Story and photo by John Burton
RED BANK – “The Democrats are back in control!” said an exuberant Borough Councilman and Democratic Municipal Chairman Edward Zipprich on election night, as voting results rolled in declaring his candidates the winners for the Nov. 8 election. “How sweet is that?”
Unofficial results from the Monmouth County Clerk’s office on Wednesday indicated that indeed the Democratic candidates were successful in securing the two three-year seats on the council. According to the results, incumbent Democrat Kathy Horgan won 1,973 votes, the largest of the five candidates; her running mate, Erik Yngstrom secured the second seat among the six-member council with 1,949 votes. Republican challengers Brian Hanlon and Kellie O’Bosky Colwell garnered 1,473 and 1,508, respectively.
Incumbent Councilwoman Cindy Burnham, a former Republican who was seeking re-election as an independent, trailed with 970 votes.
Zipprich’s effusive mood was in reference to Democrats who had seen their generation-long majority on the borough council chipped away with losses to the Republicans over the last three years, with Republicans winning the majority last November.
With Horgan and Yngstrom’s victory this week, Democrats will hold three seats. Republicans have the other three. But because Mayor Pasquale Menna is a Democrat, he gets to cast the deciding vote in case of a tie, technically giving the Democrats control.
Winning in his run for elected office, Yngstrom said “It feels awesome.”
“It really is a great feeling having people vote for you, show their confidence in you and your message, what you stand for,” Yngstrom added.
Horgan, who has served nine years, said, “There are things that need to get done. I look forward to doing that,” in her coming term.
Horgan attributes the victory to “We’ve been working hard,” campaigning during the months prior to Election Day. And “Right wins,” believing their message is what voters responded to.
But former Democratic mayor Edward J. McKenna Jr., still active in political activities, also attributed it the presidential election. In most cases, he said, voter turnout is heavier in those years and given the disproportionate number of registered Democrats, it tends to help those candidates. But first and foremost, McKenna stressed, “People liked what we did in Red Bank,” in terms of Democratic policies over the more than 25 years the party held control.
Hanlon said he learned “a lot of lessons,” in his first run for office. “If I had to do it over,” he acknowledged, “I would have a different ground game.” As part of that, Hanlon said he would have concentrated more on door-to-door campaigning. He also suspected heavier voter turnout may have contributed to his loss.
“I guess I’m disappointed in Red Bank,” offered Colwell, commenting on the results. “I was much more optimistic about our message.
“We fought a good battle. The message was strong…I’m just disappointed they elected the Democrats,” she added.
Michael Clancy, the GOP municipal chair, shouldered some of the blame for the defeat. Clancy took over as chair just this past summer and hadn’t overseen a campaign before, he conceded. “I learned a lot of lessons,” he noted. One of the them was the role Burnham played in the outcome. “I hoped Cindy would cannibalize the Democratic vote,” Clancy explained. “But she really cannibalized the Republicans.”
Burnham, wherever her votes may have come, was sanguine in defeat. “I’m totally OK with it.
“I knew it was going to be an uphill battle,” campaigning with limited resources and no political organization support, she said. “But I gave it my best. I gave it 110 percent.”
Burnham had engaged in a bitter dispute with the local Republican organization resulting in her not being selected as one of this year’s candidates and her decision to run as an independent. “If I can’t win,” she concluded, “I’m glad the Democrats won.”
Prior to her council term, Burnham had been a fixture at council meetings, and as a self-described “citizen-activist” often sparred with officials. She promised to continue that for her issues. She also hasn’t ruled out another run for office in the future.
Hanlon and Colwell said they would consider another run, as well.
