NJ 101.5 radio personality Bill Spadea can keep his morning show for now, but the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission will be watching closely to make sure it isn’t just a paid commercial advocating his campaign for the 2025 Republican nomination for governor.
“The radio program can go on, but we will be monitoring this vigorously,” ELEC Chairman Thomas Prol said after a hearing this morning.
The decision effectively puts Spadea on notice that ELEC might wind up finding that his radio show constitutes an in-kind contribution that exceeds the legal limit, and puts the ball in the court of Spadea and other candidates.
ELEC’s move comes before any official complaint is filed, and Spadea has qualified for matching funds.
The panel announced that if it receives a complaint from the public, it will launch an investigation and review.
“If we find a violation, we will value the contribution during the adjudication and process that to decision,” the ruling read by Prol stated. “If we find a violation, we will value the contribution during the adjudicatory process and make a determination; then, we will hold the candidate and campaign accountable for any such violation. This will include any impact on public financing.”
Spadea criticized two opponents, Jack Ciattarelli and Jon Bramnick, for weighing in against him.
This attempt at silencing me and removing me from the radio was about protecting the career politicians and bureaucrats that have broken our state. They’re afraid of the power of our voice and what we can do together,” he said. “Well, after today’s ruling, I’m proud to say I’m not going anywhere.”
A decision unanimously approved by the four-member panel of two Democrats and two Republicans found that ELEC “is troubled by reports of express and explicit communications occurring on the radio program after the announcement of the gubernatorial campaign.”
The panel, which administers the state’s gubernatorial public financing program, found that Spadea benefits from his morning drive-time radio show, which airs Monday through Friday from 6 AM to 10 AM.
But ELEC also found “the guidelines developed and agreed by Mr. Spadea, and 101.5 … are insufficient and should be conformed to be fully compliant.” Today’s ruling found that the radio station’s “13-second delay can be a tool to effect enforcement, but it is not properly utilized at this time to achieve full regulatory compliance.”
“We also need one on 101.5 and the candidate to address these concerns,” Prol said.
Angelo Genova, a powerful Democratic election lawyer representing the station’s owner, Townsquare Media, denied that NJ 101.5 was making an in-kind contribution to Spadea.
“There is no value to his candidacy. He’s satisfying his employment obligations to us, but on a content basis, there’s no value to his candidacy,” said Genova. “Something is not valuable unless it contains expressed advocacy. It has no value to a candidate.”
Genova said the station airs a disclaimer each day before Spadea’s show saying the station doesn’t endorse their on-air talent.
But lawyers for other candidates and panel members questioned whether a disclaimer mentioning Spadea’s gubernatorial candidacy four times is actually a commercial.
Spadea called the decision a win.
“Today was a victory for middle-class New Jerseyans who aspire to make a difference in this state. Like most New Jerseyans, I get up every morning and go to work to pay the bills and provide for my family. The facts and law were clear, and while this hearing never should have happened in the first place, ELEC ultimately ruled in our favor,” Spadea said. “I’d like to thank the Commission for reviewing this matter expeditiously, and I look forward to joining my colleagues at NJ101.5 back on the air on Monday morning.”