For Immediate Release

 

Contact:         Maryjane Briant
                        News and Media Relations Director
                        Galloway, N.J. 08205
                        Maryjane.Briant@stockton.edu
                        (609) 652-4593
                        stockton.edu/media

Galloway, N.J. - Seats to watch New Jersey’s first gubernatorial primary debates of 2017 in Stockton University’s Campus Center Theatre on Tuesday, May 9, are no longer available, but the public is invited to watch it live online or in a simulcast location the university is making available due to strong public interest.

Visit stockton.edu/governordebates on May 9 to watch the debates live, with signing provided for the hearing impaired, or view them on Stockton’s Facebook page. A stream with Spanish translation will be available. The one-hour debates will take place at 6:30 p.m. and 8 p.m., with a half-hour break in between.

The event also will be simulcast in the Campus Center Event Room, and free tickets for that are still available at stockton.edu/governordebates.

All attendees for either venue must have a paper ticket and are advised to print them out before arriving at Stockton. Attendees must be in their seats 15 minutes before the start of each debate. For security reasons, walk-ins will not be permitted. No one will be admitted once the debates are underway.

Simulcast tickets for the debates must be obtained before 5:30 p.m. on May 9, when the Box Office will halt sales.

Sharon Schulman, executive director of the university’s William J. Hughes Center for Public Policy, will moderate the debates. The university was selected to host the events by the N.J. Election Law Enforcement Commission (ELEC), which determined which candidates are eligible to participate.

Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno and Assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli of the 16th District, which includes municipalities in Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex and Somerset counties, will face off first for the GOP.

Phil Murphy, a former ambassador to Germany and a financier; state Sen. Ray Lesniak, of the 20th District, which includes several Union County municipalities; Jim Johnson, an attorney and activist who was formerly an Assistant Secretary of the Treasury and Under Secretary of the

Treasury for Enforcement; and Assemblyman John Wisniewski, of the 19th District, which includes five Middlesex County municipalities, will debate in the Democratic contest beginning at 8 p.m.

About the Hughes Center

The William J. Hughes Center for Public Policy at Stockton University serves as a catalyst for research, analysis and innovative policy solutions on the economic, social and cultural issues facing New Jersey, and promotes the civic life of New Jersey through engagement, education and research. The center is named for William J. Hughes, whose distinguished career includes service in the U.S. House of Representatives, Ambassador to Panama and as a Distinguished Visiting Professor at Stockton. The Hughes Center can be found on Facebook and can be followed on Twitter @hughescenter.