Election 2023: Sean Murphy, 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 responded after that date, 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 Sean Murphy of the Red Bank Together team is featured.

Murphy is a Red Bank Zoning Board member and a lifelong Red Bank resident.

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

• Name: Sean Murphy
• Address: 44 Throckmorton Ave.
• Position sought: Councilmember
• Are you an incumbent or have you been involved in other positions in borough or schools government? I am a member of the Red Bank Zoning Board.
• Campaign website: redbanktogether.org
• Background: I am employed by Schindler Elevator and proud member of Local One I.U.E.C. I attended Red Bank Public Schools and graduated from Red Bank Regional class of 1982. Both my wife and I were born and raised here in Red Bank and raised our four wonderful children here as well.

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?

This is my first time running for office. As a lifelong resident I feel that there are many issues that need to be addressed. I would like to see more code enforcement. Also, I’d like to see improvements to our once beautiful Marine Park which has remained in despair for over 12 years.

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 am in favor of the ordinance. I may have been fine with owner occupied, however I don’t believe it would be enforced.

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?

I agree with the ordinance. I believe we need to take a slow approach. Three retail stores to start sounds reasonable. As we go it can always be amended. I also don’t believe these stores should be located in any residential areas.

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 are published prior to the election:

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.