Stuff in the ‘Political Spending and Influence’ Category
Yes, Governor, It’s a Rigged System Alright – Just Not In the Way You Say
Posted On06/20/2019 by“We are not dealing with a broken system,” said the governor. “This is a rigged system. This was designed by special interests for special interests.” That’s Governor Murphy discussing the report on the EDA by the task force he appointed, as reported by InsiderNJ. Yes, governor, it’s a rigged system alright, but the reality is…Read More
Another large public union rally at the Statehouse: who pays for it?
Posted On06/14/2019 byYou do, taxpayers. $129 million’s worth last year. Your property tax dollars pay for teacher salaries and the union’s dues are withheld from them, so your tax dollars flow through the district and the teachers directly to the NJEA. Of this generous $129 million of funding, SPCNJ estimates that $65 million is spent on politics….Read More
The NJEA Spends $13.99 million Both FOR and AGAINST Sweeney
Posted On06/10/2019 byI guess when you have hundreds of millions of forced teacher dues, derived from siphoned off property tax dollars, you can afford to throw a lot of money around. Even at cross-purposes. In Insider NJ today, Edward Edwards points out that the NJEA’s independent expenditure arm, Garden State Forward, gave a Sweeney-affiliated PAC $5.55…Read More
Sen. Sweeney is right about the appearance of an NJEA-dominated Trenton
Posted On06/10/2019 byIn an article by Dustin Racioppi and Charlie Stile in north jersey.com, Sen. Sweeney makes two good points about the current state of affairs in New Jersey. First, given that our governor appears in NJEA-funded TV ads, calling for NJEA policy priorities in the same language the NJEA uses, and that our governor then vetoed…Read More
Yep, the System is Rigged Alright
Posted On06/04/2019 byThe NJEA-funded dark money group, New Direction New Jersey (NDNJ), is back at it. In a new digital ad that’s part of its $1 million ad campaign, the group states: “There’s no other way to put it – the system is rigged,” as reported by New Jersey Globe. NDNJ is right: the system is rigged. And…Read More
Gov. Murphy Makes Clear that He Routinely Consults the NJEA on Policy
Posted On06/03/2019 byThe governor is remarkably unconcerned about his unusually close relationship with the state’s most powerful special interest. He appears in TV ads paid for by the NJEA that call for one of the NJEA’s main policy goals. He vetoes a bill that would expose the NJEA’s secret funding of political groups that support its own…Read More
Another NJEA-funded Ad Starring Gov. Murphy
Posted On05/31/2019 byApparently, Gov. Murphy sees nothing wrong with appearing in ads funded by a special interest advocating the policies that the special interest wants. He did it last week using the very same language that the special interest uses. Now he’s doing it again. The NJEA strongly backed Gov. Murphy in the governor’s race. A high-ranking…Read More
Star-Ledger’s Moran Calls for Override of Murphy’s Veto But Leaves Out Important Facts
Posted On05/30/2019 byThe Star-Ledger’s Tom Moran calls for the legislature to override Gov. Murphy’s veto of a bill requiring disclosure of “dark money” donors for political ads. Moran makes many good points but neglects to point out the FACT that in the case at hand – where Murphy appears in the TV ads of New Direction New…Read More
Sen. Singleton Politely Points Out the Dark Side of Dark Money
Posted On05/29/2019 bySen. Singleton, who is sponsoring legislation to require disclosure of dark money donors, penned an op-ed in the Star-Ledger calling for passage of Senate Bill 1500. Remember the Sunlight Policy Center uncovered that the dark money group New Direction New Jersey (NDNJ) is getting at least $2.5 million from the NJEA to run pro-Murphy ads…Read More
New Jersey Globe Leaves Out an Important Detail: NDNJ is Funded by NJEA
Posted On05/28/2019 byThe Globe’s David Wildstein reveals that the dark money group New Direction New Jersey (NDNJ) is running TV ads with footage bought from Murphy’s election campaign, which is good reporting. What’s missing is that NDNJ is FUNDED BY THE NJEA. It needs to become a regular part of our collective conversation that New Jersey’s most…Read More