TOMS RIVER, NJ – On Tuesday, Toms River Mayor Maurice Hill lost his bid to get the Republican nominee in the November general election. Hill lost to his nemesis, Councilman Dan Rodrick in an election that wasn’t even close.
So what happens next?
Mo Hill and his team will continue to serve their terms in office, which expire on December 31, 2023. While Hill and his team can be considered in a ‘lame duck session’, they are still anything but lame ducks.
Until New Year’s Day, Hill and his team still control the majority on the council and the mayor’s seat. It is expected that Hill could now try to fast-track items in his public agenda to get them done before the end of the year.
As has been the case for the past few years, Rodrick and his former running mate Councilman Justin Lamb are nearly powerless to stop Hill and his team as they are the 5-2 minority.
In November, Rodrick and his team will face off against the Democrats running for office. Whoever wins, which is expected to be the Republican team will take power after the New Year. Typically reorganization meetings happen within a couple of days of New Year’s Day.
In the period between the election and New Year’s Eve, it would be expected that Rodrick, should he win would form a transition team or transition strategy with the currently sitting Republicans, however, this isn’t always a guarantee. There is no law requiring it, and after the knock-em-dead brawl of a primary election, cordial exchanges are not anticipated. Time will tell.
At the reorganization meeting, the new mayor and council will be sworn in and conduct the business of appointing or removing professional service contracts and appointees.
The council will then meet at the next regularly scheduled meeting to start conducting township business.
Although Rodrick made some campaign promises to stop overdevelopment during the campaign, all he can do is formally request Hill honors the will of the people as the year goes on. Hill is not obligated at all to comply.
In essence, nothing is changing at town hall until the first meeting in January no matter who wins in November.