Per the Montclair Local, we are learning more and more about how NJEA President/Montclair Mayor Sean Spiller conducts himself in office, and it’s not good.  Already the subject of a whistleblower lawsuit by Montclair’s former-CFO that alleges malfeasance and retaliation, Spiller and the town council appear to be doubling down by subpoenaing the records of Sarah Avery, a Montclair citizen/activist who has been critical of Spiller.  It’s a very bad look for Spiller.

Here’s why:

1. Montclair councilman David Cummings made clear why he questioned the validity of the subpoena: “Is the Township being weaponized to go after people for Sean? This is a bad thing to do.”
2. Like Councilman Cummings, the attorney representing the whistleblower claimed that the subpoena is further retaliation by Spiller and the council and is threatening to sue the council on behalf of Ms. Avery.  Already in deep legal trouble, Spiller and the council appear to be courting more.  
3. The Local noted that Spiller plead his 5th Amendment right against self-incrimination over 400 times in his deposition for the whistleblower lawsuit.  It sure looks like Spiller has something to hide. No wonder he wanted to keep the transcript private!
4. We do not know all the facts about what Ms. Avery has said about Spiller, but we do know that she stated that Spiller “uses teachers’ salaries to promote himself,” which is undeniably true.  As Sunlight has documented, NJEA President Spiller is using millions of teachers’ regular dues to fund his Super PAC, Protecting Our Democracy, which is widely seen as a platform for Spiller’s personal political career.  We applaud Ms. Avery for calling Spiller out for this blatant conflict of interest.  

We trust the courts to judge the validity of this subpoena of a private citizen, but given Councilman Cummings’ assessment and what we know of Ms. Avery’s veracity, this heavy-handed action by Spiller and the council looks like a desperate act by desperate people.  It’s a very bad look.