Special Meeting For Appointments To Red Bank Boards, Commissions

RED BANK, NJ — With the installation of the newly elected Red Bank Borough Mayor and Council on Saturday - highlighted by remarks by Middletown resident and Gov. Phil Murphy - the council now is getting down to business.

There is a special meeting of the council on Thursday, July 6, at 6:30 p.m. at Borough Hall to approve "appointments and designations" for the borough.

The borough has put out a call for anyone interested in serving on boards to apply. The open process will be a rolling one, as there is always a need for volunteers.

But some boards, such as the Planning Board, have time-sensitive matters before it, so making the appointments is a priority to begin the business of the new Council/Manager form of government called for by voters in a referendum last November.

The Saturday installation of the mayor and council, who ran as the Red Bank's Ready team, was held under a canopy outside Borough Hall.

It was attended by family and friends of the candidates and several Democratic officials, among them the governor, who gave oaths of office to the new councilmembers.

There were benedictions, too, by area clergy who noted how a new chapter was beginning for Red Bank and its residents - residents who are putting their trust in the new council.

Murphy gave the oath of office to Mayor Billy Portman, elected in 2022 as a political newcomer to the post of mayor. Now he begins a full term in a predominately Democratic town that also chose last November to end party affiliations in government to form a nonpartisan municipal government.

Portman joked that the governor, who lives across from Red Bank on the Navesink River, "kayaked over" for the event. Murphy joked back, "I swam over!"

And so the noon event got off to a warm and friendly start as all but one of the councilmembers were sworn in, including current Councilmember Kate Triggiano and those elected as a team in the May 9 nonpartisan election: David Cassidy, Kristina Bonatakis, Nancy Facey-Blackwood and Laura Jannone.

Bonatakis was not only sworn into office Saturday - she also was married earlier in the day to Aaron Goldberg in a ceremony officiated at by Portman in Riverside Gardens in Red Bank.

Councilmember-elect Ben Forest was unable to attend the event Saturday due to a family medical emergency, but is expected to be sworn in Thursday.

Apart from Murphy, others officiating at the ceremony were Democratic Congressional Rep. Frank Pallone and Democratic state Sen. Vin Gopal, as well as his two running mates for Assembly in District 11, Margie Donlon, Ocean Township deputy mayor, and attorney Luanne Peterpaul.

Murphy said it was an "incredible honor" to be invited to officiate at Portman's swearing in. He said Portman, who made his first venture into politics in the 2022 mayor's race, and his team will "make an extraordinary community even better." "I have such optimism," Murphy said.

In later remarks Portman said he was looking forward to working with his colleagues - "an incredibly qualified group of people." And he was excited about what the council will do for Red Bank in the next several years.

Triggiano, in her comments, praised Portman for "your empathy; your ability to calm and de-escalate," in his first several months as mayor on what was then a council divided within the Democratic party. She also thanked borough employees for planning and executing the installation event - no small task with six members and the mayor being sworn in.

The new council ran as a team under the "Red Bank's Ready" designation, and the team won by a wide margin in the May 9 election, defeating the Red Bank Together team.

The sole independent candidate for office in Red Bank, Suzanne Viscomi, did not win election but she diligently records council meetings, among others, to post them for the public. And she posted the entire installation ceremony on You Tube, which you can access here.