3 responses to “ELEC Sets Hearing on Matter of Spadea Gubernatorial Candidacy”

1. He should have been taken off the air the minute he announced his candidacy.

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2. “So, I’m in. I’m running for Governor and together we will fix our state. Now let’s get to work!”
   —Bill Spadea, June 17, 2024, press release announcement of his candidacy for governor of New Jersey

   Sounds like he’s a candidate, right?
   Well, not according to him, or the radio station that employs him.

   Spadea, as many know, is a bombastic, right-wing, Trumpian flame-thrower, Covid denier, radio talking head who hosts a show daily on a radio station I will not promote by mentioning it in this column. He’s a failed forner candidate for state Assembly, has never held any elected office, and spends his time, as most Republicans do, criticizing anything done by Democrat administrations, including President Joe Biden and Governor Phil Murphy. In a nutshell, he’s all talk and nothing else.

   But this egomaniac MAGA disciple thinks he can be our next governor. Well, he certainly has the right to run, although there seem to be far better candidates from both parties who could handle the job much better than this radio schlock jock.

   But that brings us back to his current job as a conservative radio host (think Rush Limbaugh without the oxycodone). As he is now a legally-declared candidate for governor–he’s filed the necessary paperwork, so it’s official–he is subject to the same rules as all those who have declared themselves. One of those rules has to do with contribution limits. The maximum a person or business may contribute to a candidate is $5,800. This includes both cash contributions and “in-kind” ones, which include payments made as a salary for services rendered – such as a radio host being paid by the station he works for.

   Spadea is employed by Townsquare Media, a conglomerate of conservative radio stations with 349 outlets in 74 markets. It’s pretty safe to say that Spadea is not working for free, and equally obvious that his salary far exceeds $5,800 annually. This would seem to indicate that Spadea cannot continue his talk show while a candidate, right? At least, that’s what the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission (ELEC) says, and they’re the agency in charge of elections.

   Townsquare Media is trying to play word games in order to keep Blustering Bill on the air, saying that he is not a “legally qualified candidate”. Really? Let’s see–he made a public announcement, filed official paperwork with the state certifying his decision to run, and has been deemed a candidate under the terms of 19:44A-3–that’s the state law governing elections. Heck, even Sharia Nick D’Agostino has already endorsed him–not that there’s any accounting for taste, as D’Agostino has backed some real losers lately–including himself.

   ELEC has issued an order for Spadea and Townsquare Media to show cause why the former’s continued employment should not be considered a violation of the “in-kind” contribution limits. Spadea obviously wants to have it both ways–run for governor, but not subject himself to the rules everyone else must follow. That’s a typical Republican reaction, as is his statement in which he blamed the “Trenton swamp” for the hearing, saying his “opponents and their power broker pals are coming after me for one reason: they’re scared of what I stand for.”

   What he stands for?
   He’s a Trumptard ass-kisser!
   That’s all you need to know!

   Spadea has to choose–radio buffoon or a longshot try for an office he’ll likely never win.

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3. Michael Schnackenberg… Your mouth is like your name… WAY TOO MANY LETTERS IN IT!!

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