Politics & Government

Red Bank Candidate Profile: Kathleen Horgan

Democrat Kathleen Horgan is seeking another term on the Red Bank Borough Council.

Red Bank voters will head to the polls on Tuesday, Nov. 5. Two seats on the Red Bank Borough Council are up for election.

Democratic incumbent Councilwomen Kathleen Horgan and Sharon Lee are being challenged by Republicans Cynthia Burnham and Sean Di Somma for the full-term, three-year seats.

Red Bank-Shrewsbury Patch asked each candidate to respond to the following questions.

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NAME: 
Kathleen Horgan

AGE: 
68

OCCUPATION: 
Liaison to the Board of Trustees at amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research, New York City, where I have worked for the past 12 years.

Principal responsibilities include structuring and facilitating communication discreetly and diplomatically between the CEO’s office and staff with amfAR’s high-profile Board of Trustees; providing administrative support and assistance to amfAR’s CEO concerning all Board-related matters; planning and coordinating all Board and standing committee meetings. 

1. Please introduce yourself and tell us a little bit about your background and why you should be re-elected.

I have served two three-year terms on the Red Bank Borough Council and am seeking a third three-year term. I grew up in Oyster Bay, Long Island, and have lived in Red Bank for 14 years. For most of that time, I have been involved with my community, volunteering for a number of non-profits. Although I wasn’t born in Red Bank, I will spend the rest of my days here and am totally invested in this lovely community. When you reach a certain age in life, the only purpose is to give back. I am concerned about what happens to my neighbors. I want them to enjoy a good quality of life by providing the best services possible, protecting our environment, and enhancing our educational system. I want businesses to be attracted to Red Bank, to open their doors, and to contribute to the vitality and vibrancy of our market town and destination center. I want to finish what I started out to do. I want to contribute something to the betterment of my community. I want to make a difference. 

2. What do you think distinguishes you from other candidates? What do you bring to the table?

Aside from bringing maturity and a 48-year working career to the table, I have had a life-long passion for local government that was fueled by my late husband’s involvement in municipal government throughout his career, both nationally and internationally. He was devoted to people governing themselves and felt that government should start at the local level and not at the top.  During our 33-year marriage, I learned a lot from him. He was generous in sharing his knowledge with me and including me in his travels to cities and towns around the world where I could attend conferences and meet with local elected officials. By some strange twist of fate, I am carrying on his work.

3. What are the most pressing issues facing Red Bank today? How would you approach and resolve these issues?

Taxes, taxes, taxes! The Borough’s approach has consistently been to minimize tax increases without reduction in services and to prioritize spending reductions to minimize the impact on those services. We continue to meet State guidelines mandated by the Christie Administration on spending and appropriation levy caps, otherwise our budgets would not have been approved by the State.

It is important to point out that Red Bank has challenges to face that affect the municipal budget that many other municipalities do not have: reduction in State aid under the Christie Administration, non-profits that account for 16% of the Borough’s aggregate valuation and which are tax-exempt, high health insurance costs for Borough employees, emergencies like the unexpected snowstorm in 2010 and Sandy in 2013, labor contracts, tax appeals, loss of revenue from fees and uncollected taxes.

We will continue to work hard to stabilize property taxes in our Borough.


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