TOMS RIVER, NJ – Last week, former radio shock jock Bill Spadea, while on the campaign trail, accused New Jersey GOP chairmen of rigging all twenty-one county nominating conventions for political candidates.
Spadea said due to the widespread corruption in the New Jersey GOP, he would be skipping all of those conventions except for Ocean County, where he has a foot (and a bag of money) in the door.
Today, his opponent, Jack Ciattarelli, agreed with Spadea but said Spadea and Ocean County GOP Chairman George Gilmore, a paid consultant on his campaign, are the ones doing the rigging.
Key Points
- Bill Spadea has paid himself personally over $65,000 from his campaign account.
- Spadea has paid OC GOP Chairman George Gilmore $85,000, a move Ciattarelli says amounts to Spadea paying off the Chairman in exchange for an endorsement.
- Ciattarelli agrees with Spadea that there is rigging going on, but says Spadea is involved in the rigging.
Ciattarelli openly criticized Ocean County GOP Chairman George Gilmore on Thursday, accusing him of rigging the county’s endorsement process in favor of rival candidate Bill Spadea. Gilmore, who has been the chairman in Ocean County for decades, minus a three-year period when he was convicted on federal tax charges before being pardoned by President Trump, is effectively running Spadea’s campaign. Ciattarelli alleges Chairman Gilmore is rigging the Ocean County nomination process in favor of his client, Bill Spadea.
It’s a messy situation unlike any other in New Jersey Republican politics. Ciattarelli says there’s something fishy going on in Ocean County between Spadea and Chairman Gilmore, and it starts with tens of thousands of dollars in payments made by Spadea to the chairman.
In an open letter to the Ocean County Screening Committee and County Council members, Ciattarelli alleged that Gilmore had received at least $85,000 from Spadea’s political organization, calling it a blatant attempt to sell the county’s support.
“It’s notable that George is the ONLY County Chairman in the state to so brazenly accept payment for what is widely seen as an attempt to rig your process,” Ciattarelli wrote.
Ciattarelli, who won the Ocean County GOP’s endorsement in 2021 and received 67.5% of the county’s vote in the general election, acknowledged that he does not expect to secure the endorsement this year.
However, he vowed to continue his campaign in the county and win it in the primary election, emphasizing his commitment to working alongside President Donald Trump and appealing to voters in both traditionally Republican and Democratic strongholds.
The former state assemblyman also claimed that many Ocean County Republicans have privately expressed frustration with the endorsement process, fearing retaliation if they speak out against Gilmore’s leadership.
Related News
- Ciattarelli Calls on Spadea to Return Misleading Campaign Donations, Stop “Ripping People Off”
- Spadea Calls for Higher Tolls, Taxing the Rich, and an Atlantic City Congestion Tax
- Spadea Resurrects 81-Year-Old Political Strategist With Track Record of Being Wrong, Ties to Willie Brown
- Bill Spadea defends paying himself $65,000 salary from political donations, says he is still owed more money
- Spadea Pulls Out of GOP Nomination Process, Conway PAC Says Former Radio Host Afraid to Face the Music
“Many are embarrassed and frustrated by how the county’s endorsement process is being conducted,” he said, adding that despite these concerns, he remains confident in his path to victory.
Ciattarelli also took aim at Spadea, accusing him of avoiding GOP county conventions elsewhere in the state.
“Unlike Mr. Spadea, I don’t run from tough fights,” he wrote, claiming Spadea, a former U.S. Marine, is showing cowardice in running away from the battle ahead of him.
The Ocean County GOP’s formal endorsement vote is set to take place in the coming weeks, with the party’s backing seen as a crucial advantage in the Republican primary.
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