TOMS RIVER, NJ – The past four years of Republican party politics have been nothing short of a blood bath as forces aligned with former GOP County Chairman Frank Holman clashed with current Chairman George Gilmore. The battle culminated in an epic three-way showdown between Toms River Mayor Mo Hill (Holman Faction), Toms River GOP President Geri Ambrosio (Gilmore Faction), and Dan Rodrick, an independent Republican challenge both sides in the civil war.
In the end, Rodrcik overwhelmingly defeated both sides in the political feud by more than a two-to-one margin each.
Since winning the June primary, Rodrick has worked tirelessly to unite the Republican party in Toms River and in Ocean County. And it has worked.
Both warring GOP clubs have endorsed Rodrick. The Mo Hill aligned Republicans for Toms River, and the Regular Republicans of Toms River, aligned with Chairman George Gilmore, unanimously endorsed Rodrick for mayor after his victory.
While the two warring factions battled for control of Toms River, Rodrick stayed his course and maintained that the 2023 election cycle is about stopping overdevelopment in town. In the end, even Gilmore agreed that Rodrick was right.
“The two clubs are united behind Dan Rodrick for mayor,” Gilmore said. “He’ll move the town forward and have more orderly development.”
Rodrick’s early New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission reports show the party has come together behind him in the form of political contributions. Rodrick has been able to successfully raise funds for his campaigns from both sides of the once-split Ocean County GOP. He has also been able to gain support from major independent and even Democrat supporters during his campaign.
“I think Dan is on the right track and doing the right things, and he will make a fine mayor for Toms River,” the GOP Chairman said.
Rodrick said that he is adamant on stopping overdevelopment in town, an issue that is at the top of voters minds in Toms River regardless of their political affiliation and even religion.
“Nobody wants Toms River to become a major city,” Rodrick said. “I will make sure that doesn’t happen.”
His opponent Ben Giovine, sent out a letter to Republicans trying to re-ignite the former civil war, but in that letter, Giovine claimed that he was for ‘smart development’, a Democrat code-word for apartments and U.N. Agenda 21 style development.
That letter was penned by Phil Brilliant, who was appointed to the Toms River MUA by Mo Hill. Brilliant admitted in a recent letter to the editor with the Toms River Times that he was down on his luck, and Hill appointed him to the board, which meets every few weeks to provide him with township medical benefits.
“Ben and his radical agenda wants to see people living in densely populated apartment buildings, driving electric cars and cooking their dinners on electric stoves while sitting around the electric heater,” Rodrick said. “He wants to build downtown into apartment hi-rises tell us all how to live our lives.”
Rodrick said Giovine’s recent drunk-driving arrest, which ironically was while he was driving his Toyota Prius electric car, shows that he is unfit for mayor.