Bill Spadea Can Win In November

By Harold Kane, Monroe Township

There is an old cliché in New Jersey Politics. The cliché states “When it is the Republicans to lose, they will lose.” The district 16 special election this year will be theirs to lose unless they wake up. The electoral composition of the district has radically changed since the 2010 census. In 2007 the Republican Assembly candidates won 58-42. With the elimination of parts of Somerset and Morris counties and the inclusion of South Brunswick and the Princetons the Republicans managed to win the 2011 Assembly race 52-48, a drop of 12 points. The special election will be to replace the deceased Peter Biondi. At first the Republican “leadership” offered William Mennen of Tewksbury, but he didn’t live in the district. Mennen said that he would move, but then changed his mind. They then offered Donna Simon, a councilperson from Readington. Ms. Simon has absolutely no name recognition outside of Readington. The name recognition becomes even more important in the 2012 general election in that the Democrats will have Barack Obama at the top of their ticket. With Obama every Democrat and Democrat leaner in Middlesex and Mercer counties will be coming out of the woodwork to vote. The Republicans have a candidate that can overcome the Democrat advantage in the special Assembly Election. That candidate is Bill Spadea of Princeton. Spadea has run for Congress garnering 40% of the vote which is twice what the “experts” said that he would get. He is a party activist with great name recognition in precisely the portion of district 16 where it is needed most. Spadea has already assembled a campaign team with many years of experience. This is in comparison to Simon. Exactly when was the last time the Somerset/Hunterdon Republican parties had to fight for an Assembly seat? A Democrat victory in the 16^th would further impede Governor Christie from achieving his goals.

The Republican chairpersons in Somerset County (Al Gaburo), Hunterdon County (Henry Kuhl), and Mercer County (Dave Fried, Maria Bua) need to put their support behind Spadea at the special convention this month. Spadea can win in November, Simon cannot!

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Bill Spadea Announces Run for New Jersey Assembly

Joined by Former Romney Counsel Charlie Spies for February 2012 Special Convention

PRINCETON, NJ (November 30, 2011) —  Princeton Township resident Bill Spadea has officially declared his candidacy for the vacant New Jersey Assembly seat in the newly redrawn 16^th Legislative District by filing the necessary documents on Friday, November 25.   The vacant Assembly seat was held by longtime public servant, Assemblyman Pete Biondi, who sadly passed away two days following his re-election this month. 

Mr. Spadea will vie for the party’s nomination at the special four-county convention, which will happen within 35 days of the swearing in of the new Assembly on January 10, 2012.  The vote at the convention will determine who will fulfill a one-year term for the vacant Assembly seat.  Mr. Spadea will also participate in the June 5, 2012 primary to become the 16^th Legislative District’s Republican candidate for the NJ legislative special election on November 6, 2012.

“Pete Biondi was a great legislator, public servant, community leader and patriot. So many business and political leaders asked and encouraged me to consider this run to do right by Pete’s legacy of public service. I was so honored by their request that I felt compelled to step up,” said Spadea.

Mr. Spadea’s campaign is off to a strong start, enlisting the support of prominent GOP attorney Charlie Spies.  Mr. Spies, head of Clark Hill PLC’s national Political Law practice, served as CFO and Counsel for Governor Mitt Romney’s 2008 Presidential campaign, as well as counsel for the Republican Governors Association in 2006 and the Republican National Committee in 2004.  Spies stated, “Bill is a dynamic and enthusiastic candidate. His conservative principles, business background and organizational success make him the right man at the right time for New Jersey.”

Princeton Township is one of the eight new municipalities that will be a part of the new 16^th Legislative District in January 2012.  It was also one of the first municipalities to vote to consolidate with another municipality this month.  The consolidation of Princeton Township and Princeton Borough will be historic for the state of New Jersey.

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Bill Spadea has worked in New Jersey as a senior executive in the real estate industry for the past 15 years.  Additionally, he is an on-air political analyst and Republican strategist for several New York Region television stations. Mr. Spadea served in the United States Marine Corps Reserve from 1991 to 1999.  He ran for U.S. Congress in New Jersey’s 12^th district and earned more than 115,000 votes (40%) in 2004 running against the heavily-funded incumbent Rush Holt.  He is the co-founder and past-president of Building the New Majority, a grassroots political organization focused on helping NJ citizen-legislators win local campaigns.  Mr. Spadea lives in Princeton with his wife Jodi and their two children, who attend Princeton public schools – where he serves on the Zoning Board, is a coach for little league, chairs the annual Veteran’s Day event, and serves as master of ceremony for the annual Memorial Day Parade/Service.

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