Why Does NJSpotlight News Ignore Outflow of People and Wealth to Other States? It Was 6th-Worst in the Nation in 2025.
April 2, 2026More mendacity (and hypocrisy) from Mendacious Michael “Hundreds of Millions” Gottesman. The progressive zealot and founder of the NJEA-funded New Jersey Public Education Coalition (NJPEC) simply cannot tell it straight. Gottesman sent out a “Media Alert” to the press corps linking to his Substack post on the supposed “Hidden Networks Behind New Jersey School Board Battles.” Gottesman goes after the New Jersey Family Policy Center (NJFPC), a Christian, faith-based organization whose mission (as stated on its website) is to make New Jersey a state “where families thrive, life is cherished, and parental rights are protected – so that God is honored.” It’s difficult to keep up with all the falsehoods Gottesman spews, but we will give it a shot. It’s classic Gottesman: mendacity mixed with hypocrisy. We hope the New Jersey press corps sees Gottesman as the proven, serial liar he truly is.
Falsehood #1: NJFPC uses “Judaeo-Christian values” to disguise its true nature. Gottesman attacks NJFPC for using the phrase “Judaeo-Christian values” as a “strategic rhetorical choice” to appear less sectarian and disguise its true Evangelical ideology. This is patently false. NJFPC embraces Judaeo-Christian values because it is an organization that is based on the Bible. As Gottesman surely knows, the Bible contains the Old Testament and the New Testament. The Old Testament was written BEFORE Christians even existed. It was written by JEWS and describes the prophets, trials, and triumphs of the JEWISH people. The New Testament was written by Christians. NJFPC is explicitly Bible-based and therefore based on the scripture in both the Old and New Testaments and therefore embraces Judaeo-Christian values. Gottesman is factually wrong and likely knows it. That’s mendacious.
Falsehood #2: Ascribing the Seven Mountains Mandate to NJFPC with no proof. Gottesman then goes on to ascribe the “Seven Mountains Mandate” to NJFPC, which he claims is part of a “hidden agenda” to inject religious ideology into “all aspects of American life,” specifically government, education, media, arts and entertainment, business, religion, and family. Sunlight passes no judgment on the Seven Mountains Mandate and we imagine that such efforts are well within the rights protected by the 1st Amendment, but note that Gottesman does not accuse NJFPC, itself, of adhering to the mandate. That’s because NOWHERE on the NJFPC website is there any mention of it, nor is there any mention of it on the Christians Engaged website or the Family Policy Alliance (FPA) website (two groups affiliated with NJFPC). That’s why Gottesman has to use generic phrases like “Advocates contend …” and “organizations like this” rather than using NJFPC’s and the others’ actual names. There is no proven connection between the mandate and these three organizations, but that doesn’t stop Gottesman from connecting them. More mendacity.
Falsehood #3: There is a “hidden” network behind NJFPC. Gottesman loudly proclaims in the title to his post that there are “hidden networks” that work “behind the scenes” to support NJFPC. Sounds nefarious, doesn’t it? But the truth is NJFPC makes no secret of its connection to Christians Engaged: it publicly displays it on its website where NJFPC makes very clear that Christians Engaged provides support for its voter mobilization efforts. Likewise, Christians Engaged makes no secret about its connection to FPA: it trumpets its merger with FPA here. NJFPC’s X account is even named “@FPAofNJ.” Yet Gottesman tries to insinuate some nefarious “hidden” element to the relationships, which is simply false. More mendacity.
And hypocrisy. Not only is Gottesman mendacious, he’s hypocritical. It is actually Gottesman who has a “hidden network” behind his own NJPEC: the NJEA. Gottesman has tried to conceal his NJEA funding and has (falsely) publicly denied it . But here’s the incontrovertible truth: NJPEC is funded by the NJEA via NJEA contributions to dark-money Super PAC Education Truth Project (and here). At the bottom of NJPEC’s website it says: “Paid for by Education Truth Project.” ETP has also paid for press releases and email blasts by NJPEC. Money is fungible: If ETP is funded by the NJEA, then so is NJPEC.
Once again, the facts show that Mendacious Michael “Hundreds of Millions” Gottesman is living down to his reputation. He is simply unable to tell it straight. We hope that New Jersey’s press corps sees Gottesman for who he really is: a proven, serial liar.