Toth Withdraws From Brick Council Race, Says Teen's Claim Is Baseless

Former Brick Township Councilman Dan Toth has withdrawn from this year’s race for Brick Township Council amid charges he had sexual contact with a teenage boy.

Toth issued the following statement by email to the Brick Patch and other media outlets:

“Let me be clear: the charges filed against me are false and baseless. I’ve spent my entire life building my reputation, and I will devote my full energies toward proving my innocence. As such, I have requested that my name be withdrawn from the ballot for Township Council in Brick.”

Toth, who served on the council from 2006-2013, had been the top vote-getter in the Republican primary in June among the four Republicans running for the four, four-year terms that are being contested this year. Toth also ran unsuccessfully for mayor in 2013, falling in the primary to Joseph Sangiovanni.

Toth’s departure will leave the Republicans with Frank Pannucci Jr., Michael R. Conti and Charles D. Bacon on the ballot. Pannucci and Conti are currently members of the Brick Board of Education; their school board seats are up for election as well and they have chosen not to seek re-election to the school board. Bacon is a relatively unknown candidate.

Toth also has been suspended from his job as a garage attendant with the Ocean County Vehicles Services Department, according to a report in the Asbury Park Press.