Stuff in the ‘Political Spending and Influence’ Category
NJ Monitor: “Slippery” Sean Spiller Dodges Questions While Attorney General Platkin Sits on the Criminal Investigation of Spiller
Posted On04/30/2025 byThe dam really has broken. First, it was the recognition by the New York Times that NJEA leadership was indeed spending teachers’ mandatory, annual dues backing NJEA President Sean Spiller’s ego trip run for governor. Soon all the major New Jersey news media followed with similar stories.* As a result, after two-and-a-half years of hiding…Read More
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
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
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
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
NJ Globe Details Sean Spiller’s Political Career but Curiously Omits Facts About His Serious Legal Troubles
Posted On01/30/2025 byNew Jersey Globe reporter Joey Fox published a long and detailed summary of NJEA President/former-Montclair Mayor Sean Spiller’s political career as part of a series on the 2025 gubernatorial candidates, but Fox left several important facts out of the story — including facts about Spiller’s serious legal troubles that surely would be of interest to…Read More
Florida Public Schools Get Better Results — Especially for Disadvantaged Kids — for Less than Half the Price
Posted On01/07/2025 byA wake-up call for New Jersey: New Jersey public schools are not nearly as good as the NJEA and Gov. Murphy claim. Florida 4th graders have better academic achievement in both math and reading than New Jersey — especially for disadvantaged children — while spending less than half the money. The NJEA frequently claims that…Read More
As Predicted, NJ’s Fiscal Cliff Arrives. Will Gov. Murphy Do the Bidding of His Government Union Pals and Raise Taxes Again?
Posted On12/06/2024 byAs many, including Sunlight, have long warned, New Jersey is approaching a fiscal cliff. Gov. Murphy is now ordering departments freeze salaries and hiring and reduce budgets by 5%. Murphy claims that he has been a good fiscal steward, but remember that he has increased state spending by over 60% and the current state budget…Read More