Ballot Lineup Is Set For Upcoming Red Bank Election

RED BANK, NJ — The first-ever drawing for nonpartisan ballot positions in the May 9 Red Bank Council election was a historic moment for the town.

And for Borough Clerk Laura Reinertsen, who drew the positions Wednesday at noon, it was fitting for the process "to have a little bling," she said.

So she secured the slips of papers with the names of individual candidates and slates of candidates in decorative golden eggs - available on Amazon, she noted.

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 the November election.

Nominating petitions were already required to be filed by candidates by March 6. First to file was the Red Bank's Ready slate, headed by Mayor Billy Portman; then by independent candidate Suzanne Viscomi; and then by the Red Bank Together slate, headed by Tim Hogan for mayor.

When filing the petitions, the two slates of candidates requested, as allowed by election rules, to be chosen for ballot positions by slate, not individually, other than for mayor and for those not running in a slate.

The drawing began at noon Wednesday and was a low-key, friendly moment, attended by some of the candidates and residents.

Reinertsen placed the candidate slips in the eggs, first for the mayoral positions then for the council candidates.

For each drawing, she shook up the eggs in a clear acrylic box in front of the gathered audience. Then she announced the positions.

And here is the lineup for mayor and council that voters will see on the ballot in May, with the positions running horizontally across the ballot, from left to right:

Mayor:

• First position, Billy Portman
• Second position, Tim Hogan

Council:

• First position, Red Bank Together slate
• Second position, Suzanne Viscomi
• Third position, Red Bank's Ready slate

Here is more information on the candidates who are running in the election. Click on the links below to read about them in more detail from previous Patch stories:

Red Bank Together: Leading the team is mayoral candidate Timothy 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, not part of any slate.

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