TOMS RIVER, NJ – Residents in Toms River are reeling today after some received nearly a dozen texts from political candidates Mo Hill and Geri Ambrosio trying to influence their vote in Tuesday’s election. Those texts targeted Jewish voters and families, lighting up their cell phones all day on Sunday.
The messages solicited votes from the Orthodox Jewish community, and residents were not happy, saying many of the texts were bordering on being a harassing nuisance.
Texts from Hill and Ambrosio accused each other and their opponent of being anti-semitic and anti-Jewish.
In texts from Ambrosio, the twice-bankrupted municipal tax assessor railed Councilman Daniel Rodrick as an anti-semite for his opposition to “Lakewood Style Development” in Toms River.
All day long, Hill and Ambrosio launched jabs at each other and Rodrick in an attempt to sway votes from the Orthodox Jewish community into their corner.
“We’re getting these texts nonstop all day from Hill and Ambrosio,” one member of the community said. “They are sending us pictures of community leaders with people like the Sheriff and saying horrible negative things about each other in an attempt to sway our vote.”
The community itself has remained divided. While the Toms River Jewish Community Council (VAAD) has officially endorsed Geri Ambrosio, many rabbis in the letter said they never endorsed Ambrosio and are still backing Mo Hill for Mayor.
“We simply said we will vote as a united bloc as the community sees fit, but we never actually endorsed a particular candidate,” one rabbinical leader who wished to remain anonymous said.
Now, that endorsement of Ambrosio has the TRJCC second-guessing itself after the avalanche of texts accusing each other of being anti-semitic, but leaders are standing behind their endorsement of Ambrosio in light of the disturbing text messages.
“The battle for our vote between Ambrosio and Hill, honestly has become quite embarrassing,” another North Dover resident told Shore News Network on Sunday after receiving five political texts from the candidates in a two hour span yesterday afternoon. “If they want our vote that badly, this is not how to get it. We want to know what the candidates will do for our community, not what they have to say about each other’s faults.”
Mo Hill has been feverishly making phone calls to Jewish leaders to get them back into his camp this weekend, even reaching out to Orthodox Jewish leaders in Jackson and Lakewood, hoping those leaders could convince the TRJCC to swing back into his corner the day before tomorrow’s election.
Lakewood and Jackson Jewish leaders have said on record they are not getting involved in endorsing any candidates in Toms River. The influential Lakewood VAAD and Jackson VAAD have not made any endorsements in the election.
That didn’t stop condemnations. Multiple Lakewood newspapers and media outlets have condemned Councilman Daniel Rodrick for opposing “Lakewood Style Development” in Toms River and leaders in Toms River have made it clear they are opposed to Rodrick becoming mayor of Toms River.
Rodrick is not expected to garner any votes from the Jewish community in Toms River and said today that he has not been targeting Jewish voters for their vote in the frantic and irresponsible manner of his opponents.
“My campaign mailers are general mailers to the entire township,” Rodrick said. “I haven’t tailored multiple messages like my opponents saying different things to different groups of people just to get their vote. My track record is clear. My platform has been what it has been for the past four years. I’m not going to pander like my opponents.”
Rodrick, when questioned about whether his stance could hurt his chances on Tuesday, said he refuses to tell different people different things or craft specific messages for specific audiences.
“They have made it very clear,” Rodrick said. “I’m not who they are voting for. They are obviously split between my opponents. I think it’s misguided and based on a misconception that being against overdevelopment is being labeled as antisemitic, but my track record is clear. If elected, I will, of course, be the mayor for all residents and treat everyone equally, but I will also maintain the line when it comes to turning our beautiful town into an overcrowded and congested city. The key word here is equally.”
Rodrick said there are sensible solutions to some of the problems Toms River faces, but abandoning the township’s zoning laws and adopting laws similar to those in Lakewood and recently passed in Jackson, which Hill and Ambrosio subscribe to, are not the answer.
