Stuff in the ‘The Taxpayer-Funded Political Machine’ Category
SHINING A LIGHT ON NEW DIRECTION’S DARK MONEY REVEALS SOME DARK TRUTHS ABOUT NEW JERSEY POLITICS
Posted OnSeptember 17, 2019 by“Dark money” group New Direction New Jersey (NDNJ) is no longer quite so dark. Some nine months after promising to disclose its donors, NDNJ finally did last week. But only after the Sunlight Policy Center of New Jersey (SPCNJ), POLITICO and the Bergen Record dug up the major sources of its funding. And only after…Read More
Represent New Jersey seems to have a curious blind spot
Posted OnSeptember 6, 2019 byDavid Goodman of Represent New Jersey penned an op-ed in NJSpotlight saying his group opposes Americans for Prosperity’s seeking an injunction against the new disclosure law aimed at exposing “dark money” funding of political operations. There are good arguments on both sides of the issue, but in the main, SPCNJ believes that there is too…Read More
The facts about “Chapter 78 relief”: New Jersey taxpayers will pay more
Posted OnSeptember 5, 2019 byNJ.com reports that Speaker Coughlin has crafted a bill that gives teachers so-called “Chapter 78 relief.” This issue has been one of the NJEA’s top political priorities. Here are the salient facts: The current plan is a “platinum-plus” level plan, which means that 97% of the cost of the plan’s benefits are paid by taxpayers…Read More
BuryPensions goes where Jay Lassiter won’t: Look where the NJEA spends teachers’ dues.
Posted OnAugust 14, 2019 byInsiderNJ’s Jay Lassiter wrote a column this morning about the influence of special interests over New Jersey politicians. Lassiter rightly questions who these pols are working for. But he curiously failed to mention the most powerful special interest of all: the NJEA. John Bury of BuryPensions posted a piece that looks at how and where…Read More
InsiderNJ’s Lassiter decries special interest influence on politicians but leaves out the biggest one.
Posted OnAugust 14, 2019 byInsiderNJ columnist Jay Lassiter rightly calls out the influence of special interests on New Jersey politicians. He mentions New Direction New Jersey (NDNJ), the “dark money” group backing a millionaire’s tax. He also mentions Speaker Coughlin’s law firm, Assemblywoman Lampitt and others sponsoring legislation for special interests , and Senator Lagana’s ties to the insurance…Read More
Another $1 million from the NJEA deepens the governor’s conflict of interest
Posted OnAugust 12, 2019 byThe North Jersey Record reported today that the NJEA funneled another $1 million to the dark money group New Direction New Jersey (NDNJ) – this time via its Super PAC Garden State Forward. SPCNJ previously discovered that the NJEA had donated $2.5 million to NDNJ, so the NJEA has now pumped $3.5 million of its…Read More
Why is the Media Ignoring that New Direction New Jersey is an NJEA-funded vehicle?
Posted OnJuly 10, 2019 byPolitico ran a story about how Assembly Speaker Coughlin took New Direction New Jersey (NDNJ) to task for attacking Democrats. The article describes NDNJ as “a ‘dark money’ group Murphy does not control but which is run by his allies and promotes his agenda.” As SPCNJ uncovered, and as exposed in an earlier Politico story,…Read More
Whose Side Is the Governor On?
Posted OnJune 27, 2019 byNew Jersey Globe reports that Gov. Murphy has questioned whose side Senate President Sweeney is on when it comes to the various programs and taxes wants in the state budget. But whose side is the governor on? On the side of New Jersey’s most powerful special interest and the lavishly compensated one-percenters in its leadership….Read More
What a Scam!
Posted OnJune 26, 2019 byInsiderNJ reports on a New Direction New Jersey (NDNJ) email blast condemning the legislature’s budget as a “scam” that “screws working people” and benefits millionaires. That’s laughable. Remember that NDNJ is a dark money group funded by the NJEA with $2.5 million of taxpayer dollars. Remember that in 2016 the NJEA supported raising the gasoline…Read More
The Irony of NJEA Members Protesting Pro-Sweeney PAC
Posted OnJune 21, 2019 byThe New Jersey Globe reports that about 50 “progressive” activists protested a fundraiser for the Sen. Sweeney-aligned General Majority PAC. The group’s statement makes it clear that they are part of the “#RedforEd” movement, which is a creation of the National Education Association, the NJEA’s parent organization. How ironic then that they call for greater…Read More