Is Toms River overdeveloped? Two fighting to be next mayor battle over controlling growth.

TOMS RIVER - Development — or, to many here, "overdevelopment" — has been the central issue in township politics since at least the 2017 election cycle, when Democrats shocked the GOP by winning three of four council seats in this deep red town.

It has again taken center stage in this year's mayor's race, where Republican Councilman Daniel Rodrick, 47, a Middletown science teacher, is running against Democrat Ben Giovine, 40, former president of the Toms River Regional Board of Education and district director for U.S. Rep. Andy Kim, D-N.J.

Rodrick has made stopping development the cornerstone of his campaign, while Giovine said he believes his opponent has dedicated too much time to discussing building in town at the expense of other issues residents care about, like better communication between town hall and the public, and the need to "return to normalcy" after years of political infighting.

"The things that I am hearing at the doors when I am knocking are definitely about development and affordability, which is not surprising, (but) people just want to have someone that is able to do the job in town hall, and not necessarily get bogged down in all the politics of it," Giovine said.

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A four-year mayor's term and three four-year, at-large council terms are available this year. Rodrick's GOP running mates are Craig Coleman, Thomas Nivison and Lynne O'Toole, while Giovine's are Ruby Franco, Rhetta Jackson-Fair and Michele Williams. Also running, as write-in candidates, are Dana Tormollan and Paul C. Williams.

Rodrick was one of the three Democrats elected on an anti-development platform in 2017, before announcing he had switched to become a Republican the following year.

Rodrick has vowed to find a way to halt Capodagli Property Co.'s controversial plan to build a pair of six-story apartment towers with 281 apartments on land located at Main and Water streets in the downtown. The proposal — reduced in size from the initial 10-story towers previously approved for the land — received the green light from the township's Planning Board earlier this month.

To some, the apartment towers have become a symbol of the "overdevelopment" of Toms River.

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'We will stop this project'

Rodrick said he will repeal the ambitious redevelopment proposal crafted for the downtown in 2018, which would allow hundreds of units of housing, along with retail and restaurants, to be built in the area.

He said Toms River residents showed their distaste for more development, including the apartment towers, when they voted for him in the June GOP primary, in which he defeated Mayor Maurice B. "Mo" Hill Jr., Geri Ambrosio and Robert Bianchini to be the Republican nominee for mayor by large margins. His victory followed a bitter primary campaign that divided Toms River's two Republican clubs.

"The people of Toms River and I have made our opinions well known. There was an opportunity to pull out of this deal a few months ago and the (Hill) administration extended all of their deadlines and reduced the size of the project to make it more affordable for the developer to build," Rodrick said. "They will get no such accommodations from my administration, and when given the opportunity, we will stop this project."

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Development has been a major issue in Toms River over the past decade, as residents have witnessed the formerly rural sections of Route 9 in North Dover be transformed by large-scale building. More than 1,400 homes have either been approved or built in area. All of the projects contain at least 20% affordable housing units to help the township meet affordable housing mandates.

Rodrick has his own ambitious plans for the downtown that don't include apartment towers. He said he'd like to see restrictions put on two liquor licenses Toms River can issue, so that they can be reserved for downtown businesses. They could be put on the market for a "very low opening bid price, maybe $25,000 or so."

"If we want a thriving downtown, Toms River needs to be a destination," Rodrick said.

He also has suggested a pier on the Toms River could be built at the site of the a dilapidated boat works building on Robbins Parkway where Capodagli has proposed a banquet hall, that jet ski slips be added on the Toms River, and that the township consider adding a sprinkler park and "more fireworks shows" in the summer. In winter, ice skating could be held there, he said.

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Giovine entered the race only 10 weeks ago when the initial Democratic nominee, John Furey, dropped out. He admitted he's viewed as an underdog in a town that only rarely elects Democrats to municipal office.

A lifelong resident of Toms River, Giovine said he was motivated to run, in part, because he was "getting outreach" from some Republicans in town who did "feel comfortable" with Rodrick as their candidate. He said he's focused his door-knocking campaign on targeting the homes of independents, the township's largest voting bloc, who he believes might be more easily swayed.

In Toms River, many of those voters lean Republican.

Ocean County Republican Chairman George R. Gilmore said he's confident that in spite of the bitterness of the primary race, Rodrick will receive overwhelming support from Republicans, including members of both GOP clubs.

"Both clubs are supporting Dan. I think a significant percentage — in the 90s, probably the high 90s — of the individuals in the respective clubs are voting for Dan," said Gilmore, who supported Ambrosio in the primary. The chairman noted that the two Republican clubs include only a small portion of Toms River's thousands of Republican voters.

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'It is only going to cost us money in lawsuits'

Rodrick won the primary even though he was not endorsed by either GOP organization and he said he believes he'll receive support from not only Republicans, but from Democrats and Indpendents as well. He noted he resoundingly defeated Democratic leader Jeff Horn in the race for his Ward 2 council seat two years ago, winning by more than 3,000 votes.

Giovine said it is unlikely that the apartment project can be stopped without costly litigation.

"Anyone who is talking about blocking it is only going to cost us money in lawsuits," he said. "… I have seen it with my time on the board of education. I’m not going to have attorneys fight endless lawsuits."

As a resident of downtown, Giovine said, "I was disappointed that the towers ultimately got approved." He said he was happy the height of the project was reduced and added, "I would certainly have strong concerns about further projects like that happening downtown. I would not be supportive right now of further projects."

Giovine said Toms River should "invest in" ways to draw more businesses to the downtown and throughout the township. He said he believes township government is often "reactionary" and does not properly communicate with residents.

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Noting there are many vacant storefronts in town, he said the township has to do a better job of talking to the business community about available properties to open a new store or office.

"I think right now we have enough development in town. What I would want to do is focus on improving a lot of the development we already have," he said.

Rodrick has pledged to repeal a controversial certificate of occupancy ordinance that requires a home seller to pay for an in-depth home inspection and records search before a home is sold. He said he'd propose a measure that would require a company that tears up a road that is less than five years old to repave the entire street.

Giovine said he'd work with both Republicans and Democrats to bring state and federal money into Toms River, the state's eighth-largest municipality with nearly 100,000 residents.

It's a skill he said he's honed while working in Kim's office, where his primary job is "is to assist mayors and counties on a lot of the money that’s flowing into the state from the various programs right now. … Toms River and other municipalities weren’t really going after those dollars as aggressively as we’ve seen elsewhere."

Jean Mikle covers Toms River and several other Ocean County towns, and has been writing about local government and politics at the Jersey Shore for nearly 40 years. She's also passionate about the Shore's storied music scene. Contact her: @jeanmikle,  jmikle@gannettnj.com.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Toms River mayoral candidates focus on whether town is overdeveloped