Sunlight Blog
Sweeney Center Projects a Grim Outlook for NJ’s Fiscal Condition: Gov. Murphy Leaves a Mess for the Next Governor
Posted On03/21/2025 byThank goodness for the Sweeney Center for Public Policy at Rowan University. At least there’s one group out there documenting the real world that will confront New Jersey after eight years of Gov. Murphy’s spendthrift governance. The Sweeney Center’s Multi-Year Budget Work Group has published its 5th report with sobering projections for New Jersey’s future…Read More
A Scandal in Plain Sight: NJEA President Spiller Turns His Union into a “Spiller for Governor” Super PAC
Posted On03/18/2025 byMore signs that NJEA President/gubernatorial candidate Sean Spiller has turned his union into one, big “Spiller for Governor” Super PAC, with teachers being forced to foot the bill. And here we thought the NJEA was an “education association.” All in an effort to back a compromised candidate under ongoing criminal investigation who cannot raise any money…Read More
Blatant Hypocrisy from Attorney General Platkin and NJEA President Spiller: What’s the Status of the AG’s Criminal Investigation of Spiller?
Posted On03/14/2025 byHypocrisy is in season for two of New Jersey’s most prominent politicians: Attorney General Matt Platkin and NJEA President/Democratic gubernatorial candidate Sean Spiller. The two are linked by the AG’s ongoing criminal investigation of Spiller for illegally misusing state health benefits as mayor of Montclair. But while three Wildwood officials were indicted for the same…Read More
NJ Monitor: NJEA President Spiller’s “Highly Unusual” Campaign for Governor Is Being Funded by Teachers’ Regular Dues Without Their Knowledge or Approval
Posted On03/11/2025 byKudos to New Jersey Monitor‘s Dana Difilippo for her excellent article on NJEA President Sean Spiller’s “highly unusual” campaign for governor. We commend Ms. Difilippo and the Monitor for not being in the tank for the NJEA the way New Jersey Globe is. Independent journalism is not dead yet in New Jersey. Difilippo provides several…Read More
Another Unsustainable Budget Proposed by NJ’s Status Quo Governor: Record Spending; Higher Taxes
Posted On02/28/2025 byAs we have said many times, Gov. Murphy is a status quo governor. He was elected with the support of New Jersey’s powerful, taxpayer-funded government unions, especially its largest, the NJEA, which spent over $20 million supporting Murphy. Murphy has repaid the favor by largely governing for their benefit. The result is another unsustainable FY2026…Read More
The NJEA Slings Mud and Peddles Falsehoods to Keep Teachers from Sunlight’s Facts
Posted On02/25/2025 byIn a recent ad on InsiderNJ, the NJEA reached a new low. They previously tried to block Sunlight’s emails from reaching teachers, scare teachers from opening Sunlight’s messages by falsely labeling Sunlight’s texts as a “phishing scam” that might infect their phones, and discredit Sunlight by putting us at the top of the NJEA’s “propaganda”…Read More
More Sobering Data on NJ Students’ Learning Loss and a “Wake Up Call” for NJ Parents
Posted On02/20/2025 byMore sobering analysis surrounding the recent “lackluster” performance by New Jersey students on national assessments and the attendant long-term decline in student achievement, as well as the welcome arrival of a new organization, Wake Up Call New Jersey, which seeks to alert New Jersey parents to this grim reality. It’s not a pretty picture but…Read More
Memo to Gov. Murphy and NJEA President Spiller: The Numbers Don’t Lie: NJ Is Not #1 in Education by a Long Shot
Posted On02/19/2025 byWe know that Gov. Murphy and his good pal, NJEA President/gubernatorial candidate Sean Spiller, like to claim that New Jersey’s public schools are #1 in the nation, but the results from the 2024 National Assessment of Academic Progress (NAEP) tests say otherwise, especially when it comes to New Jersey’s disadvantaged students. Overall, the Urban Institute…Read More
More Signs that NJEA President Spiller Has Turned His Union into One, Big “Spiller for Governor” Super PAC
Posted On02/13/2025 byNJEA President Sean Spiller is running for governor and, despite the obvious conflict of interest, he has not been shy about using his union to assist his political ambitions. That’s why Sunlight previously characterized the current NJEA as one, big “Spiller for Governor” Super PAC. We’ve just seen more signs of how true this is….Read More
More Empty Rhetoric from AG Platkin About Equal Justice for the “Well-Connected.” What About Gov. Murphy’s Pals Spiller and Gill?
Posted On02/07/2025 byWill New Jersey Attorney General Matt Platkin ever live up to his words? He repeatedly spouts high-sounding rhetoric about prosecuting political corruption and equal justice before the law but then sits silently while Gov. Murphy’s political pals, Sean Spiller and Brendan Gill, remain untouched. Platkin took to the pages of northjersey.com to tout his creation…Read More