Red Bank Dems Top of Ballot for County Committee in 8 of 9 Districts
Red Bank Dems Top of Ballot for County Committee in 8 of 9 Districts
Challengers would unseat a truly diverse, dedicated Committee
Red Bank – Red Bank Democratic Municipal Committee (RBDMC) or “County Committee” incumbents are being challenged in the primary from within the party. All candidates will appear on the ballot in the Democrat column, given the County Chair’s decision that all Democrats would “go on the line.”
On Tuesday, at a supervised ballot name drawing, Red Bank Dems candidates were pulled for the top 2 positions in 8 of 9 districts (district 5 as outlier). The drawing was held at Monmouth County Democratic headquarters in Tinton Falls and overseen by Alan Rothman, Chairman of the Board of Elections.
In an unprecedented effort to unseat members of their own party, Councilwomen and district representatives Kathy Horgan and Kate Triggiano, and RBDMC incumbent Boris Kofman, are challenging nearly all of RBDMC’s 18 seats. In addition, despite receiving support from their party in every election, Triggiano and Horgan support nonpartisan elections.
With the slate of challengers, true diversity is at stake. The current RBDMC represents and reflects a diverse Red Bank—black, white, Asian, male, female, straight, LGBTQ+ and members of various faiths. Despite claims to the contrary, the challenger slate falls short of such diversity.
Asked about being challenged from within the party, District 1 representative JP Nicolaides said “These roles represent the grunt work of democracy—stuffing envelopes, writing letters, knocking on doors. It’s great to see people get involved. I just hope these folks [the challengers] are serious about the work.” District 4 representative and Council candidate John Jackson added, “I know how dedicated the County Committee members are. I’ve seen it. They should be able to keep serving the people of Red Bank.”
Running unopposed in the primary on June 7th are Councilman Michael Ballard for Mayor, and Councilwoman Angela Mirandi, and Jackson for Council. Five–term Mayor Pat Menna and 5-term Councilwoman Horgan announced their intent to retire at the end of the year.
RBDMC members seeking re-/election, with district in (). Residents vote for 2 per district. “*” denotes non-incumbent.
| JP Nicolaides (1) |
| Remedios Quiroz (1) |
| Rich Angowski, Jr. (2)
Pat Pinto (2) |
| Bruce Maida (3)
Patricia Montigros* (3) |
| Aimee Humphreys* (4) |
| John Jackson (4) |
| Kathy Hakim (5)—3rd position on ballot David Kessler* (5)—4th position on ballot |
| Vanessa Blychanton (6) |
| Jesse Garrison (6) |
| Lauren Nicosia (7) |
| Fred Stone (7) |
| Thomas Register* (8)
Dionne Trottie Register (8) |
| Dorothy Davis (9) |
| Juanita Lewis (9) |
