Princeton, NJ (January 11, 2012) - Bill Spadea did not receive an invitation to the upcoming convention being held in Hillsborough on January 19th. In an attempt to block Spadea, who has dozens of Somerset County Committee Members already pledged to vote for him, Somerset County Chair, Al Gaburo refuses to meet, return phone calls, or acknowledge that Spadea is a filed candidate.
Somerset's Gaburo along with Hunterdon Chair Henry Kuhl, fearing that Spadea might actually win the convention - especially if the vote goes to a second ballot - are planning to meet this weekend to plot a way to deny the delegates a second ballot opportunity by adopting rules in secret to hand the seat to Simon even without her gaining a majority of the votes. "We're very disappointed that the discussion of rules, time and location are taking place behind closed doors. We're going to force the discussion to take place in the light of day. Nobody should be scared of an open, transparent process, "stated Spadea campaign counsel Charlie Spies. "We'll be reaching out to the NJGOP and the Secretary of State, Kim Guadagno, to ensure that the election is conducted fairly, legally, and in a transparent manner."
"The bosses have resorted to trying to manipulate the rules because their candidate is so weak. Simon, at this time, has no filing on record with ELEC, hasn't reported raising any funds, and has refused to participate in a public discussion of the issues. She's also been plagued with issues surrounding her biography, positions, and affiliation with groups directly opposed to Governor Christie's agenda like the NJ Women's Political Caucus whose main beneficiaries are Democratic candidates. Without any recorded contributions to her campaign so far, it makes you wonder how she is paying for the activity," said Spadea manager Leigh-Ann Bellew. "This is just another example of how the insider bosses think they're above the rules."
Spadea has knocked on more than 120 doors of County Committee members and is earning considerable support among Republicans who are disgusted with the back room, strong-arm tactics. Several members left a Hillsborough GOP meeting earlier this week, and called Bill Spadea personally to pledge their support for him after being upset with the negative attacks on Spadea's character and integrity.
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