Toms River Mayor's 'Get A Job' Rant At Resident Reaches National Audience

TOMS RIVER, NJ — Toms River Township has made national headlines in the past. It was celebrated for its world champion Little League teams. It's garnered attention for its cancer cluster, and for the "Blind Faith" murder of Maria Marshall.

The town is making national headlines again ... this time, for a video of Mayor Daniel Rodrick mocking a resident.

"Mayor Tells Resident to ‘Get a Job’ and Asks If She Lives in Her Parents’ Basement During Heated Town Meeting," the People.com headline read.

"New Jersey Mayor To Resident 'Get A Job,' Lady ... And Do You Still Live With Your Parents?"TMZ wrote.

The New York Post cited him by name: "NJ Mayor Daniel Rodrick tells resident to ‘get a job’ during heated town council exchange".

The video clip of part of the exchange between Rodrick and resident Dana Tormollan from the Oct. 19, 2026 council meeting even aired on Fox News, with Fox anchor Dana Perino responding "Oh boy!" before telling viewers Rodrick had been the subject of a "no confidence" vote at the Oct. 28 meeting.

The incident is far from the first at a council meeting since Rodrick became mayor on Jan, 1, 2024, or even since he was seated on the Toms River Township Council in 2018.

During his six years on the council, Rodrick often got into shouting matches with other council members, to the extent that former council president Kevin Geoghegan had Rodrick's microphone turned off and called for a recess on at least two occasions.

Since becoming mayor, Rodrick has repeatedly talked or yelled over council members and residents. He says he is countering lies, but his statements are often punctuated by insults and personal attacks on the speakers.

For the first two years of Rodrick's term, there was a 4-3 majority on the council favoring him, with Councilman Craig Coleman and Councilwoman Lynn O'Toole joined by then-Councilman Justin Lamb and first George Lobman, then William Byrne, approving much of Rodrick's agenda. Councilman Tom Nivison, who ran for the council on Rodrick's slate, shifted away from Rodrick to oppose him with Councilman David Ciccozzi and then Councilman Jim Quinlisk in the wake of Rodrick's move to shut down the Toms River Township-owned animal shelter.

The balance on the Township Council shifted in January, after Byrne — who was finishing Rodrick's council term — and Lamb were defeated in the Republican primary. Ciccozzi and Nivison were joined by Robert Bianchini and Clinton Bradley in now opposing Rodrick and challenging his decisions, leaving Coleman, O'Toole and Councilman Harry Aber (who defeated Quinlisk) in the minority. As a result, the conflict has intensified.

Rodrick's conflicts and shouting matches with the public at council meetings began in January 2024, when Rodrick moved to cut two captains' positions from the Toms River Police Department.

In the months after that, Rodrick repeatedly ordered the council videos removed from the township's YouTube channel, then later started leaving the council meetings before public comment, refusing to sit through it and listen to what was said.

In April Rodrick ordered the livestreams of the meetings shut down when public comment began. That lasted until September, when a Superior Court judge ordered that the livestream must stay on and recording through the end of the meeting, citing the council's authority to set the rules for council meetings in a lawsuit filed by a resident.

Rodrick has dismissed public comment as simply being a forum for "the Mo Hill Gang," his nickname for what he says are friends of former mayor Maurice Hill, whom Rodrick defeated in the 2023 mayoral primary. Rodrick alleges the group wants to continue policies that he says have led to overdevelopment in the town, the key issue in his mayoral campaign, which focused heavily on an apartment complex proposed for Water Street. That complex, Meridia 40 at Toms River, initially was two 10-story towers but was later reduced to six stories. It is now the subject of an ongoing lawsuit filed by the developer, Capodagli Properties.

While Rodrick has insisted the only people speaking out belong to the group who supported Hill — who has stayed out of the fray and only occasionally attended council meetings since Rodrick became mayor — there have been multiple other issues raised by members of the public while Rodrick was no longer at the meetings.

Residents of the barrier island spoke at council meetings in July raising concerns about the health of the dune grass, and the risks of severe damage if another event like Superstorm Sandy hits the Jersey Shore.

Others have raised concerns about a motel on Route 37 that was purchased by the nonprofit HabCore, which is renovating it and will use it to provide temporary housing of up to 90 days to help people without homes get into permanent housing.

Superior Court Judge Francis Hodgson ordered on Sept. 16 that Toms River had to livestream the entire meeting and preserve the recording. At the Sept. 23 meeting, Ciccozzi, now the council president, moved the public comment portion of the meeting to precede the council's business of voting on resolutions and bills. Rodrick stayed for that entire meeting.

The following meeting was Oct. 19, and public comment returned to near the end of the meeting, preceding public officials' comments.

While his comments to Tormollan caught national attention, Rodrick responded to several residents who addressed the council with insulting comments.

He made disparaging remarks to Carlos Almanzar, a frequent critic, accusing him of being paid to criticize Rodrick and accusing him of "inappropriate behavior," and saying, "This is not prison."

A woman questioned why O'Toole was attending meetings remotely and Rodrick accused her of reading questions given to her, then accused her of stalking O'Toole when the woman referenced video that has circulated showing the councilwoman at various restaurants and out in the community.

Julie Adamek, another persistent critic who has pressed the issues of the animal shelter and also has urged the town to address street lights that are not working, raised her questions again. Rodrick made multiple sarcastic comments while Adamek spoke.

Another woman criticized Rodrick for driving a township-owned vehicle to his job as a vice principal in the Irvington School District and questioned a Rodrick hire in the public works division, and Rodrick interrupted her repeatedly as she spoke. She also misspoke and referred to Toms River as Thomas River; Rodrick loudly mocked her for the error.

Tormollan has been vocal in her criticisms of Rodrick and was one of three people who led a petition seeking to recall Rodrick as mayor. The petition did not reach the more than 18,000 signatures needed to move forward with a recall.

The Oct. 19 meeting can be viewed online; public comment begins about 30 minutes into the video.

Those incidents led to the Oct. 28 vote of no confidence. The "Resolution Of No Confidence In Mayor Daniel Rodrick For Reprehensible Behavior, Disruption Of Official Proceedings, And Decorum Violations At The October 19, 2026 Township Council Meeting" was approved 4-3, with Ciccozzi, Nivison, Bradley and Bianchini voting yes and Coleman, Aber and O'Toole — who attended the Oct. 28 meeting in person — voting no.