There's no doubt about it. Governor Chris Christie's name had a major impact on Ocean County politics during New Jersey Decides 2013.

Ocean County Freeholder John Kelly (Ocean County Freeholders)
Ocean County Freeholder John Kelly (Ocean County Freeholders)
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Election Night has come and gone. Now comes the aftermath and all of the speculation for the next few years. On a local level, there were very few surprises Tuesday night, especially in a Republican stronghold like Ocean. Brick, on the other hand, is a different story. A little of this and a little of that were talked about last night on a special post-mortem if you will, on Townsquare Media's WOBM-AM 1160 & 1310.

Republican Freeholder Jack Kelly and former Toms River Mayor Paul Brush joined WOBM News Bureau Chief Tom Mongelli in our Downtown Toms River studios for the half hour talk. To the causal listener, it was interesting to hear how cordial the men are to each other. According to both, who ran against each other for Freeholder seats in the early 90's, they have been friends for years. Although they don't see eye to eye on the political front, you would never know they would have ever taken on each other at the polls.

Former Toms River Mayor Paul Brush. (Ilya Hemlin/Townsquare Media NJ)
Former Toms River Mayor Paul Brush. (Ilya Hemlin/Townsquare Media NJ)
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Freeholder Kelly won another term on the board. Brush, who was running as a Ward 2 councilman lost to Republican incumbent Brian Kubiel.

With Christie's victory, some question - are there any similarities in the leadership style from the state and local races? Although Christie's coattails had no affect on the Senate and Assembly races, locally, the numbers don't lie. Kelly said "I like his no-nonsense style. What the Governor believes in, he speaks out about. I think on the County Board of Freeholders, we deal with things the same way."

Although Brush agrees about no-nonsense, he said "Christie speaks his mind. But you can do that in a respectful way. I think he's rather rude sometimes and can be very disrespectful."

Both Kelly and Brush say would never snap at someone, ignore someone's complaint and they would never resort to name calling.

In Brick Township, it was a big win for the Democrats. But why didn't the anti-cronyism carry over the border to Toms River? Kelly feels "the people were happy with the job the council was doing and didn't want to make a change." Brush disagrees and said "I think the public would be better served if there was a voice of difference - someone to question authority and so on in town hall."

Listen to a complete replay of the show right here

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