Mo hill, new allies launch toms river takeover of republican club

TOMS RIVER-The day after Toms River Mayor Maurice “Mo” Hill and his new political allies demand for the resignation of every Toms River Republican Club executive board member fell on deaf ears, Hill and his allies stormed the Toms River Republican Club’s monthly meeting and doubled down on their effort to take it over.

Hill himself is not a member of the Toms River Republican Club. He quit. Last year, when the club membership voted to endorse former Ocean County Prosecutor Joseph Coronato, Hill went ballistic. He resigned from the club and blamed club leadership for working against him. He went out, found new friends and ended up defeating the club in the June 2019 Republican primary. Those same friends propelled him to an extremely narrow Republican victory that saw nearly 1,200 Republicans vote against Hill. Hill was carried across the finish line through his air-tight endorsement and support from a large voter turnout in the North Dover section of the town.

Now, Hill wants all the marbles, including the Toms River Republican Club, for which he remains an outsider. Not able to get his way back into the good graces of the party, Hill and his key ally, New Jersey Assemblyman Gregory P. McGuckin, whose firm also serves as the Lakewood Township Zoning Board attorney, have launched a hostile takeover attempt.

A day earlier, Hill, McGuckin and Ocean County GOP Chairman Frank Holman tried to spring a Valentine’s Day massacre style meeting at Holman’s GOP headquarters. After Shore News Network published the plan online, none of the executive board members showed up.

Hill, McGuckin and Holman are targeting a woman.

Geri Ambrosio serves as the president of the Toms River Republican Club and Hill can’t stand it. Ambrosio maintained her support for Coronato during the vicious primary election campaign.

“The club endorsed Joe [Coronato],” Ambrosio said weeks after the election. “I had to respect the club’s decision.”

After the executive board members refused the offer by Hill, Holman and McGuckin to meet at the Ocean County party’s headquarters on Wednesday, allies insisted things were going to get ugly at Thursday’s Toms River club meeting.

McGuckin called for Ms. Ambrosio’s immediate resignation. McGuckin, as you may recall, served as Hill’s transition advisor after the November election. The attack against Ambrosio stands in direct conflict of Holman’s master plan to make his party more diverse, to include more women and minorities in leadership positions. Hill, Holman and McGuckin’s plan, according to insiders is to replace Ambrosio with a man, Toms River attorney Robert Shea.

For now, the club leadership stopped Mo’s running play up the middle at the line of scrimmage. Despite heated debate and accusation slinging from Hill’s allies, the executive board did not take any actions on the matter and now the Hill Gang will have to wait until next month’s meeting to try another coup attempt.

As a result of the fracas, the club also did not attend to more serious business, such as the endorsement of candidates for U.S. Senate and U.S. Congress ahead of Wednesday’s convention.

Most of Toms River’s votes will be cast by Ambrosio on Wednesday.

Main Photo: Maurice Hill celebrating his 2019 election victory.

Featured

Phil Stilton Latest posts

Phil Stilton is the Editor and Publisher of Shore News Network, an independent digital newsroom providing original reporting on New Jersey, national news, government, public policy, public safety, courts, and community affairs.

As founder of the publication, Stilton leads editorial strategy, investigative reporting, and daily newsroom operations while overseeing coverage that reaches millions of readers annually.

With extensive experience covering municipal government, county government, state legislatures, elections, law enforcement, emergency management, and public records, Stilton specializes in translating complex government actions into clear, factual reporting. His work frequently relies on primary source documents, including court filings, legislation, public meeting records, election finance disclosures, government databases, police reports, and Freedom of Information and Open Public Records Act (OPRA) requests. He has reported extensively on local government accountability, taxpayer spending, campaign finance, public corruption investigations, infrastructure, public safety, and the policies affecting New Jersey residents.

Under Stilton's editorial leadership, Shore News Network has grown into one of New Jersey's largest independent digital news organizations, publishing thousands of original news articles each year while providing breaking news coverage, investigative reporting, and analysis across state and local government. The publication's reporting is routinely sourced from official government agencies, public officials, court records, and firsthand documentation, with a commitment to transparency, attribution, corrections when warranted, and clearly distinguishing factual reporting from opinion.

Stilton's journalism follows established newsroom standards emphasizing accuracy, verification, fairness, and accountability. Every effort is made to verify information through official records and multiple reliable sources before publication. His reporting is intended to provide readers with timely, well-documented information that helps them understand the issues affecting their communities, while maintaining editorial independence from political parties, government agencies, advocacy organizations, and commercial interests.

Readers can submit story tips, corrections, public records, or media inquiries through the official Shore News Network website or its verified social media channels. Shore News Network welcomes corrections and updates when new information becomes available as part of its ongoing commitment to accurate and transparent journalism.