Gilmore obtained $35,000-a-month redistricting contract in 2011, fueling criticism that he used party post to enrich himself

George Gilmore received a whopping $35,000-a-month contract as an advisor to the panel that redrew New Jersey’s congressional districts after the 2010 census, with taxpayers footing the bill for his services.

Gigs that enabled Gilmore to personally profit off his party position have become an issue in his bid to regain his old job as Ocean County GOP chairman in an election set for next month against Sheriff Michael Mastronardy.

Of the four law firms retained by Republicans to draw a new map, Gilmore was the only one to simultaneously hold a party leadership position.  Critics maintain that part of a county chairman’s job is to advocate for party interests for free, without being paid through side deals.

While initially viewed as a Republican win, the map Gilmore worked on resulted in Democrats winning 11 of 12 New Jersey House seats in 2018, including the loss of the Ocean County-based 3rd district, where Rep. Tom MacArthur (R-Toms River) was ousted by Democrat Andy Kim (D-Moorestown).

“I will be primarily responsible for the work done on behalf of the client by this firm,” Gilmore said in an engagement letter obtained by the New Jersey Globe through an Open Public Records Act request.

The 73-year-old former party boss resigned in 2019 after his conviction on tax-related charges. He had wielded tremendous influence in Ocean County and across the state while serving as county chairman from 1996 until stepping down.

Gilmore’s conviction was upheld on appeal, but he had not yet begun a one-year prison sentence when President Donald Trump pardoned him on his final day in office.

While Gilmore plots his political comeback, he still owes $5,755,008 in unpaid judgments, mostly to the Internal Revenue Service, with an additional $609,000 on pending litigation, court records show.

A  U.S. Tax Court ruled that in April Gilmore still has to pay $3,200,000 in federal tax liens filed by the U.S. Department of the Treasury, despite his pardon.

Court record show that Gilmore still owes $1,397,238 to Ocean First Bank after defaulting on a  loan they made to him.  A bank director, former Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno, was the recipient of the Ocean County GOP organization line when she ran for governor in 2017 with the help of Gilmore.

It’s not immediately clear if Gilmore or his former law firm, Gilmore & Monahan, paid taxes on the $35,000-a-month contract he received from the state to help Republicans craft their new map.