ROCKAWAY - Bill Spadea showed up just before the Mariachi band and said he "can't wait" until Wednesday night.

Spadea was attending Tuesday's annual Cinco de Mayo Party hosted by Ann Grossi, the Morris County Clerk, at a local Mexican restaurant. But he probably had other things on his mind.

The three leading Republican gubernatorial candidates meet at 7 p.m tonight (WED) for a "live conversation" courtesy of New Jersey PBS and WNYC radio.
The first interaction among Jon Bramnick, Jack Ciattarelli and Spadea was "live" indeed with the candidates sniping at each other from start to finish.
Ed Durr was also in that debate, but he has since dropped out. Mario Kranjac, the former mayor of Englewood Cliffs, also is running in the June 10 primary, but won't be in the debate because he did not qualify for public funding. The New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission sets the rules.

As he made the rounds, Spadea said he hopes the "truth" is exposed at tonight's debate. As he explained:

"Jack has been telling lies about me."

Ciattarelli spent part of Monday at an event in Monmouth County. His message is clear: Republican momentum is "real" and he is convinced he's going to win the primary.
Back in Rockaway, Grossi spoke briefly and thanked the crowd for attending. She said that she does not inject much politics into her Cinco de Mayo event and the idea is just for all to have a good time.

And that seemed to be the case as the crowd sampled Mexican cuisine washed down with margaritas.State legislators Joe Pennacchio, Christian Barranco and Jay Webber were all on hand.

But with a contested gubernatorial primary on tap, politics did pop up.

Mark Taylor and Bill Chegwidden, the mayors of Florham Park and Wharton respectively, both said they like Spadea and his "common sense" platform.

Spadea is behind Ciattarelli in the polling, but like most Spadea supporters, the two mayors discounted the polling.
Taylor did say that he will support whoever wins the primary because it is important for Republicans to win the governor's seat.

Bramnick, by the way, posted a video of him at Newark Airport condemning flight delays and imploring the FAA to do something about it.

Bramnick does stand-up comedy, but there's nothing amusing about spending hours at the airport when your flight is delayed.

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