Noticias

In response to a growing wave of violence against elected officials around the country, the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission (ELEC) proposed a new regulation today that would explicitly authorize candidates and officeholders to use campaign money on personal security.

ELEC said in a release that it has historically already allowed the state, county, and local candidates it oversees to use their campaign accounts for such purposes, but the new regulation aims to “explicitly standardize” such spending.

According to the release, campaign money could be spent for security purposes as long as the candidate faces “ongoing dangers or threats that would not exist irrespective of the individual’s status or duties as a candidate or officeholder,” though it’s not clear how such threats would be defined or determined.

The regulation would cover security devices like locks, alarms, cameras, lighting, and fencing; security personnel and services; and cybersecurity software and devices. Such devices and services would officially be the property of the campaign, and would have to be dissolved or sold once the individual ends their campaign or leaves office.

ELEC will hold a public meeting on the proposed regulation on November 18 in Trenton. If approved, the regulation could go into effect as soon as December of this year or January of the next.

Worries about violence against politicians have been steadily growing for years, and exploded further this summer after two Minnesota lawmakers were shot, one fatally, in a politically motivated attack. The shootings spooked state legislators around the country, including in New Jersey, where many legislators wondered about their own safety and questioned whether there were steps they needed to take to protect themselves.

New Jersey, too, has seen its own share of violence against public figures in recent years, though the most prominent examples may not have been covered by ELEC’s proposed regulation.

In February 2023, two local New Jersey elected officials – Sayreville Councilwoman Eunice Dwumfour and Milford Councilman Russell Heller – were shot and killed in separate attacks, but both killings seemingly stemmed from personal disputes rather than political ones. And in 2020, U.S. District Court Judge Esther Salas was targeted by a deranged men’s rights activist who opened fire at her home, killing her son and injuring her husband; Salas, who as a federal judge is far outside of ELEC’s jurisdiction, was unharmed.

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Bill Spadea, the radio host who finished second in June’s Republican primary for governor, will return to his morning talk show on 101.5 next week, the radio station announced.

Spadea will return on Sept. 2, the day after Labor Day. The Republican primary got feisty, with Spadea continuing to keep his distance from Jack Ciattarelli, the former assemblyman who defeated the radio host for the GOP nomination.

“I’m excited to be returning to the airwaves with New Jersey 101.5 and the largest audience in the state,” Spadea said in the announcement. “I’m looking forward to continuing our mission of fighting for common-sense solutions to save New Jersey. Our show has always been about the listeners, and I’m ready to keep amplifying the voices of small business owners, parents, teachers, first responders, nurses, and everyone else committed to digging in and staying in New Jersey.”

Spadea also teased there was “more to come.” Spadea’s 10-year career at 101.5 has made him one of the state’s premier conservative commentators — maps of the GOP primary show Spadea performed strongest where his radio signal was strongest.

Ciattarelli’s campaign filed a complaint regarding the show during the campaign in January, alleging unfairness — for months, the radio station was forced to include a disclaimer during his show. Spadea went on leave from the show days after the complaint was filed. 

Spadea sought President Donald Trump’s endorsement throughout the campaign, but the president instead opted to back Ciattarelli. Ciattarelli earned about 68% of the vote in the primary, more than tripling Spadea’s 22%. 

“Bill’s audience and the team at New Jersey 101.5 are looking forward to his return,” said Brian Lang, Townsquare Media’s regional vice president. “There’s no doubt he’ll have great stories to share. I also want to thank Eric Scott and the entire morning show team for doing an outstanding job while Bill was away.”

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Freshman Rep. Nellie Pou (D-North Haledon), ramping up for the most competitive campaign of her long political career, announced today that her campaign has surpassed $1 million in fundraising since the beginning of the year.

Several of Pou’s would-be opponents in both parties haven’t released any of their own fundraising numbers yet – or haven’t even entered the race at all – but Pou’s warchest has grown large enough that they’ll likely have a lot of catching up to do.

“I’m grateful for the incredible support our campaign has received, raising $1 million to keep us fighting for the people of the Ninth District,” Pou said in a statement. “Families in North Jersey are facing real challenges with the cost of living, securing good health care, and building a secure future. I’m working every day to make life more affordable, protect access to health care, and deliver real results for our communities. This support shows that our residents believe in our fight, and together we will continue to move our district forward.”

Pou, who spent nearly three decades as a state legislator in Trenton, was elected to Congress last year in the 9th district after 87-year-old Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-Paterson) died late in the election cycle. Her victory was supposed to be an easy one, but a Republican surge across New Jersey held her to a 51%-46% win; she’s now one of around a dozen House Democrats representing a district carried by President Donald Trump, forcing her to build up a swing-district political and fundraising operation largely from scratch.

Two Republicans, 2024 nominee Billy Prempeh and Clifton Councilwoman Rosie Pino, have stepped up to take Pou on in 2026, but their fundraising abilities are still untested. Prempeh has raised barely $1,000 since launching his campaign – he says he was dealing with health issues for much of the spring – while Pino entered the race after the most recent filing deadline and hasn’t voluntarily announced any fundraising numbers.

(Pou had raised $854,637 as of June 30, the most recent fundraising deadline; the next reports won’t be due until October 15.)

There’s also chatter of a potential Democratic primary challenge coming from Paterson Mayor André Sayegh, who also briefly ran in last year’s convention to replace Pascrell. Sayegh has publicly criticized Pou over her stance on Israel and her handling of a water crisis in Paterson this summer, but he hasn’t taken any official steps towards a campaign.

The still-unsettled state of affairs in the 9th district contrasts with New Jersey’s other competitive congressional district, the 7th, where eight Democrats are hoping to take down Rep. Tom Kean Jr. (R-Westfield) in a race that’s already very much underway.

Kean, who unseated Democratic Rep. Tom Malinowski (D-Ringoes) three years ago, hit the $1-million-raised threshold a long while ago – he’d raised $1.9 million as of the last reporting deadline – and at least one of his Democratic opponents, Rebecca Bennett, may have surpassed it as well. Bennett had raised $914,000 by the end of the 2nd quarter; not too far behind her was Brian Varela, who raised $694,000, though a majority of that came from his own pockets.

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