The Republican candidates for Borough Council in Red Bank today unveiled a plan of actions they pledge to take during their first six months in office and promised not to seek reelection if they failed to deliver on their promises.
Brian Hanlon and Kelli O’Bosky Colwell are both running for public office for the first time. If they win, the Red Bank GOP will have a 5-1 super majority on the council and little justification not to deliver on its promises. Hanlon and O’Bosky are seeking to unseat incumbents Kathy Horgan, a Democrat and Cindy Burnham, a Republican turned Independent after she was denied renomination by the GOP. Democrat newcomer Erik Yngstrom is also competing for one of the two seats on the Council that voters will choose on November 8.
Red Bank Councilman Mark Taylor was sworn into office by Sen Jennifer Beck in January
Red Bank Councilman Mark Taylor today called for the resignation of Erik Yngstrom, a candidate for Borough Council, from the community’s Zoning Board of Adjustment.
Yngstrom spoke against the Mayor and Council’s action regarding a proposed development previously rejected by the Zoning Board at a council meeting on Wednesday night, according to a report on RedBankGreen. Yngstrom said the council’s introduction of an ordinance authorizing the redevelopment of 55 West Front Street, “feels a little fishy to me,” according to RBG. Taylor said that Yngstrom also said, “someone must know someone” and “What good is the zoning board, if you can just go to the Council to override our decision?”
Democrat Chairman Vin Gopal blames MMM publisher Art Gallagher for his primary fight
By Art Gallagher
Monmouth Dem Freeholder candidates Brenda Sue Fulton and Matt Doherty face a primary challenge from Bernie Sanders supporters Angelica Ashford and Laury Wills
The two Democrat nominees for Monmouth County Freeholder will be decided by voters in the Democrat Primary on June 4 as two candidates affiliated with the Bernie Sanders for President campaign filed to run for the nominations on Monday in Freehold.
Angelica Ashford of Manalapan and Laury Wills of Little Silver will be running against Belmar Mayor Matt Doherty and Brenda Sue Fulton in the Democrat primary. Doherty and Fulton are the choice of Monmouth Democrat Chairman Vin Gopal and will be bracketed on the primary ballot with the Hillary Clinton for President campaign.
Bruce Padula, Esq, attorney for the Red Bank Republicans, Joseph Libutti, Monmouth Dem Exec Director, Rajvir S. Goomer, Esq, attorney for Michael DuPont and Bertha Sumick, Special Deputy Clerk of Elections prepare for the recount of Red Bank ballots.
FREEHOLD-Republican Councilman-elect Michael Whelan increased his lead over incumbent Democratic Councilman Michael DuPont after the ballots were recounted this morning by the Monmouth County Board of Elections. Whelan now leads DuPont by 3 votes, a net pick up of one vote from the unofficial count on November 9 when the provisional ballots were counted by the Board.
All four candidates for the two Red Bank Council seats picked up votes as a result of the hand counting of Vote-By-Mail and Provisional Ballots, which prior to today have been tabulated electronically by a scanner. The results, which are expected to be certified my Monmouth County Clerk Christine Giordano Hanlon today are: Michael Ballard- 937, Michael Dupont 968, Mark Taylor 1038, Michael Whelan,971. Republicans Taylor and Whelan have thus far maintained their victory and are on track to join Republican Councilwomen Cindy Burnham and Linda Schwabenbauer in partisan control of Red Bank’s local government for the first time in two decades.
Democratic Councilman Michael DuPont Remains Confident He Will Be Reelected
Vin Gopal: “GOP Will Take Control of Red Bank”
Monmouth County Democratic Chairman Vin Gopal told The Two River Times that the Republican Party will win control of the Red Bank municipal government in this November’s election.
Gopal, who launched a campaign of personal destruction against Red Bank GOP Chairman Sean DiSomma in 2013 when he issued a false press release asserting that DiSomma, then a candidate for council, had a warrant for his arrest in Texas over an unpaid traffic violation, whines incessantly to TRT reporter John Burton over the video that led to the resignation of Art Murphy from the borough council. Murphy, the Council President at the time of his resignation last week, also resigned his candidacy for reelection.
Gopal apparently has more of a problem with the fact that Murphy was caught vulgarly belittling his constituents than with the former Council President’s actions. Regardless of whether or not the Republicans released the video, which they deny, they did not fabricate charges, as Gopal did in 2013 against DiSomma.
When Red Bank Councilwoman-elect Linda Schwabenbauer, a Republican, takes the oath of office in January, the Red Bank Democrats may no longer have enough votes on the council to borrow money at will.
