Election 2023: Linda M. Hill, Candidate For Red Bank Council

RED BANK, NJ — Voters in Red Bank go to the polls May 9 for the first-ever nonpartisan election for Mayor and Borough Council.

The mayor and council positions are all up for election in May as part of the borough's charter change to a nonpartisan Council/Manager form of government, approved by a wide margin of residents in last November's election. The new government will be seated in July.

There are 13 council candidates and two candidates running for mayor. There is a field of two teams, running as Red Bank's Ready and Red Bank Together, and one independent candidate, running under the designation Dedicated to Representing Red Bank.

Voters may vote for up to six candidates for council and up to one candidate for mayor.

Leading up to the election, profiles of all candidates who responded to a Patch questionnaire will be published. Responses were requested to be returned by April 16, and these profiles reflect issues as of that date. For those who did not yet respond, the dates of those responses will be noted in future stories.

Candidates were asked about their background and experience and their positions on two big issues in the borough - cannabis business regulation and short-term rentals, as well as their vision for the borough.

Today, candidate Linda Hill of the Red Bank Together team is featured.

Hill, a former clinical pharmacist, has not held previous public office, but she has volunteered for a number of organizations and has been involved in fundraising both as a volunteer and as a professional.

Candidates provided their own answers to the following questions, with editing for style only:

• Name: Dr. Linda M. Hill
• Address: 64 McLaren St., Red Bank
• Position sought: Member, Red Bank Borough Council
• Are you an incumbent or have you been involved in other positions in borough or schools government?: I have never run for or held office before.
• Campaign website: https://redbanktogether.org/
• Background: I am married and have lived with my husband here in Red Bank since 2016. I have a daughter who is a physician, and she lives in Seattle. My younger child is a transgender man. I was deeply committed to LGBTQ rights before he came out to me, and since then I have doubled down: I do everything in my power to support LGBTQ rights on every level.
• I hold both a Bachelor of Science degree and a Doctor of Pharmacy degree. I practiced as a clinical pharmacist, and then went on to start and successfully run my own business as an entrepreneur in medical writing and editing. Years into my healthcare-related work, I began to volunteer as a fundraiser for a couple of organizations about which I was very passionate. I learned that I had a knack for fundraising and transitioned into that as a career. My most recent position is as vice president of philanthropy for a statewide senior services organization.
• I enjoy volunteering, and have done so for a number of organizations including founder and leader of a support group for Parents of Transgender Children and Adults; volunteer board member, George School Children's Center; volunteer co-chair of leadership gifts committee, Stuart Country Day School; former co-founder, board member, and volunteer, Build the Wave; volunteer, Monmouth County SPCA; founding member and volunteer, UniteBlue; volunteer, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Coastal & Northern New Jersey.

1. Why are you seeking office or seeking re-election? Is there a particular issue or concern that you want to see improved in Red Bank that sparks your desire to govern?

I decided to run for Red Bank Council because I was disappointed by the dysfunction, hostility, and disrespect of the residents in both the current and previous councils. Respect and courtesy must also be shown to residents who speak before the council. They deserve to be heard by elected officials.

Among the current priorities in Red Bank are the lack of a full-time business administrator; taxes and affordability; pedestrian, bicyclist and motor vehicle safety; overdevelopment, and code enforcement.

The council should take the new master plan and from it, develop the agreed-upon strategic and operational priorities for Red Bank and get to work. The first step for a newly constituted government should be the hiring of a highly skilled professional borough administrator with a deep understanding and respect for human resources and the management of a town such as ours.

Quality of life is a major concern in Red Bank. The lack of code enforcement is at the heart of many issues adversely affecting the town. More ordinances from the council is not always the answer. We need to enforce the codes that already exist.

Parks and green spaces are an important driver of residents' quality of life. Addressing Marine Park is long overdue. It should be fixed now, along with East Side Park.

The council must abide by its own Complete Streets Policy. Adopted in 2018, it needs to be a living, breathing document that informs decision-making. This will improve the health, safety, and welfare of pedestrians, bicyclists and motorists. Residents and visitors alike remark upon the trash and litter in Red Bank. If we want to continue to be a jewel along the Navesink River, our town should be clean and safe, at a minimum.

Overdevelopment affects quality of life. The strain on the town's 100-plus-year-old infrastructure and our schools is clear. New development in town should enhance the quality of life of current residents, not diminish it. When adaptive re-use of older buildings is accomplished, it is a win for Red Bank, and should be encouraged.

2. The short-term rental ordinance recently adopted by the Council brought out lots of opinion from the public, pro and con. What is your position on the adopted ordinance? If you are an incumbent, why did you vote for or against it?

I support regulation of the short-term rental properties in Red Bank. That said, I would have voted for owner-occupied short-term rentals, and I think the council should consider grandfathering in STRs that have a stellar relationship with their neighbors and no violations. We should also take a look at long-term rentals in town and consider whether they are properly regulated.

Of course, regulation is one thing, but enforcement is another. Code enforcement in the borough is unevenly and inconsistently applied. This must be a priority for our new administrator.

3. Another issue facing the borough is how cannabis sales or production is regulated. The recently adopted ordinance provides more regulation, but do you feel it addresses concerns both of the public and the businesses seeking approval?

As a citizen, I support the medical and safe recreational uses of cannabis. I also appreciate the revenue that cannabis businesses can bring to our town.

As a pharmacist, I have learned that thoughtful and measured actions work best when introducing or adopting something new. Therefore, I agree with the council majority that cannabis businesses should be introduced in an informed manner.

I am not certain that the council has arrived at the correct number of licenses. Red Bank can always make available more licenses as time goes by and we are certain that it’s the right decision for our town to do so. If the introduction of cannabis businesses does not proceed smoothly in Red Bank, it would be difficult to attempt to rescind licenses already granted. Let’s introduce, adopt, and proceed with deliberate, reasonable procedures as we navigate cannabis in Red Bank.

Other candidates in the May 9 election

Here is the ballot lineup for mayor and council, chosen in a random drawing last month.

Mayor:

• First position, Billy Portman, Red Bank's Ready
• Second position, Tim Hogan, Red Bank Together

Council:

• First position, Red Bank Together
• Second position, Suzanne "Sue" Viscomi (Dedicated to Representing Red Bank)
• Third position, Red Bank's Ready

Click on the links below to read more about the candidates from past stories. Click on individual names that are highlighted to read their candidate profiles, as they begin to be published during the next three weeks:

Red Bank Together: Leading the team is mayoral candidate Tim Hogan, Riverview Medical Center president, along with incumbent Borough Council candidates Michael Ballard, Jacqueline Sturdivant and John Jackson. Rounding out the team is Sean Murphy, a Red Bank Zoning Board member; Linda Hill, and Erin Fleming.

Suzanne Viscomi: Viscomi, a Red Bank school board member, is running independently, with the designation Dedicated to Representing Red Bank.

Red Bank's Ready: Mayor Billy Portman for mayor leads the team. Running for council seats are current Councilmember Kate Triggiano; Ben Forest of the Red Bank school board; former Charter Study Commission Chairperson Nancy Facey-Blackwood; and David Cassidy, Laura Jannone, and Kristina Bonatakis.