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.
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.
Diane Gooch has abandoned her quest for a recount in her GOP primary race against Highlands Mayor Anna Little, the Gooch campaign said in an announcement this afternoon.
The Rumson millionaire and vice chair of the Monmouth County Republican Party says she supports Little, with whom she shares the goals of smaller government and lower taxes.
Highlands Mayor Anna Little has won the GOP primary for the 6th-district run against incumbent Congressman Frank Pallone, Monmouth County officials say, according to the Asbury Park Press.
But millionaire publisher Diane Gooch of Rumson is clinging to hope and won’t concede to Little without a recount of all 13,000-plus votes in the district, a Gooch lawyer tells the newspaper.
Newspaper publisher Diane Gooch is asking for a recount after an apparent loss in the Republican primary for the 6th district to Highlands Mayor Anna Little. according to various reports.
Little, with Tea Party backing an only a fraction of millionaire Gooch’s campaign treasury declared victory Wednesday after a vote tally from Tuesday’s balloting showed her leading Gooch by 105 votes, the Asbury Park Press reported.
Later in the day, the Star-Ledger said 79 votes separated the two candidates, and that Gooch would seek a recount.