Councilwoman Cindy Burnham, now the lone Republican on the six member council, told RedBankGreen that the Democrats are rushing to pass a $2.2 million bond ordinance that has not been vetted before Schwabenbauer takes office. The funds are to be used to replace water meters for the borough’s 4000 homes and buildings.
Barring an Independent candidate entering the fray in June, Red Bank Mayor Pasquale “Pat” Menna will be reelected to a third term leading the borough in November unopposed. The Red Bank Republicans have not nominated a candidate to oppose Menna.
But that doesn’t mean the Red Bank GOP has given up on the strides they made last fall when Cindy Burham broke the Democratic grip on the governing body of 6 council members and the mayor and Sean DiSomma came within 1o2 votes of winning a second seat for the GOP.
DiSomma was subject to a malicious smear campaign, over a traffic ticket, by Monmouth Democratic Chairman Vin Gopal in the final week of the 2013 campaign.
DiSomma is running again this year. He is joined on the ticket by Brian Hanlon, a former member of the borough’s park and recreation commission.
The years are supposed to go by faster as we get older. 2013 missed the memo, at least for me. President Obama’s second Inauguration and Freeholder John Curley’s second swearing in seem like a long time ago.
Selikia Joshia Gore started us off in 2013 with a timeless call to renew our humanity; the ongoing struggle of saints and sinners to love one another regardless of standing, status or creed. It is a winning message that works only by embracing our failures without resigning to them.
The Governor. Governor Chris Christie started the year lambasting House Speaker John Boehner and the Congressional Republicans for playing politics with Superstorm Sandy aid and ended the year as the front runner for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016. In between he built a bi-partisan and multi-cultural coalition that reelected him with over 60% of the vote in Blue Jersey. Christie had the best year of any politician in America. Only Pope Francis and Vladimir Putin had better years globally.
U.S. Senator Bob Menendez. Menendez started the year on the losers list. Embroiled in a sandal of allegations of his cavorting with teenaged girls in the Dominican Republic and using the powers of his office to benefit the businesses of the donor who arranged the party, speculation was that he would resign as Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, if not his Senate seat. Menendez seems to have survived an FBI investigation into his relationship with Dr. Saloman Melgan unscathed.
At the end of the year, Menendez’s position seems secure. He is the leading, and most powerful, critic of President Obama’s foreign policy. His approval ratings are net positive 22 points in the last Monmouth University Poll. He got engaged to be married earlier this month.
Given where he started, Menendez may have had the best 2013 of any New Jersey public figure, other than Christie.
The Gramiccionis. The Wall Township power couple had a very good year. In March, Christopher, the Acting Monmouth County Prosecutor and U.S. Naval Reserve Officer, received orders to report for a 9 month tour of active duty in Afghanistan effective in August. Those orders were canceled in July, keeping Chris on the job fighting crime in Monmouth County and home for the holidays. Deborah was appointed by Governor Christie to be the Deputy Executive Director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. The job pays $289,657.
Monmouth County Republicans. Sheriff Shaun Golden, Freeholder Director Tom Arnone and Deputy Director Serena DiMaso were always expected to be reelected on the strength of their records and due to the fact that Monmouth County Independent voters usually vote Republican. They make the winners list by virtue of fact that they ran as if they were behind, not taking any votes for granted. More importantly, they ran a positive campaign based on reducing spending, holding the line on taxes, and improving services, in the face of yet another negative campaign on the part of the Monmouth County Democrats.
Monmouth County’s Legislative Delegation. Each member of Monmouth County’s Legislative Delegation deserves more recognition than space will allow.
With 6 of 9 voting districts reporting in Red Bank, Republican Cindy Burnham and incumbent Democrat Kathy Horgan appear to be headed to victory.
Republican candidate Sean DiSomma said that his count of all districts has him losing to Horgan by 80 votes, and Burnham winning. Incumbent Councilwoman Sharon Lee appears to be losing.
Governor Chris Christie will be reelected with 59.9875% of the vote. In Monmouth County, Christie-Guadagno will win 68% of the vote.
Monmouth County Sheriff Shaun Golden will be elected with 69% of the vote.
Freeholders Tom Arnone and Serena DiMaso will win by 68% and 68.4%, respectively. DiMaso’s extra votes will be attributable to the negative ads the Monmouth County Dems have run against her, and prove that the Asbury Park Press’s endorsement is meaningless.
Brian Froelich will get more votes for Freeholder than Larry Luttrell gets, proving that the Asbury Park Press’s endorsement is meaningless and that negative advertising doesn’t beat a quality incumbent.
