Geoghegan Re-Elected President As Toms River Council Reorganizes

TOMS RIVER, NJ — The Toms River Township Council reorganized Monday, with three new members sworn into their seats.

Kevin Geoghegan was elected to serve as council president for the second straight year, and Matthew Lotano was elected to serve as council vice president.

It was quickly clear 2022 would pick up where 2021 left off, however, when Councilmen Daniel Rodrick and Justin Lamb both voted against the nomination of Geoghegan as council president, and objected to a resolution that would put a 5-minute time limit on council members’ comments and would bar council members from introducing a resolution without it going through the council president.

Lamb said he believed the time limit was a violation of freedom of speech under the Constitution. Rodrick objected in particular to the portion of the resolution barring the introduction of resolutions from the floor by council members.

“Is this required at the Assembly, where you serve?” Rodrick asked Gregory McGuckin, the township’s attorney and a New Jersey assemblyman. McGuckin said that was the case at the Assembly, that resolutions were submitted to the Assembly president before being introduced.

Rodrick has feuded with Geoghegan, Lotano and Kopp and Mayor Maurice Hill since they were were sworn into office in January 2020. Rodrick and Lamb were running mates in the fall, when Lamb was elected, unseating Maria Maruca after 18 years of service on the council.

Also sworn in were James Quinlisk, representing Ward 3, and David Ciccozzi, representing Ward 4. Ciccozzi and Quinlisk thanked the voters for electing them.

"I’m honored to be here and I’m going to give 100 percent every day," Ciccozzi said.

"I hope to promote the idea that Toms River needs to keep getting better," Quinlisk said.

Lamb thanked the voters as well, and praised Rodrick, saying he "had the guts to challenge the status quo of big government," then said he hopes to work to a consensus "to control the unbridled growth of government that we have been accustomed to for too long."

"To all the professionals in the crowd and Mayor Hill, let’s go forward together," Lamb said.

Rodrick returned to the same themes he has repeated, of overdevelopment and corruption.

Councilman Joshua Kopp announced he is forming a committee to build up Toms River as a place that welcomes and supports small businesses.

"I'd like to make a change in Toms River to make it one of the best in the state for small businesses," Kopp said, "to provide opportunities to anyone who wants to start a business in Toms River."

Lotano said his top priority for 2022 will be improving the town's communication with residents, citing the failure of the open space tax referendum on the 2021 ballot. Toms River was hoping to garner support from residents to fund further purchases of property, such as the Boy Scout offices on Route 571, to protect them from development.

Geoghegan acknowledged the disagreement with Lamb and Rodrick on the resolution setting rules for council meeting participation, saying, "I'm sure it’s not the first time we’ll disagree on things."

Mayor Maurice Hill highlighted what he saw as positive accomplishments in 2021, including the settlement over zoning with the federal Department of Justice. He noted that in settling the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act complaint with the federal government, Toms River paid a much lower penalty than surrounding towns have paid.

Howell was recently penalized $8.7 million over a RLUIPA issue, Hill said.

He also highlighted the contract for the construction of the new Veterans Administration clinic on Hooper Avenue, the new Ocean County Social Services building, the recreation improvements in town, and the finalizing of the purchase of the surf club property on Dec. 30.

Open space purchases will continue to be important, and he said the town will need to take a different approach to get property preserved from developers looking to build homes or multifamily housing.

"We’ve got a lot of positive things we’ve accomplished in 2021 and a lot we are looking forward to in 2022," he said.

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