Toms River Mayor Dan Rodrick. (File Photo)
A Toms River resident who has emerged as an activist in opposition to the administration of Mayor Dan Rodrick has vowed to pursue a recall effort against him, just one week after a vote many viewed as a referendum on his standing resulted in a resounding win for a candidate he endorsed for township council.
Phil Brilliant, who has previously filed litigation against the mayor over decisions regarding the township’s animal shelter and led efforts to overturn individual ordinances enacted by the township council majority, said this week he will now focus efforts on putting together a committee to attempt to force a recall election for the mayor’s seat. He has started a website to promote his effort.
“Our coalition of passionate citizens is mobilizing to educate every resident about the significance of this recall effort and the petition process,” Brilliant said, pledging petitions and rallies in support of his cause.
Rodrick, however, is riding high after William Byrne, an ally, handily won a council seat representing Ward 2 in last week’s general election. The election was widely seen as a referendum on Rodrick’s policies a year after his own electoral victory, resulting in major shakeups at town hall.
The majority of the issues Brilliant identified as those meriting a recall of Rodrick are policies the mayor resoundingly supported, such as canceling a downtown redevelopment plan that allowed large apartment buildings, bringing the township’s animal shelter under county control, repealing an ordinance that forced township code inspections before residents could sell their homes, and reforming how the township approached homeless policies.
Brilliant also cited the mayor’s well-documented battles with former Police Chief Mitch Little and a decision to reorganize some aspects of the department in order to reduce some high-level positions in order to afford the hiring of additional EMTs.
Rodrick brushed off concerns over the idea of a recall effort, saying the people had spoken in the election as to whether they favored his leadership.
“They spent about $40,000 to $50,000 across the primary and the general calling [Byrne] my puppet, and they got crushed in both races,” he said. “We’ve delivered on all of our promises. The results of the Ward 2 election clearly demonstrate that the people are happy with the new direction my administration has set.”
Rodrick touted many of Brilliant’s negative allegations as his own accomplishments, including the cancellation of the downtown apartment tower, the repeal of the code inspection ordinance, and reducing staff at town hall. He also said he was proud to have kept property taxes stable during a time of inflation and an uncertain economy.
“Some people are unwilling to accept the will of the electorate,” said Rodrick, adding that the bar for a mayoral recall petition will be even higher following the 2024 election turnout. “The election was a referendum on my performance as a mayor, they spent $40,000 telling everyone what a terrible job I was doing, and 65 percent of people said, ‘we want Bill Byrne and Dan Rodrick.’”
Brilliant and what he hopes will become a committee of like-minded opponents of the mayor will likely need more than 20,000 signatures on a petition that represents 25 percent of the electorate as a whole. A mayoral recall would not oust Rodrick as mayor, but force a new election. There would also, likely, be far more scrutiny applied to such a recall effort as compared to past actions that sought the recall of township council ordinances. Mayoral recalls are governed by state statutes that require significant compliance standards, even down to the forms used for petitions and how signatures can even be collected.
Brilliant said he is planning on sending out a letter of intent in the near future and beginning the process of collecting signatures. After the letter is sent, his committee would have 160 days to meet the 25 percent electoral threshold.
“This represents a significant opportunity for us to work together toward shaping Toms River’s future, ensuring that our leadership embodies the values and needs of our community,” Brilliant said.
Rodrick countered: “Last year, 71 percent of the Toms River electorate put me in office to make these changes and I won’t be intimidated or deterred by their silly talk of a recall. [Former Mayor] Mo Hill’s club, his allies and their developer friends all suffer from Rodrick Derangement Syndrome and cannot accept the will of the electorate.”
