Local candidates push back against party insiders as county committee races draw new attention
A growing faction of self-described “America First” Republicans in Brick Township is publicly challenging the Ocean County Republican establishment, arguing the local party has become too heavily controlled by political insiders and longtime power brokers.
In a statement posted by Team Brick and shared through local political circles this week, supporters urged Republican voters to back a slate of county committee candidates they say will prioritize transparency, accountability, and grassroots involvement over what they described as machine politics.
The message directly criticized the influence of entrenched party leadership and referenced longtime Ocean County GOP chairman George Gilmore, a dominant figure in county Republican politics for decades. Gilmore has been under fire for working with Democrats on the state level, even hosting a political fundraiser last year for Democrat former Governor James McGreevey in Bayville.
Gilmore’s faction of the Brick Republican party is currently the officially recognized club in the township, which has been under solid Democrat control for the past 10 years.
“We can’t keep sending the same machine-backed people into county committee seats and hope something magically changes — or we can start rebuilding the party from the ground up,” the statement said.
George E. Gilmore, a longtime Republican power broker in Ocean County, New Jersey, has had a decades-long political career intertwined with significant legal trouble. As chairman of the Ocean County GOP, Gilmore built one of the state’s most influential county political organizations and maintained relationships across party lines, including working with Democratic officials when it aligned with local political or development interests. His influence extended into legal, political, and business circles, making him a central figure in regional politics for years. He once was a partner in 1868 Public Affairs, which was run by now New Jersey Democrat Party Chairman Leroy Jones.
He is also a consultant for a political power-broker lobbying firm with ties to George Norcross, the major South Jersey Democratic political boss.
In 2019, Gilmore was convicted in federal court on tax-related charges, specifically for failing to pay payroll taxes tied to his law firm, along with making false statements to the IRS during an investigation. He was sentenced to a year and a day in prison. However, in one of his final acts in office in his first term, President Donald Trump granted Gilmore a full pardon in January 2021, effectively wiping out the conviction. Despite the conviction and pardon, Gilmore has remained active in political circles, and his career continues to draw scrutiny and debate given the mix of influence, legal issues, and bipartisan dealings that have defined his tenure. The conviction did not wipe out Gilmore’s financial troubles. His business property was foreclosed on, his home has multiple IRS liens placed against it, and he and his wife Joanne recently settled a foreclosure lawsuit involving another home in Toms River.
Despite all of this, he remains the leader of the Ocean County Republican Organization and is one of the men behind the green curtain pulling the strings for Brick Township Republicans.
The campaign post framed the county committee races as a broader battle over who controls the direction of the Republican Party in Brick Township, resonating with many who remember when Gilmore’s team last controlled Brick Township and the patronage, corruption, and high taxes that followed. That leadership led to the rise of Mayor John Ducey, now a Superior Court Judge in Ocean County, and the Democrat party’s longtime control over the township.
While county committee elections often receive little public attention, the positions can carry significant influence inside local political organizations. Committee members help shape party leadership, endorsements, strategy, and organizational priorities. They also vote for the chairman’s seat, which is up for grabs in June.
The America First-backed slate includes candidates running in multiple Brick districts, including:
- District 6 – Robert Mattliano
- District 9 – Robert Canfield
- District 11 – Mary Ellen Viola
- District 14 – Mary Lou Powner
- District 15 – Louis Esposito
- District 17 – John Getz and Kyra Staffa
- District 25 – Richard Mattson
- District 26 – Theresa Gallagher and Jane Mahoney
- District 38 – Mary Buckley and Peter Buckley
- District 39 – Rossana Biondo
- District 45 – Michael Caldarise
- District 57 – Justin Delaney
Supporters of the movement argue the current Republican leadership structure discourages dissent and rewards loyalty to county leadership over independent representation.
“The candidates running with the ‘Endorsed by Ocean County Republicans’ and ‘Brick GOP’ line are asking you to keep things exactly the way they are,” the statement claimed.
The message ended with a direct appeal to voters to support what organizers called “change” within the local Republican Party.
At this time, no one in the Ocean County GOP has challenged Gilmore’s bid for re-election in June.