TOMS RIVER, NJ – Ocean County Sheriff Mastronardy, in the midst of an FBI investigation into the hiring practices of the Ocean County Republican Club has officially announced he is also running to control the state’s once most powerful Republican organization. Mastronardy has announced he will run for the office of chairman of the Ocean County Republican Party.
If he wins, he would join Sheriff Shawn Golden of Monmouth County as the state’s second elected sheriff to also wield unilateral political power as a party chairman.
Mastronardy openly acknowledged the deep rift in the Ocean County Republican Party between the forces of current chairman Frank Holman, who has been seen by most as a dismal failure, and George Gilmore, who was pardoned by former President Donald J. Trump on a federal conviction.
“It has never been more important for us to have a strong Republican Party. If we are going to fight back, win, and keep the country we love, we need to be united. We need to fight together – all of us,” Mastronardy said. “That is why we must unite here in Ocean County and why I am running for Ocean County Republican Chairman.”
This week, opponents of Mastronardy have been railing against him in Robo texts to Republican voters, calling him the world’s highest-paid Uber driver. The texts claim Mastronardy, who makes over $200,000 annually including state pensions and county stipends, spends much of his time as the personal chauffeur for Ocean County Commissioner Virginia Haines, in his county-provided vehicle.
Over the years, Mastronardy has been spotted driving the commissioner to political functions using his county vehicle.
Mastronardy is expected to easily defeat Gilmore in the election, but so far, Gilmore has not officially announced his candidacy, leading many to believe a backroom deal is being worked out to avoid a politically damaging chairman’s election that would further split the already divided Republican Party.
Gilmore and Holman have been feuding for years as Holman purged municipal and county Republicans who wouldn’t pledge loyalty to him over Gilmore. That purging of public jobs, appointments, and professional contracts by Holman has led to animosity amongst party rank and file who were targeted by Holman and his very heavy-handed henchman, Assemblyman Gregory McGuckin who holds over two dozen appointed public jobs in New Jersey.
McGuckin’s presence in the party casts a large shadow over the party as he has been Holman’s primary axeman throughout the three-year purge.
Now, a naive Mastronardy, who has carried Holman’s water during that time, believes he can be the uniting force to bring the fractured and disgraced party back together, even as the FBI closes in.
The FBI investigation into the hiring practices of the Holman-era Republicans is being led by the Red Bank field office, which had successfully prosecuted many Republicans in the Ocean County GOP over the years, including Michael Ritacco, former Toms River Mayor Carmine Inteso, and Gilmore. Now, the agency is investigating possible illegal activities by the Holman-backed Board of Commissioners, and last week, it was known to be looking into the hiring practices of Mastronardy himself at the Sheriff’s office.
Despite all of the criminal probes into the Republican party, the party’s candidates are expected to easily win all primary and general elections because Democrats have been unable to win elections in Ocean County outside of Brick Township for decades.