RED BANK

Red Bank mayor primary: Newcomer beats local Democratic Party choice for nomination

Olivia Liu
Asbury Park Press

RED BANK - Outsider Billy Portman appears to have defeated two-term Councilman Michael Ballard for the Democratic Party’s mayoral nomination, leading with about 60% of the votes.  

“People were ready for change, and they’re tired of the same old politics as usual,” Portman said, declaring victory. With all nine of the town's voting districts reporting, Portman had 747 votes compared with 481 for Ballard. Late mail-in ballots and provisional ballots are still to be counted.

Ballard had the support of the local Democratic Party committee, which is led by fellow Councilman Edward Zipprich. The local party had declined to endorse four-term incumbent Mayor Pat Menna for another term, and Menna decided not to run in the primary.

Billy Portman

Portman, a Red Bank resident since 2015, owns Advantage Construction, a commercial building contractor, and Elegant Mist, a company that sells cooling systems. He has three children and sings in a cover band So Watt. 

He said he decided to run for mayor on the primary ballot because he hoped to put an end to the “infighting” that has plagued the all-Democrat council.

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“The biggest knock against me was that I don’t have any experience; I haven’t been involved in politics; I haven’t been coming to meetings. And that is all true,” Portman said. “But the flip side of that is, I don’t have a history of animosity with anyone on the committee. I haven’t had  time to develop ego battles with anybody on the council, so I think I’m going to be able to bring a fresh face to it.”

He said he liked to unite people and hoped to talk to “as many people as I can to kind of see what’s important to Red Bank. I really want to be in service to my community.” 

He said he is waiting on the report by the Charter Study Commission, which was formed after receiving 70% of the votes in last November’s election to study changing the town's form of government.

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He said if the commission recommends nonpartisan elections, he would spend the next few months campaigning for Red Bank voters to vote for that change in Red Bank’s municipal government.  

Portman may start campaigning after voting results for the Democratic County Committee in Red Bank could result in a toppling of the old committee’s control of the local party. 

The 18-member committee is responsible for choosing who will get the coveted "party line" in primary votes, as Ballard had in this election. Each of the town's nine voting districts elect two members to the committee, and this year a full slate of 18 new candidates called Democrats for Red Bank ran against the 18 members of the old Red Bank Democratic Municipal Committee. 

Members of the upstart group have an early lead for 11 of the 18 committee seats.  For instance, one member of District 1’s Democrats for Red Bank  hasa three-vote lead over a challenger from the Red Bank Democratic Municipal Committee. But with ballots sill arriving, results could change. 

While the newcomers could gain control, council members endorsed by the Red Bank Democratic Municipal Committee currently have a 4-2 vote on the Borough Council. That imbalance could turn into a 5-1 majority if the candidates on the Democratic Party line win the general election this November. 

Portman said he hopes Red Bank moves away from the borough form of municipal government and hopes to move more power to a business administrator. 

He said, “We have too much power residing in the council, and I’d like to have more (power with) professionals.” 

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During a debate hosted by the League of Women Voters of the Greater Red Bank Area and Southern Monmouth County, Portman's opponent Ballard said he opposed nonpartisan elections and believed in keeping power in the council. He said he opposed having a strong business administrator because that position is held by an unelected official. 

Michael Ballard, center, is running for mayor in the Red Bank Democratic primary while Angela Mirandi and John Jackson are running for council seats.

“This is a clear mandate from the residents of Red Bank that enough is enough and we want (the council) to get along and work together,” Portman said. 

He added, “I’d like to congratulate my opponent Michael. He’s still on the council. I’ll be working with him. … None of the issues that we had was personal. I look forward to working with him to make Red Bank better for everybody.” 

Councilwoman Angela Mirandi and newcomer John Jackson, who like Ballard had the support of the local Democratic party, ran unopposed for council seats on the Democratic party ticket, securing 884 and 889 votes respectively. 

In the Red Bank’s Republican primary, Brian Irwin ran unopposed for mayor, receiving  303 votes, and Christine Stout and Jonathan Penney ran unopposed for council, receiving 312 votes and 306 votes respectively. 

Olivia Liu is a reporter covering transportation, Red Bank and western Monmouth County. She can be reached at oliu@gannett.com.