By Allison Perrine
RED BANK – With partial support from elected officials, Red Bank resident Angela Mirandi has been named the newest member of the borough council.
The decision came Feb. 9 at the council’s regular meeting when Mirandi, an accountant, and candidates Stephen Hecht and John Jackson were considered for the vacant seat on the dais. With three of five votes in her favor, Mirandi will replace former councilman Erik Yngstrom, who resigned Jan. 19.
“I think that she is an outstanding candidate (who) will be a tremendous asset to the Borough of Red Bank and an exquisite representative of the people of Red Bank going forward,” said councilman Ed Zipprich during the virtual meeting.
Because Yngstrom was a Democrat, the Red Bank Democrats organization – which Zipprich chairs – was tasked with finding three qualified potential candidates to replace him within 30 days of the vacancy. Zipprich established an ad hoc committee within the Democratic organization made up of individuals with public service experience who vetted and interviewed the three candidates “so that nobody could say” he was “controlling who or what is being instituted in this replacement,” Zipprich said. “I removed myself from the process.”
Zipprich presented the final list to Red Bank Mayor Pasquale “Pat” Menna who nominated Hecht to fill the vacancy during the Feb. 9 meeting and waited for deliberation among officials.
“I think that Steve is very involved with the community. He attends every council meeting,” said councilwoman Kathy Horgan, adding that she feels Hecht is “an excellent choice.”
“I think he’s a person of integrity. I think he is a free thinker. He’s very independent, researches every issue and his opinion is his own,” she added. “He serves on the library board; I’ve been very impressed with his performance there” where he helps with the library’s finances.
Horgan then put forth a supporting motion to nominate Hecht for the vacant seat but when it came time for another council member to second her motion and move it forward, the meeting fell silent.
“I would assume the Democratic chair who put this name up for nomination would second,” councilwoman Kate Triggiano said pointedly to Zipprich. But he didn’t respond.
“I don’t understand. The municipal chair gave three names to the mayor and he’s not supporting his nominations?” Horgan questioned.
Finally, Zipprich said, while all three candidates were “excellent,” he would not weigh in on any candidate in particular. “This is for the council to discuss and decide,” he said.
Hecht’s nomination then failed.
Ballard immediately requested that Mirandi be nominated since he felt her strong background in finance would be helpful for the council – an opinion he formed after reading her résumé which Horgan and Triggiano were not privy to before the meeting.
Directing her comments to Zipprich, Horgan said, “We are part of the Democratic party – we’re supposed to be part of the Democratic party – and you as municipal chair, you are the leader. So I am very disappointed… in you. I don’t think it shows leadership. You’re trying to exclude us,” she said. “If we had done something like that to you two, you would have been up in arms.”
Ballard quickly noted that he and Zipprich have been excluded from decisions on the dais before, such as last year when he said Horgan and Triggiano supported an idea to “abruptly terminate the search” for a borough administrator.
“Nobody asked us our opinion. And we spent $15,000 of taxpayer money for a search firm. So this is not the first time you have excluded Ed and I,” Ballard said. “I don’t understand your concern now.”
He then made a motion for Mirandi to fill the vacancy, which was seconded by councilwoman Jacqueline Sturdivant. Ultimately, she was approved by Ballard, Sturdivant and Zipprich; the sole ‘No’ vote came from Horgan and the sole abstention came from Triggiano.
“I just abstained because at the end of the day, I really don’t have a say in who was nominated and we all know that,” Triggiano explained.
During public comment, borough resident Cindy Burnham said she was very excited that Mirandi had been elected to the dais.
“I know her to be very good,” she said. “She’s a numbers girl. She’s going to be fabulous. Congratulations.”
Yngstrom was in the middle of serving his second term as a Red Bank councilman when he resigned. In a letter dated Jan. 19, he cited “toxic rhetoric and behavior” in town as part of his decision to leave. He also warned that Zipprich, as Democratic chair, would take advantage of the situation.
“Unfortunately, the impact of my resignation at this time will trigger an action by the local Democratic Chair wherein he will set forth three handpicked suggestions to replace me for the rest of the year. Those three candidates will then be voted on by the sitting Council, which he is part of and now has a three-to-two advantage,” Yngstrom wrote. “Rather than working together and bringing people together, the Democratic Chair is likely to use this situation to make town politics and council even more divisive.”
He also shared that during his time on the dais, he tried to “set an example for others that hard work and civility can get things done in this town” regardless of political affiliation.
“However, I believe we have strayed far from this collaborative mindset and seem more focused on political gains and people trying to keep their perceived political power,” he continued. “I am not sure where we went wrong but this divisiveness needs to stop, and the best interests of Red Bank need to be put first. The best interests of Red Bank should be the only interests that matter.”
The article originally appeared in the February 17 – 23, 2022 print edition of The Two River Times.
