TOMS RIVER, NJ – Ocean County GOP chairman George Gilmore is known as a fighter who knows how to win elections, especially when it comes to elections under his purview. Gilmore has a reputation of being a wheeling and dealing negotiator who can play the political chessboard better than anyone else in the state.
Then, along came the 2023 Ocean County GOP Convention.
Led by a coalition of young Republicans who aren’t fond of business as usual in Ocean County, Wednesday’s election results for party endorsements showed the GOP establishment there’s a new way of doing business from the ground up, not from the top down.
Multiple defeats for Gilmore and party elites sent shockwaves across the state GOP as Gilmore lost his bid to seize control of the Toms River Republican line in the June primary election. He also failed to dethrone New Jersey Assemblyman Greg McGuckin and failed to get his desired candidates for New Jersey Assembly on the Republican ticket.
Worse, Gilmore lost all hope of running a team to defeat McGuckin and Toms River Mayor Mo Hill in the upcoming primary election, where the mayor and three council seats are up for grabs.
When the dust settled, Gilmore claimed it was a good night for Republicans.
“Democracy was on display tonight,” Gilmore said, acknowledging that the Ocean County Republicans voiced their opinions and cast their votes.
Now, Gilmore will have to decide how to proceed as the next stage of the 2023 election season progresses. While he wasn’t sure that he was going to stop waging an internal civil war, he acknowledged the defeat leaves open the possibility for negotiations.
Known for getting his ducks lined in a row before elections and calculating every move and counter-move, Gilmore said he was surprised by the results this week. Gilmore claims several political clubs weren’t forthcoming about their intent before the meeting, causing him to miscalculate and underestimate the forces against his brand of politics born in the 80s and 90s.
Today, younger Republicans in Ocean County are more concerned about the quality of life, good governing and principles and less concerned with using political involvement as a stepping stone for public jobs, political appointments, and favors.
The victory was another solid victory for the new leadership of the Jackson Republican Club, coming off a major win in November against Gilmore-aligned candidates.
Mordechai Burnstein, the President of the Jackson Republican Club, was one of the people who led the charge to force an end to the four-year-old internal civil war.
“The decision to vote against decertifying the Republicans of Toms River was a collaborative decision between Republican clubs in Toms River, Jackson, and Lakewood,” Burnstein said. “We felt voting on principles and values was more important than taking sides in political infighting. It was a difficult choice, but we feel the outcome will help bring the Ocean County GOP back together as one team. Now it is time to unite as Republicans and continue moving Ocean County forward. Ocean County will continue to remain the great place that we call home when we are all united.”
Burnstein said the Ocean County GOP came together on Wednesday and selected a solid list of candidates to face Democrat challengers in November, and that’s what’s more important.
While hopes for unity in the Ocean County GOP are shared by many of the younger Republicans, some party elders signaled the desire to dig deeper trenches and escalate the war to punish those towns for not meeting the chairman’s agenda.
In District 10, the party added GOP rising star Point Pleasant Beach Mayor Paul Kanitra to run with McGuckin. Old Bridge Mayor Owen Henry was chosen to represent District 12. Frank Sadeghi, a Gilmore ally, was chosen to replace Commissioner Joe Vicari for a seat on the Ocean County Board of Commissioners. Berkeley Mayor Carmen Amato, another Gilmore ally, was nominated to run for Senate in the 9th District.
The table is set for peace. Now, the question is will Gilmore accept the offer and support the party line or will he continue to challenge the decisions made by his own party?
At question are what becomes of his preferred District 10 Assembly candidates, Ashley Lamb and Ruthanne Scaturro. Scaturro signaled she will accept the party’s decision.
Then comes Toms River. Gilmore has already handpicked a slate of candidates to run for office, led by former Toms River GOP President Geri Ambrosio, who Gilmore helped secure a $90,000 job in Berkeley Township.
Gilmore said on Thursday that he would not run Ambrosio for mayor in Toms River, but he has no control over her decision to challenge Hill if that’s what she decides to do. The message signals that Gilmore could again work a behind-the-scenes campaign against his own Republicans.
Gilmore also acknowledged that on the state and county levels, Ocean County has put together an impressive team for the November election, even if it’s not his handpicked team of loyalists dominating the ticket.
A meeting between Gilmore and McGuckin was discussed at Wednesday’s convention, but at this time, neither man wants to be the one to make the phone call to set it up. Old dogs often can’t be taught new tricks.
In McGuckin’s defense, he now holds the cards and has shown that his power and influence in Ocean County rivals that of Gilmore. For things to work, the two men will, at one point, have to bury the hatchet and remember they’re not the only two people in the room.
We will report once one chooses to end the juvenile stalemate in this out-of-control game of political chicken.
This weekend, Republicans across New Jersey will meet at the annual New Jersey GOP Convention in Atlantic City. The battle in Ocean County is sure to be the hot topic at bars and in casinos and ballrooms throughout the city.