BY SANDI CARPELLO
Staff Writer
RED BANK — The Borough Council candidate who lost the Nov. 4 election by 25 votes has demanded a recount.
Republican candidate Kay Ernst, who advocated for less development and a "better, not bigger, Red Bank," said she wanted to make sure her loss was not attributable to human error.
"The people who work the elections do a great job, but people do make mistakes," said the 36-year-old business administrator and west side resident.
"For an election that close, I owe the recount to the people who did vote for me."
Vying for a three-year term, Ernst polled 1,093 votes, treading closely behind Democrat candidate Arthur Murphy, who got 1,118 votes.
Incumbent Councilman Pasquale Menna earned his sixth term with 1,298 votes, and Republican challenger Paul Emberger garnered 1,043 votes.
According to Ernst’s attorney John Lane, Point Pleasant, the votes in all of the borough’s districts will be recounted at the Monmouth County Clerk’s office Monday, Nov. 24, at 10 a.m. Nov. 14 was the deadline for filing a recount petition.
With a very high turnout of borough Republicans Nov. 4, GOP party chairs said they were proud the Republican challengers came so close to victory in a mostly-Democratic town.
At a Democratic victory party at the former site of The Bon-Ton department store on Election Day, Menna and Murphy thanked party supporters and Mayor Edward McKenna for their undying support.
Murphy, a borough-based builder and developer who was appointed to fill the council seat vacated by Betty Thompson in October, said he would focus on revamping Red Bank’s parks and recreation department.
Menna, a borough-based attorney, said he will spend his next term revising the borough’s master plan and constructing a plan that would provide affordable housing for seniors.