By John Burton
RED BANK – It’s shaping up to be a five-way race for the two available Borough Council seats, as a spurned Republican seeks re-election as an Independent.
“I will file as an independent,” Councilwoman Cindy Burnham told the Two River Times this week. Burnham, who has served one three-year term on the borough council and is serving as this year’s council president, was not endorsed for another term by the Republican committee, failing to give her the official party line on the ballot.
“I’m looking to have a core group” of volunteers to assist in her campaign efforts, she added.
Burnham said she plans to make her formal announcement Thursday, after press time. She has already planned a May 15 campaign kick-off party at her 71 Wallace St. home, preparing to open her home to all borough residents, seeking their support.
The municipal Republican committee on Sunday named its candidates for approval for the June 7 primary. They selected Brian Hanlon and Kellie O’Bosky Colwell to run for the two seats on the six-member borough council up for the Nov. 8 election. Hanlon works locally in the financial industry; Colwell is a local artist, according to Sean Di Somma, Republican municipal chairman.
Democrats had previously selected their slate of two candidates without controversy, naming incumbent Kathy Horgan and attorney Erik Yngstrom.
Burnham said on Monday she was “very disappointed but not surprised” by the committee’s actions, given the bitter rift that had developed between her and chairman Di Somma and her three Republican colleagues on the council. Di Somma said an “almost unanimous majority” of the 14 Republican committee members when they met on Sunday and rejected Burnham’s bid to be one of the party’s candidates in favor of Hanlon and Colwell.
Di Somma had asked those seeking the party’s support to take a loyalty pledge, agreeing to not run should they not receive the party endorsement. Di Somma said Burnham “promised she wouldn’t do that,” agreeing with the pledge. However, “When she walked out the door”—not getting the support—“she said she was running as an independent and would see us in November.”
Di Somma contended, “I think that speaks to her character.”
Some had encouraged her to run in the primary as a means of securing the GOP nomination for the general election. But Burnham responded “Quite frankly, I’m not a politician. I don’t know how to do that.” She then added, “I don’t really want to be associated with Sean Di Somma and the other three people and their s—show,” opting to run independently.
The other three people are Republican councilmembers Linda Schwabenbauer, elected in 2014, and Mark Taylor and Michael Whelan, who won the 2015 election, securing the first Republican majority on the Red Bank Borough Council since 1989.
Burnham has long been sparring with Democrats going back to before she won her council seat in 2013 when she was a self-described “citizen activist,” regularly challenging the governing body on a variety of issues. Her relationship with Di Somma had been strained and had a visible personality clash since the two ran for council in 2013, prior to Di Somma taking over as municipal chair. Since then it has developed into full-blown public animosity, with the two regularly taking on each other on social media.
Burnham’s relationship with the other GOP council members has taken on an edge publicly when she openly criticized fellow Republicans following their selections for professional and volunteer appointments—most notably for borough engineer and attorney—charging political patronage.
“I have always been a hands-on councilwoman and have been very vocal,” she offered, “and that leaves me vulnerable to criticism.”
Burnham takes credit for ushering in the GOP revitalization that secured the majority and now she has been taking to task the other Republicans for what she said is capitulation to Democrats. “I now have to apologize to the public because they turned out to be spineless,” she charged of the Republicans.
“Cindy has shown for the last three years she has a backward vision at a time when we’re facing a lot of competition from a lot of towns,” being simply obstructionist instead of working to advance the community, Di Somma responded.
