The Mount Holly Reporter hopes to interview all municipal office candidates on the ballot in 2026 and provide that information to readers. The first candidate who consented to an interview was firefighter Tom Rossell. He is running to be a Fire Commissioner, and his running mate is firefighter George Gaskill. Gaskill’s wife June is already a Fire District Commissioner.
Below is a recitation of what Mr. Rossel had to say to The Reporter on 8/13/26 along with other post-interview information relevant to his candidacy. Note that The Reporter offered Rossell an opportunity to review the text of the interview. He was asked that if parts were inaccurate, he provide comment to The Reporter. A copy was delivered to Rossel’s home but he did not provide feedback.
a. Yes, Jason Carty is running his campaign.
b. Rossell said he engaged Carty as campaign manager because Rossell has no experience with political campaigns or raising the money needed to undertake one.
c. Rossell rejected the notion raised by The Reporter that Carty’s control over his campaign would translate to influence of Rossell as a Commissioner.
d. Rossell’s wife Lorretta also rejected this notion on Facebook later in August when she posted the following:
e. A few days later Rossell posted a denial on Facebook which said that no one, including his wife or Jason Carty, should speak for him as the candidate. The post made clear that his wife believed she was accurately expressing what Rossell said to her in a discussion.
f. On the same day as Rossell’s Facebook denial, The NJ Globe printed an article which stated that Jason Carty had also made a denial, claiming he does not manage Rossell’s campaign.
g. During the Rossell interview he acknowledged that he did not have email or experience with social media or web communication.
h. Rossell suggested that “taxpayers” who come to fire district meetings to complain are “part of the problem, not part of the solution”.
“This is my problem. You got all these taxpayers coming to these meetings and screaming ‘Carty This, Carty That’. They are part of the problem, not part of the solution. They don’t come down and say, ‘hey, can I have an application so I can join?’ ” Tom Rossell
i. The Reporter challenged Rossell’s statement, noting that some people don’t have the time or desire to volunteer or are not physically able to serve as a firefighter. Rossell responded that many fire district jobs do not require extreme fitness.
j. When The Reporter asked Rossell if he believed residents did not have the right to complain unless they volunteer, he said, “It’s not that you can’t complain, but you don’t understand what firefighters have to go through every year to be certified”.
k. Rossell objected to the fractious debates that have characterized Commissioner meetings during the March 2025 – Sept 2026 timeframe when Mr. Carty’s employment was an issue. Rossell said those meetings reminded him of the 1950s -1970s TV show for preschoolers named “Romper Room”.
l. Rossell said the Board of Commissioners needs members with firefighting experience and that his 47-year tenure provides “deep operational experience”
m. Rossell said an example of how much the current Commissioners don’t appreciate what is important is that they did not approve Tim Young’s Safety Report.
[see https://www.themounthollyreporter.org/p/safety-concerns-at-fire-district ]
n. The Reporter pointed out that Young’s safety report was never given to the full Board for review because Young addressed it to Chairman Jules Thiessen [Saucier was substituting at that meeting] who did not present it to the other Commissioners [Rosemarie Logue, Jeena Sheppard or June Gaskill].
o. Rossell then agreed it is Thiessen’s responsibility to schedule consideration of the safety issues and questioned why it had not been done since it was public knowledge after being published by Jason Carty’s “Mount Holly News” and by The Reporter.
p. Fire Truck Accident: Rossell denied that he was distracted or reckless when driving the fire truck. He said the private alley he was on had little room to maneuver, and he did not hear a warning from a firefighter that he was about to crash.
“They are trying to get me out…everybody is going to lie one way or another”. Tom Rossell
q. The Reporter pushed back on Rossell’s characterization that lies would circulate about the accident, noting that people often have different recollections about what they witness.
r. The Reporter was told by a Fire District representative that the accident is still under investigation and no decision has been made about whether Rossell should continue to drive the trucks or not.
Additional Notes: Rossell’s statement about Jason Carty managing his campaign came out just as news broke that Carty had been charged with election petition fraud. If Carty is still associated with the campaign, paper-trail evidence will likely not surface until after the election. Required state election paperwork from Rossell is already overdue, which may be attributable to his lack of campaign experience [see above]. If you want to search Rossell’s name at elec.state.nj.us , click Public Info, then View a Report, then View a Candidate Committee Report. As of 10/8/26, Rossell had not filed any forms with the state. At a minimum, he was required to file form A-1.