Rather than Address His Conflicts of Interest, Spiller Hurls Mud and Falsehoods
Posted OnMay 5, 2020 byWell, SPCNJ’s FACTS have apparently gotten under NJEA Vice President and Montclair mayoral candidate Sean Spiller’s skin. We were surprised to see a Spiller campaign mailer (largely funded by the NJEA) designed as if Spiller were running against SPCNJ for mayor. But Vice President Spiller, SPCNJ is a non-profit research organization not a candidate for…Read More
At PTA Forum, Spiller Wants To Talk About Anything But His Conflicts of Interest
Posted OnApril 29, 2020 byKudos to moderator Jon Fortt who knew his facts about NJEA Vice President/Montclair mayoral candidate Sean Spiller’s conflicts of interest and asked the right questions. Fortt rightly pointed out that a NJ Superior Court ruled that Spiller’s conflict of interest disqualified him from serving on Montclair’s Board of School Estimate (BoSE), so it is a…Read More
NJEA FUNDS SPILLER’S MAYORAL RUN, DEEPENING HIS CONFLICT OF INTEREST
Posted OnApril 22, 2020 byThis post is an addendum to the Sunlight Policy Center of New Jersey’s (SPCNJ) recent report “Councilman Spiller, Mayor Spiller, Governor Spiller?” Thanks to NJLeftBehind for highlighting this aspect of Spiller’s run for mayor of Montclair. The NJEA and Its Allies Are the Main Funders of Spiller’s Mayoral Campaign As detailed in SPCNJ’s previous report, New…Read More
Very Sorry to Report More Bad News on NJ Public Pensions
Posted OnApril 21, 2020 bySPCNJ recognizes that NJ citizens are rightly concentrating on the devastating effects of the Covid19 pandemic. But having studied NJ’s pension issues for many years, SPCNJ believes that NJ citizens should informed of the facts – even if they are unpleasant and unwelcome. The state Division of Pensions and Benefits just released its annual report,…Read More
Not What We Want to Hear, But More Bad News on NJ Public Pensions
Posted OnApril 14, 2020 byWhile most of us are (rightly) concerned with Covid19, the ever-watchful BuryPensions blog has once again sounded the alarm. With our state government understandably consumed with the Covid19 crisis, SPCNJ has been trying to alert NJ citizens that there is trouble ahead. The bond rating agency S&P Global measured the liquidity of several stressed public…Read More
2019 NJ State Debt Report: The Facts
Posted OnApril 7, 2020 bySPCNJ is mindful that this does not seem like the best time to be the amplifier of not-so-good or bad news, but we have been following NJ’s debt profile for many years and believe that the facts should be presented to the public, who deserve to know the truth. No spin, no sugarcoating, just the…Read More
We Will Get Through Covid19 but with Severe Damage to NJ’s Public Pensions
Posted OnApril 6, 2020 byThanks to BuryPensions for alerting SPCNJ to a Bloomberg article by Aaron Brown that highlights the risks that the Covid19-related economic recession and market crash have created for New Jersey’s public-sector pensions. Brown estimates that the value of NJ’s pension assets has declined about 25%, and that the current funding level is in the area of…Read More
Coronavirus Creates A Huge Double-Whammy for New Jersey’s Finances
Posted OnMarch 24, 2020 byThe Star-Ledger’s Samantha Marcus wrote an article today describing the anticipated hit to NJ’s tax collections. Thanks to a strong economy and robust stock markets, NJ’s tax revenues had been running 6% above last year, but with many taxpayers out of work and the market down, NJ’s tax revenues will take a big hit –…Read More
Looks Like Some Good News on Sweeney-NJEA Healthcare Deal
Posted OnMarch 17, 2020 bySenate President Steve Sweeney has introduced a new healthcare bill based on the recent deal between Sweeney and NJEA President Marie Blistan. The bill appears to take notice of the recent ProPublica investigation into excessive and wasteful out-of-network reimbursements in the state-run health plans for school employees (as covered by SPCNJ’s “Unnoticed $500,000,000 Scandal Is…Read More
Your Property Tax Dollars at Work: NJEA Crushes the Lobbying Competition
Posted OnMarch 10, 2020 byNew Jersey citizens, your highest-in-the-nation property taxes are at work … helping the NJEA to stay the most powerful special interest in NJ’s special-interest-dominated political system. Led by the NJEA, 2019 special interest lobbying expenses topped $100 million for the first time. According to the Election Law Enforcement Commission (ELEC), the NJEA crushed the competition…Read More