Mayor Fulop makes a great point: it’s easy for Spiller to spend other people’s money.

Politico New Jersey Playbook‘s, Matt Friedman continues to do an excellent job of reporting on NJEA President/former-Montclair Mayor Sean Spiller’s run for governor.  Friedman reports that NJEA-funded, pro-Spiller Super PAC Working New Jersey is already flooding the state with mailers, TV and internet ads, and even door-knocking canvassers well before the May 2025 Democratic primary. Working NJ plans to spend up to $35 million and it looks like they mean it.  Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop — also a candidate for governor — estimates that Working NJ has already spent $5-7 million and its only October (on top of the $8 million already spent on the pro-Spiller Super PAC Protecting Our Democracy).  Fulop adds: “I think [Spiller] views it as a decision he’s making with other peoples’ money, so it makes it easier.” (Emphasis added).

Friedman takes “other people’s money” to mean the NJEA, which it surely is, but we would add another element.  It is almost certain that all of these millions spent on Spiller will come from the NJEA’s Super PAC, Garden State Forward, which is funded by teachers’ regular dues.  So “other people’s money” really means New Jersey teachers’ regular dues.  Maybe that’s why in September the NJEA increased teachers’ already highest-in-the-nation dues to an even higher $1,082 a year.

But the real scandal is that NJEA leadership (including Spiller) hides the existence of Garden State Forward from the very teachers who fund it.  A search of the NJEA website for “Garden State Forward” gets ZERO results.  In the part of the website that explains to teachers how their dues are spent, there is no mention of Garden State Forward.  In the “Legislative and Government Relations” section, which is where any mention would logically be, it says:

NJEA’s Government Relations Division lobbies the Legislature on issues impacting public education, works with NJEA’s Political Action Committee to support pro-education candidates (funded by voluntary contributions from members), and runs NJEA’s annual Legislative Conference.

There is no mention of Garden State Forward and a strong implication that the only monetary support for candidates comes from NJEA PAC (the NJEA’s traditional PAC), which is indeed funded by “voluntary contributions from members.”  That is highly deceptive.

Here’s the crux of the matter: NJEA leadership (including President Sean Spiller) has already spent $13-15 million and plans to spend another $25-30 million of teachers’ regular dues on Spiller’s run for governor — without teachers’ knowledge or consent.  

Spiller also happens to be an extremely controversial candidate. In Montclair, Spiller was the subject of a whistleblower lawsuit that the town settled for $1.25 million and in which he pleaded his 5th Amendment right against self-incrimination over 400 times.  After a single term, Spiller was so unpopular he did not run for re-election. Incredibly, Spiller is still under state criminal investigation.

We ask: Is Spiller really the kind of candidate teachers would choose to support with their hard-earned dues?  No wonder NJEA leadership hides the truth from teachers!

What a scam.