Gilmore Resigns From Ocean County Board Of Elections: Reports

TOMS RIVER, NJ — Ocean County Republican boss George Gilmore has resigned from his post as chairman of the Ocean County Board of Elections, according to reports.

Gilmore, who was convicted last week on two counts of failing to pay payroll taxes and one count of making false statements on a loan application following a two-week federal trial, has served as chairman of the Election Board since 1995, the Asbury Park Press reported.

The New Jersey Globe, which first reported the resignation Tuesday morning, said Gilmore resigned ahead of state Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal seeking a court order to force Gilmore to step down from the post.

Gilmore, 70, has faced calls for him to resign from his public posts and as chairman of the Ocean County Republican Party since he was indicted in January by a federal grand jury on six charges. In addition to the three counts where the jury found Gilmore guilty on April 17, he was acquitted on two counts of filing false tax returns, and the jury failed to return a verdict on one count of income tax evasion for calendar years 2013, 2014, and 2015.

He is scheduled to be sentenced on July 23, and faces up to 30 years in prison on the loan falsification conviction, and up to five years on each count of the payroll taxes, along with fines.

Kevin H. Marino, Gilmore's defense attorney, has said he will be filing a motion seeking to have the conviction overturned, and in the initial wake of the trial rejected calls for Gilmore to resign his posts.

That changed on April 18, when Grewal's office said it would pursue a court order to force Gilmore to resign.

U.S. District Judge Anne E. Thompson is scheduled to hear Marino's arguments to overturn Gilmore's conviction in late May.

The Ocean County Board of Elections post had drawn significant attention because of the hotly contested Republican mayoral primary in Toms River, where Joseph Coronato, the former Ocean County prosecutor and nominee of the township's Regular Republican Club, is being challenged by Councilmen Maurice "Mo" Hill and Daniel Rodrick. Hill and Rodrick both decided to run campaigns independent of the Republican club after the club's nominating committee chose Coronato in a move both have criticized as orchestrated by Gilmore.

The Board of Elections is responsible for — among other things — counting vote-by-mail and provisional ballots and deciding challenges to certain voters.

Coronato, Hill and Rodrick have called for Gilmore to step down as chair of the Ocean County Republican Party, a seat Gilmore has held since 1996. The Asbury Park Press and the New Jersey Globe reported Tuesday that he is expected to resign from that position soon as well.

The fate of the contracts involving his law firm, Gilmore and Monahan, PA, remains uncertain. Gilmore is an equity partner and shareholder in the firm, which is the law firm of record for multiple public bodies, including Berkeley Township, Lacey Township, Little Egg Harbor, Plumsted and Seaside Heights, and Howell was added in 2019. He also is the attorney for the South Jersey Transportation Authority.

Lacey Township officials have said the township will continue its contract with Gilmore's firm, saying its dealings are with Lauren Staiger, and not Gilmore directly. The South Jersey Transportation Authority is weighing its options, the Press of Atlantic City reported.

"To me it's all politics," Marino told the Press of Atlantic City last week, calling it ridiculous that Gilmore should have to give up his career over the convictions on not paying payroll taxes.

Gilmore has long been synonymous with politics in Ocean County and has been seen as the most powerful Republican boss in the state, even serving on Chris Christie's transition team when Christie was elected governor of New Jersey in 2009.

Previous coverage:

• Gilmore Conviction: What's Next For Ocean County GOP Chair
• Lacey Twp. Continuing Relationship With Gilmore Firm: Mayor
• Toms River Mayoral Hopefuls: Gilmore Should Leave Ocean GOP Chair
• Gilmore Guilty On 3 Counts In $1.5M Tax Evasion Case, Jury Rules
• Gilmore Tax Evasion Trial Under Way In Federal Court
• Ocean County GOP Chair Gilmore Indicted On $1M Tax Evasion: Feds
• Feds Subpoena Election Board Records On GOP Chair Gilmore: Report
• Ocean County GOP Party Head Under Investigation For Unpaid Taxes: Report

Note: This article has been updated to correct the maximum potential sentence for Gilmore on the loan application falsification conviction.

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