Toms River, NJ – 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.
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 group, 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 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.
“It was a vain and transparent attempt to either ‘scare’ us out of looking into it or to do something else. Who knows, maybe she’s running for council next year, too. Time will tell,” said Shore News Network editor and owner Phil Stilton. “All of the lies and criminal acts by this new council and their friends who want to stop us from telling the truth are so plain and direct, it’s almost comical.”
Stilton said Shore News Network will be doing a deeper dive on these inside connections after each council meeting in the future, exposing “Who’s who at the Toms River council meetings” after each meeting, giving our readers direct context to the statements and claims made by each.
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.
