Toms River Council Rebukes Rodrick

TOMS RIVER, NJ — With tensions peaking ahead of the Toms River Republican mayoral primary on June 4, Councilman Daniel Rodrick was rebuked by the rest of the council Tuesday night after a pair of outbursts during the Township Council meeting.

The council voted 6-0 on a motion sanctioning Rodrick, demanding he apologize for interrupting Councilman Maurice "Mo" Hill's council comments by yelling over him or that he step down from the dais. Rodrick refused to do either.

When Councilwoman Laurie Huryk insisted Rodrick leave the meeting, township attorney Kenneth Fitzsimmons said there was no mechanism to force him to leave.

"The vote is a sanction in itself," Fitzsimmons said.

Rodrick's outburst toward Hill and one earlier in the meeting came in response to a biting statement issued last week by Mayor Thomas Kelaher that called a claim that 6,400 homes will be build on the Ciba-Geigy property "an outright lie" and accused Rodrick of fear-mongering and using memories of the 1990s cancer cluster for political gain.

Rodrick is running for the Republican nomination for mayor against fellow Councilman Maurice "Mo" Hill and former Ocean County prosecutor Joseph Coronato; the three and Democrat Jonathan Petro are seeking to replace Kelaher, who is retiring at the end of his term.

The campaign for the Republican nomination has been bitter from the start as Rodrick and Hill both jumped into the race after Coronato received the nod from the Regular Republican Club in a close vote from the club's candidate screening committee.

The bitterness exploded last week after an anonymous website posted a claim that plans are in the works to build 6,400 homes on the former Ciba-Geigy site, part of which is a Superfund site.

Rodrick had previously claimed an email from Township Business Administrator Don Guardian showed the town was actively working with developer Jack Morris on a project for the site.

The website, which poses as new site but contains no bylines and no publisher information, expanded on Rodrick's claim, with a headline claiming Coronato and former Ocean County Republican boss George Gilmore were planning a "city within a city" at the site. As the website's claim spread like wildfire, Kelaher fired off a statement, calling the claim "an outright lie."

"To exploit this painful episode in Toms River’s history for political purposes is sick and self-serving. Councilman Rodrick’s shameless deception shows nothing more than he has neither the character, competence, nor conscience to serve in any elected capacity, let alone as mayor of Toms River," Kelaher wrote in the statement.

Prompted by Kelaher's statement that he would confront Rodrick at the council meeting, Rodrick tried to bring up the issue as the council was considering agenda items.

Council President George Wittmann refused to allow it, telling Rodrick to save it for council comment at the end of the meeting.

"The mayor said he was going to confront me today," Rodrick said, then turned to Kelaher and asked if that was still his plan. As Wittmann continued to tell him to hold his comments for the end of the meeting, Rodrick got louder, pointing to a poster he'd brought that included an enlarged screenshot of Guardian's email and snippets from the township's master plan that talk about encouraging redevelopment of the site and mixed uses. "The email is right there," he said.

"It's not on the agenda," Wittmann said, insisting the poster be taken down.

When it came time for council comment, Councilman Terrance Turnbach took Rodrick to task. While never naming him specifically, Turnbach criticized Rodrick's outburst, pointing out Kelaher's record of military service, his role as a former prosecutor and his service to the township.

"I respect him," Turnbach said. "He is not 'Tom' to me, he is 'Mr. Mayor."

"What I saw at the start of the meeting made me a little embarrassed," he said. "I expect all of us to move forward (after the primary). We have to represent everyone in this town, all races, all religions, all creeds."

When it came his turn to speak, Rodrick again insisted Guardian's email and the township's master plan language support his claim that plans are in the works to build homes at the Ciba-Geigy site. In the email, Guardian said he had connected Morris with BASF, which owns the Ciba-Geigy site. Guardian has said that connection consisted of Googling the address and phone number of the company's headquarters, as the township is prohibited from having contact with the company due to the ongoing, protracted tax appeal BASF has pending.

Rodrick blasted Kelaher, saying the mayor had done nothing to stop overdevelopment in the township. "North Dover is your legacy," he said, then repeated his comment that the master plan language says redevelopment and mixed uses are being encouraged for the site.

"I'm very disappointed in Terrance and Laurie, " Rodrick said in response to Turnbach's comments, noting that he ran with Turnbach and Huryk, both Democrats, on a platform of stopping overdevelopment in the township. "I'm the only voice here in oppostion to this project." Rodrick ran for council as a Democrat then changed to the Republican party a few months into his council term. Rodrick has said he was registered as a Republican for years before joining the Democrats ahead of the council race.

After Hill interrupted briefly, Rodrick blasted Kelaher, saying, "Have you read the master plan, Tom? That says it right there."

Hill followed Rodrick's comments with a statement rejecting Rodrick's claims.

"There never has been a discussion of redeveloping the site," said Hill, who sits on the township's land use committee. "Nor has there been a redevelopment plan."

Rodrick interrupted Hill, yelling, "It's in the master plan" several times, until Wittmann finally banged the gavel to restore order.

That was enough to anger Huryk, who made the motion demanding Rodrick either apologize to Hill or leave the dais.

The reactions from residents in attendance were mixed. Some applauded vigorously in response to Turnbach's statement and Huryk's motion. Others sat quietly.

One said the night's events helped her reach a decision on who she was voting for in the primary.

"I couldn’t even go up to the microphone because of my horror at what happened," the resident said in an email. "My mind is made up after Rodrick attacked the mayor."

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