Conservative party chairman resigns, temporarily, to work for Lonegan

New Jersey Conservative Party (NJCP) State Chairman Stephen Spinosa will "temporarily resign" his post because he has changed his party registration to Republican in support of Steve Lonegan's campaign for Governor.  Spinosa has urged the 45 voters registered as members of the New Jersey Conservative Party to change their registration to Republican and then change back after the June primary.   Spinosa says the NJCP has also endorsed Michael Doherty for State Senate, and Michael Patrick Carroll and Alison Littell McHose for Assembly.

Spinosa's statement, in entirety:

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. My name is Stephen Spinosa and I'm the State Chairman of the NJ Conservative Party. I have several announcements to make today. On March 14th,2009, the active membership of the NJ Conservative Party voted unanimously to endorse Steven Lonegan as our choice for Governor in the 2009 gubernatorial race.

Our policy from the very beginning has been to run candidates for public office where we can, and endorse specific Republican candidates who consistently support our platforms and principles where we can't. Steve Lonegan embodies everything that we Conservatives want, with his plans to remove the burden of government from the average taxpayer so that he or she can reach their full potential, whereas Governor Jon Corzine embodies everything that the Socialist Workers Party would want: big oppressive government, higher taxes and more wasteful spending. Thus our endorsement of Steve Lonegan is the biggest one we've ever made.

I also want to announce that the NJCP is also endorsing Mr. Michael Patrick Carroll for State Assembly in the 25th District, Mr. Michael J. Doherty for State Senate in the 23rd District and Miss Allison McHose for State Senate in the 24th District as a means of sending a message to the liberal ruling clique in the New Jersey Republican Party. That message is: if there's going to be true change in New Jersey, then the clique's gotta go.

I also want to address some recent controversy that surrounds the party. Two weeks ago I urged all registered Conservatives (as well as all conservative Democrats and independents)to re-register as Republicans by April 13th in order to vote for Steve in the June Republican Primary. At that time I myself re-registered as a Republican before the deadline.  However, the by-laws of the New Jersey Conservative Party clearly state that to become a member of (and hold an office in) the party, you must not be registered with either the Democrats or Republicans.

Therefore in order to preserve the integrity of our by-laws and our corporate structure, I am temporarily resigning as Chairman of the NJ Conservative Party, effective immediately, in order to work & vote for the nomination and election of Steven Lonegan as Governor in the 2009 Gubernatorial race. Fee Chan Leung of Hazlet, NJ has agreed to act as interim Chairman in my absence. I've taken this extraordinary action because I feel that the great economic turmoil of our times demand that all of us do what we can to see to it that we have the best possible person in the Governor's chair.

I strongly believe that, at this crucial time in our state's history, that the prosperity, the solvency, and the security of New Jersey can only be served by nominating Steven Lonegan as the standard bearer of the Republican Party and then electing him as Governor in November. I want to thank everyone connected with the NJ Conservative Party for their support during this time.