GOP primary race for Sea Bright mayor
Murphy lacks party support to challenge incumbent
BY LIZ SHEEHAN
Correspondent

Jo-Ann Kalaka-Adams

Former Sea Bright Borough Councilman Read Murphy is running against incumbent mayor Jo-Ann Kalaka-Adams in the primary election next Tuesday.

The polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the borough community center in the municipal building on Ocean Avenue.

Both candidates are Republicans, but Murphy, who was a member of the council from 1996 to 2001, said he does not have the support of the borough or county Republicans.

The Democratic candidate for mayor, Maria Fernandes, a longtime council member, is unopposed in the primary, as are incumbent Councilwoman Peggy Bills, a Republican, and her opponent, Susana Markson, a Democrat.

Kalaka-Adams, who has been mayor for four years, said that the most important accomplishment in her term has been "getting people to see what this town could look like."

The process of planning for the future of the town is "most important," she said.

She cited the project of developing a boardwalk from the Chapel Beach Club to Donovan's Reef as part of plans for improving the town.

Kalaka-Adams said plans call for making the center of the town the focus of improvement.

The current mayor said there are efforts being made now both by individual property owners and borough officials to work toward a Victorian ambiance.

For example, she said, when new condominiums are being built they will be required to use vintage-style lampposts rather than "stark modern lighting."

She also said that she wanted to develop the site of the former Peninsula House as a place for "people to go winter and summer," with a skate park and other attractions.

A problem in the town, she said, was that there really is no place for kids to go.

Murphy said he is running for mayor because "I just want to get the town moving forward."

He said he would like to rebuild the Peninsula House and use it for the municipal offices, as well as housing an Olympic-size pool with lockers that could be used year-round and a restaurant that could be the setting for fundraisers for the borough.

There could also be double-level parking on the site, he said.

Murphy said there is a need for bringing revenue into the borough because of rising expenses, especially the borough's share of the budget of Shore Regional High School.

He also said that as mayor he would make sure the Democrats and Republicans work together and share information and plans.

"I got along with both sides [when he was on council]," he said.

Murphy, who received a award from the borough recently for his participation in fighting a February fire at The Fountains condo complex, referred to by Kalaka-Adams as the "worst single emergency that our town has experienced in our lifetimes," said that to him, public service doesn't just mean running for office but also serving in other capacities in the borough.

Both Kalaka-Adams and Murphy oppose the state Department of Transportation's plan to replace the drawbridge that connects the borough to Highlands with a fixed bridge that will be 30 feet higher.

Kalaka-Adam said she was an executive in a publishing company for 20 years before going into business with her husband in A&K Furniture Restoration, Long Branch. She said the company is looking into moving to the borough.

Murphy said he is the owner of Navesink Benefits Agency, Red Bank, a benefits management agency.