TOMS RIVER, NJ — The online political campaign against Toms River Mayor Dan Rodrick is being financed and promoted by a small network of former and current local political figures, according to state campaign-finance records reviewed by Shore News Network, including former Mayor Maurice “Mo” Hill, former Councilman Kevin Geoghegan and MUA Commissioner Philip Brilliant. Brilliant, the former president of Congregation B’nai Israel whose environmental-services company recently filed for bankruptcy, has emerged as one of the campaign’s most prominent online operators, using Facebook pages and AI-generated political content to attack Rodrick while contributing personally and through his company to the TRRUE political action committee.
The campaign has now taken a more troubling turn, with Brilliant leading an online effort that has drawn accusations of bullying, intimidating and harassing children, expanding what began as an anti-Rodrick political operation into a dispute involving minors. ELEC filings show that more than $2,900 in monetary and in-kind support associated with Brilliant flowed to the PAC, while Hill, Geoghegan and other politically connected residents also contributed to the organization portraying itself publicly as a grassroots citizens’ movement.
This weekend, Brilliant began targeting minor children in his political crusade against the mayor, by harassing, intimidating and bullying young township employees online.
Brilliant served for many years as the President of B’nai Israel, but was replaced as his business began defaulting on payments. Sources within the congregation have told Shore News Network that some allegations regarding mismanagement were levied against Brilliant. However, those allegations were never publicly revealed, and no criminal case appears to have been opened in the matter.
Online outrage against Mayor Dan Rodrick has been exposed as political theater, funded by the very people voted out of office and under scrutiny by township officials. Thousands of dollars have been passed through the PAC to financially support the campaign against the mayor.
For the past several months, Facebook pages operated by Toms River MUA Commissioner Phillip Brilliant have used AI and conspiracy theory style posts against the mayor.
It has been confirmed by reports filed by the New Jersey Election Enforcement Commission that this political activity is funded through a dark-money PAC with financial ties to former Mayor Mo Hill and embattled Silverton EMS operator, Kevin Geoghegan.
A political action committee behind social media campaigns critical of Toms River Mayor Dan Rodrick is largely funded by former Mayor Maurice “Mo” Hill, Toms River Municipal Utilities Authority Commissioner Philip Brilliant, and former Councilman Kevin Geoghegan, according to disclosures filed with the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission.
The PAC, Toms River Residents Uniting Everyone, commonly known as TRRUE, has presented itself online as a grassroots organization promoting government transparency and accountability. However, campaign finance reports filed with ELEC show the PAC’s financial support comes primarily from a small group of current and former local political figures and their associates.
Ousted former mayor, Councilman, and MUA commissioner among largest contributors
According to the filings, former Mayor Maurice “Mo” Hill contributed $530 to the PAC.
The largest backing tied to a single individual comes from Philip Brilliant, a current commissioner on the Toms River Municipal Utilities Authority. ELEC records show Brilliant made $655 in personal monetary contributions, while Brilliant Environmental Services LLC, a business that recently filed for bankruptcy, provided an additional $2,312.62 in reported in-kind contributions during the reporting period.
Those in-kind contributions were reported as services rather than direct cash contributions, bringing the combined support associated with Brilliant to more than $2,900.
Geoghegan also listed as a PAC donor
Former Toms River Councilman Kevin Geoghegan, who also serves as director of the Silverton First Aid Squad, is also listed among the PAC’s contributors.
Silverton EMS is currently involved in litigation brought by Toms River Township alleging the organization improperly received hundreds of thousands of dollars in fuel and health insurance benefits. The allegations are part of ongoing litigation, and the claims have not been adjudicated.
Brilliant was also a leading supporter of a failed effort to recall Mayor Rodrick after the mayor publicly proposed dissolving the Municipal Utilities Authority. Dissolving the authority would eliminate the agency and the commissioner positions associated with it.
As an MUA commissioner, Brilliant receives health insurance coverage through the authority, a benefit available to commissioners who meet attendance requirements.
While TRRUE describes its mission as being “to be a catalyst for positive change in Toms River by mobilizing residents to participate in the democratic process, holding elected officials accountable, and promoting a culture of transparency and openness,” the campaign finance disclosures identify a relatively small number of contributors, led by Hill, Brilliant, Geoghegan, and several other local residents.
The ELEC reports are public records and are available through the commission’s campaign finance disclosure system.
Sideshow actors
Shore News Network has also discovered that many of the production’s sideshow actors are also politically connected to the defeated political regime. Many of the people who speak regularly at town hall meetings, including a softball coach who attacked Shore News Network are not just ‘concerned residents’, but people with skin in Toms River’s political gain.
Sisters of fire commissioners, daughters of fired employees, fired employees and people connected to the Mo Hill Republican Club. Her comments came after Shore News Network exposed her brother’s fire district over a racist and anti-semitic broadcast was pushed under the carpet by her family and others.
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Key Points
- Former Mayor Maurice “Mo” Hill contributed $530 to the Toms River Residents Uniting Everyone PAC, according to ELEC filings.
- MUA Commissioner Philip Brilliant and his company reported more than $2,900 in combined monetary and in-kind contributions.
- Former Councilman Kevin Geoghegan is also listed as a contributor to the PAC opposing Mayor Dan Rodrick.
