TOMS RIVER, NJ – At Tuesday night’s Toms River township council meeting, Mo Hill ally, councilman David Ciccozzi vowed to fight Republican nominee Dan Rodrick to the bitter end.
Rodrick won last Tuesday’s GOP mayoral primary election by a landslide, with Mo Hill and his team receiving just over 20% of the total vote count.
On Tuesday, while most members of the town council and Mayor Hill himself conceded to Rodrick, vowing to support him in November, Ciccozzi dug in and went on the offensive, signaling he may be one of the Republicans working for the Democrat party to defeat Rodrick in November.
“You’re not going to have my cooperation,” Ciccozzi said during his council comments on Tuesday. “Zero.”
Ciccozzi’s statement was met with boos from a crowded meeting room inside town hall.
Geri Ambrosio, who ran against Rodrick, stood up to the microphone and criticized Ciccozzi, saying the fractured GOP needs to come together and support Rodrick to secure a Republican victory in November and to reverse the policy of the Hill administration.
“What you need to do is put your own self aside and congratulate the person who worked very hard to win with overwhelming support from our community,” Ambrosio said to Ciccozzi. “Obviously, the community wants us to go in a different direction.”
“Are you still campaigning?” he responded snarkily.
Ambrosio acknowledged that last week’s election was a mandate by voters to support Rodrick and to oppose the policies and plans of Mo Hill and his administration.