RED BANK – Republicans Michael Clancy and Allison Gregory are seeking the nomination of their political party to run for two three-year terms on the Borough Council. The primary election will be held on June 5 and the nominees will advance to the November general election.
Neither Clancy nor Gregory currently hold elective office in the borough.
Asked why she is seeking a seat on the governing body, Gregory said, “Not only do I live here, but I work here … I am passionate that I can make a difference and continue making Red Bank an even greater place to live, work and visit. Often biking through town with my two young girls and husband, I find myself reflecting on how much I love this town. I love where we live and feel so lucky I am a part of this community.
“Being a mom, a homeowner and the No. 1 buyer agent in Red Bank last year, I’ve had the opportunity to meet so many amazing residents and brought many new homeowners into town. It is an honor to be asked to run as a candidate to represent my town. My passion is to continue to build off the hard work of others before me, to give back to Red Bank, to adapt to the times and to build the framework that will keep our town strong for today and future generations,” she said.
When asked what she would like to accomplish if she is elected to the council, Gregory said, “My first priority is safety, especially for the children. Vehicles simply don’t respect many of our crosswalks and enforcement is not evenly distributed.
“One dangerous spot which I personally must navigate daily is at the intersection of Shrewsbury and Locust avenues, which many of the town’s children’s must cross to get to and from school. I would like to make crosswalks more visible and create a public awareness of yielding properly,” she said.
“Which brings me to the next issue I’m running on, the West Side versus East Side nonsense. I will work hard to unify Red Bank, seeing an end to referring and treating our one town as two separate towns. I would like to see parks evenly distributed so all of the residents in town can enjoy public resources. I would like to see Sunset Park become a reality. One unified town is one unified Red Bank.
“Our downtown is the soul of Red Bank and it’s struggling. We need to work better with our local businesses and support them. I want new businesses to feel welcome and confident to come to Red Bank. It’s important to have an environment that keeps existing businesses strong,” she said.
“We thrive on festivals, theater, restaurants, the river, diversity, culture and much more. I want to continue to have Red Bank be a place where people come to live, eat, go out and enjoy. We need to embrace and plan for the various transportation modes their patrons use. We need to consider how to best incorporate parking, traffic flow, pedestrian, marine, and bicycles. This is key to achieving a balanced, healthy city center,” Gregory said.
Asked why he is seeking a seat on the governing body, Clancy said, “For the last 11 years, I have worked in the medical device industry servicing physicians and medical facilities in Monmouth and Ocean counties. Of all the towns in that area, the only place I wanted to live is Red Bank.
“I truly love Red Bank and all it has to offer and look forward to raising my family here. Ever since I finished my MBA, I have had a passion for economics and public policy and have always wanted to give back to my community. Serving on the Borough Council is an excellent way to leverage my professional, competitive and educational background into progress for Red Bank,” he said.
Asked what he would like to accomplish if he is elected to council, Clancy said, “My first priority is taxes and services. Red Bank’s obscenely growing tax burden adversely affects the quality of life in Red Bank. We need to re-establish fiscal sanity to Borough Hall or we are going to continue to push residents and businesses out of the borough. To supplement that, there will need to be a much greater focus on Red Bank’s business environment.
“Red Bank was once the only destination of its kind in the area, but now has multiple competitors such as Asbury Park. Red Bank needs to create a much more hospitable business environment to cultivate a thriving downtown. Areas to focus on to address this (situation) are lowering spending by entering into shared service agreements, reducing unnecessary bureaucracy, streamlining a very confusing town code and ensuring that residents return to the high quality of life that brought me and so many others here,” Clancy said.
Democrats Kate Triggiano and Hazim Yassin are seeking their party’s nomination on June 5 to run in the November council election. Suzanne Viscomi will run as an independent candidate in November and is not involved in the primary election.
