Finally New Jersey media is starting to discuss the scandal that is NJEA President Sean Spiller’s campaign for governor.  Eric Scott of radio station New Jersey 101.5 reported on the backlash from teachers upset about NJEA leadership (including the conflicted Spiller) appropriating $35 million of teachers’ regular dues for Spiller’s personal vanity project.  These coerced millions are the only reason is able to run, and New Jersey teachers are finally starting to learn the truth about what is going on.

Importantly, Scott notes that Spiller has raised so little money from the voting public that he is the ONLY Democratic candidate who has not qualified for matching funds, and therefore the ONLY candidate who will not be on the stage for the second gubernatorial debate.  New Jersey voters have a choice, and they are choosing not to back Spiller.

Not so New Jersey teachers. They don’t have a choice. And, according to Scott, they are “shocked and furious” when they learn the truth. Scott provide some revealing quotes from teachers who called in to the New Jersey 101.5 morning show or left comments on the NJ101.5 app.  Here are some examples:

• One teacher said he attended a recent union meeting where members were presented with “Spiller for Governor” literature and pressured to vote for him.
• Another teachers said: “The union has protected me in some sticky situations … [b]ut I was not asked and I do not endorse Sean Spiller. I have been contemplating whether or not to cancel my union membership.“
• Another added: “we should be focusing on education and teacher protection considering we are not getting backed up in the classroom. This just shows how teachers are silenced and expected to follow like a herd …“
• A bus driver from Morris County “Every single piece of literature that we receive via email and snail mail, includes something from Spiller or the NJEA. It’s obnoxious, honestly.”
• One teacher quit the NJEA: “I quit the NJEA because I don’t support their agenda. I certainly don’t support Spiller using union funds for his campaign.“

Thanks to radio station like New Jersey 101.5, teachers are starting to learn the truth: NJEA leadership (including a conflicted Spiller) are spending their regular, annual dues on Spiller’s run for governor, which, given his extremely weak fundraising, looks more like a personal vanity project.  Yet NJEA leadership has already spent $22.25 million of teachers’ dues on Spiller’s vanity project and plans to spend a total of $40 million.*

Teachers don’t have a choice: they are being forced to fund Spiller’s run. This is despite the fact that Spiller is a weak, deeply-flawed, and ethically-challenged candidate who remains under ongoing criminal investigation for misusing state health benefits.  What a scandal!

*$35 million for pro-Spiller, NJEA-run Super PAC Working New Jersey added to the $5 million already spent on Spiller’s Super PAC Protecting Our Democracy, which served as a platform for Spiller’s candidacy before he officially announced.