Toms River Mayor's Ortley Comment Sparks Internet Backlash

A comment made by Toms River Mayor Thomas Kelaher in response to residents' complaints about the pace of recovery from Superstorm Sandy in Ortley Beach is facing an online backlash.

"I am so annoyed with people over there," Kelaher is quoted as saying in a Bloomberg article published June 3. "We still have a couple of hundred houses we have to knock down. We had three feet of sand in every street."

The article talks about Sandy recovery, most notably how devastated shore communities—including Ortley—were largely ignored by officials recently, while areas like Seaside Heights and Point Pleasant Beach received national news attention and visits from officials, including President Barack Obama. 

Many took to social media to express their displeasure with the quote. 

"This is a disgrace and an insult to the people of Ortley Beach who have suffered and lost so much," said Ortley Beach resident Michael Capo in a posting to the Ortley Strong Facebook group. 

Capo went on to write that Ortley should consider seceding from Toms River and that the residents there are owed an apology from Kelaher for the comment.

The Ortley Strong Facebook group, too, posted about the article, calling the Kelaher's quote a "truly an unacceptable response from our Mayor."

A Jersey Shore Hurricane News Facebook post on the article had over 120 comments as of Thursday night. 

"That's not nice for a mayor to say," wrote reader Kathy Blockus. "Fine think it to yourself but don't say it out load."

"If the Mayor lived in Ortley he would understand it. People want to get back into their homes," read another post. 

Kelaher says in the Bloomberg article that progress in Ortley is moving at a slower pace than other communities because residents couldn't return until 400 sinkholes were filled. 

Others social media users said that the current situation in Ortley isn't the township's fault, but rather that of insurers. 

"Maybe more anger should be directed at the insurance companies," wrote reader Kellie McGlynn Shill. "They are the ones that are supposed to pay up after your home is damaged or destroyed, not the government."