By Sunayana Prabhu
RED BANK – Political debutant William Portman and second-term borough councilman Michael Ballard engaged in a virtual candidate face-off Tuesday, May 24. Both are seeking the Democratic nomination for mayor of Red Bank in the June 7 primary. The event took place online via Zoom and was hosted by Sharone Steinhorn of the League of Women Voters (LWV), of Greater Red Bank and Southern Monmouth County.
Ballard and Portman are seeking the mayor’s seat, a four-year term currently held by Mayor Pasquale Menna who has served in the office since 2007. For 18 years prior to that Menna served as a councilmember. His term ends in December and he is not seeking reelection.
A local business owner, Portman is also associated with the local band So Watt as vocalist. While he is new to politics, Portman said he has been following borough affairs since 2018.
A second-term councilman, Ballard is the first African American in Red Bank’s 114-year history to be nominated for mayor. Ballard won the nomination from the local Democratic committee with 10 out of 17 votes.
During the hour-long debate, Portman and Ballard presented their views on major borough issues including property taxes, Marine Park, hiring policies for borough business administrator, transparent communication ethics, DPW issues, affordable housing and a new municipal facility, among others.
In his opening statement Tuesday, Ballard said, “I’m stepping up to lead the change that is so desperately needed.” Portman said he wants to “be a voice for 98% of the residents who just want to see their elected officials get things done.” He hopes the newly formed Red Bank Charter Study Commission will “recommend change to nonpartisan elections where everyone runs with an equal chance without a thumb on the scale.”
Discussing the current form of government and overall limitations and responsibilities of a mayor, Portman proposed a change to what he called the “dated structure” of the borough form of government. “It’s over 100 years old and it doesn’t work anymore. So, I’m favoring less power as a mayor. I’d like to have a strong council manager or business administrator who handles the day-to-day operations of the town, is responsible for hiring and firing. And we have a council and a mayor that enacts policy and sets the budget.”
Defiant about the job of a mayor, Ballard said, “The mayor is the chief executive officer of the borough. It is his responsibility to see that all the laws are enacted and followed and that all the departments are run efficiently.”
Any changes to the current form of government would have to be recommended by the charter study commission and voted on by Red Bank residents.
BOROUGH BUSINESS ADMINISTRATOR
While the search to fill the borough’s permanent business administrator position continues, Portman doubled-down on his feelings about the current form of government in Red Bank. “I’d like to have a strong council manager or business administrator who is handling the day-to-day operations of the town, is responsible for hiring and firing.”
According to Ballard the business administrator must operate within the confines of the elected officials’ decisions. “The administrator is just the mechanism to coordinate the operations and execute the council’s (and) elected officials’ policies and wishes.”
PROPERTY TAXES
On whether property taxes are fairly apportioned between residential and commercial properties, Portman said, “I do think they are fairly apportioned. The businesses are also paying an additional tax to the RiverCenter. The issue is not that they are fairly apportioned. We do have a lot of tax-exempt establishments in this town, and I think it makes things challenging.”
Ballard disagreed. “No, they are not (fairly apportioned). The balance between what businesses are being charged and what residents are being charged is steadily skewing more and more towards the residents,” he said.
MODERNIZING THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS
Thoughts about how the town can proceed regarding substandard facilities in the Department of Public Works (DPW) were discussed. On getting rid of trailers to modernize the DPW, Ballard said, “Workers have been operating out of those trailers for almost 30 years now. My plan is to get our borough engineer to tell us what can and what cannot be done there. We have the borrowing power and that is the solution.”
Portman, in a quick rebuttal, said, “I don’t think all we need is our borough engineer to tell us what we can and cannot do there. It’s going to be a lot more complex than that. It needs to be done… those trailers weren’t meant to last 30 years.”
Closing the debate, Portman said, “We talked about nonpartisan elections, change in our form of government so it’s more efficient and streamlined with clear lines of communication and updating the Master Plan. I’m in favor of all these issues. Michael Ballard voted against nonpartisan elections and voted against the Master Plan. I’m tired of development attorneys choosing our council members. We have a real opportunity to make some changes. This may be the best chance we have to put an end to machine politics.”
In his closing rebuttal, Ballard again stressed the naivete of his opponent, noting that “Mr. Portman is involved in politics now after no presence for many years.”
Ballard said he feels the group of professionals assembled leading Red Bank right now “know what to do for getting things done.”
“I want to continue that leadership as mayor, making a new direction and a better future for Red Bank.”
The borough’s all-Democratic council came into office in 2018. Along with the race for mayor, two borough council seats are up for vote this year. Elected councilmembers each serve a three-year term. Angela Mirandi, an incumbent running with Ballard, replaced Erik Yngstrom after his resignation in January and is seeking a permanent council seat. Red Bank resident John Jackson is running for Ballard’s seat. Both candidates were nominated by the Red Bank Democratic Municipal Committee and are running unopposed.
This article originally appeared in the May 26 – June 1, 2022 print edition of The Two River Times.
