |

RED BANK: WHO’S THE ‘BOROUGH’ IN LAWSUIT?

Mar 17, 2022

A view of a closed-door Red Bank council executive session in 2019. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

With one Red Bank council member suing two others and the municipal government itself, who gets to be the “borough” in attorney-client discussions?

It’s complicated.

March 17, 2022 - 4:35 pm |

RED BANK: MIRANDI DECISION POSTPONED

Mar 16, 2022

Angela Mirandi at her February 11 swearing-in ceremony. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

A Monmouth County judge postponed a decision Wednesday on whether Angela Mirandi can retain her seat as an appointed member of the Red Bank council.

March 16, 2022 - 11:11 am |

RED BANK: SIX WEIGH IN ON CHARTER REVIEW

Mar 16, 2022

By JOHN T. WARD

A half-dozen residents weighed in Tuesday night on Red Bank’s form of government and how people get elected to it.

Among the commenters at a Zoom session of the Charter Study Commission were several who like the idea that council members can make things happen at the department level.

March 16, 2022 - 7:53 am |

RED BANK: ‘NONPARTISAN’ IN THE SPOTLIGHT

Mar 15, 2022

Voters may get to decide in November on a new form of government. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

As the Red Bank Charter Study Commission heads into a public hearing on the first phase of its work Tuesday night, this much is clear: partisan elections are in the crosshairs.

March 15, 2022 - 7:58 am |

RED BANK: TAYLOR GRILLS ZIPPRICH, BALLARD

Mar 11, 2022

Mark Taylor, center, grilled two sitting councilmen, including Michael Ballard, bottom right. (Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

Aggressive questioning of two current council members by a former councilman marked a special session of the Red Bank Charter Study Commission Thursday night.

Appearing as the final witnesses for phase one of the commission’s review, both Ed Zipprich and Michael Ballard defended the borough form of government in place since 1908, and recent changes to shift power away from the town’s unelected administrator.

March 11, 2022 - 7:58 am |

RED BANK: ZIPPRICH, BALLARD ON AGENDA

Mar 9, 2022

Councilmen Michael Ballard, left, and Ed Zipprich at borough hall last month. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

On deck to testify at a special session of the Red Bank Charter Study Commission Thursday is Democratic party chairman and Councilman Ed Zipprich.

Also slated to sit for an interview is Councilman Michael Ballard, a Zipprich ally on the fiercely divided but all-Democratic governing body.

March 9, 2022 - 7:15 am |

RED BANK: DEMS AIR PARTY’S DIRTY LAUNDRY

Mar 3, 2022

Mayor Pasquale Menna, top left, and Councilwoman Kate Triggiano, center bottom, participated in commission interviews via Zoom Wednesday. (Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

Mayor Pasquale Menna on Wednesday joined a growing parade of current and former Red Bank officials who have identified “interference” by council members as one of the borough government’s foremost problems.

In stunning testimony before the Charter Study Commission, Menna also was one of three Democrats who laid blame for local government “dysfunction” squarely on their own party.

March 3, 2022 - 4:15 pm |

RED BANK: SIDES CLASH OVER COUNCIL SEAT

Mar 2, 2022

Angela Mirandi at her February 11 swearing-in ceremony, with Mayor Pasquale Menna, center, and Councilman Ed Zipprich at right. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

Red Bank’s establishment Democrats have “admitted” in a court filing that last month’s appointment of Angela Mirandi to the borough council was tainted, challengers contended Tuesday.

Two party dissidents said in their own court filing that the purported admission bolsters their argument that Mirandi should be swiftly removed from the governing body.

March 2, 2022 - 4:15 pm |

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