Stuff in the ‘The Taxpayer-Funded Political Machine’ Category
NJEA FUNDS SPILLER’S MAYORAL RUN, DEEPENING HIS CONFLICT OF INTEREST
Posted On04/22/2020 byThis post is an addendum to the Sunlight Policy Center of New Jersey’s (SPCNJ) recent report “Councilman Spiller, Mayor Spiller, Governor Spiller?” Thanks to NJLeftBehind for highlighting this aspect of Spiller’s run for mayor of Montclair. The NJEA and Its Allies Are the Main Funders of Spiller’s Mayoral Campaign As detailed in SPCNJ’s previous report, New…Read More
Your Property Tax Dollars at Work: NJEA Crushes the Lobbying Competition
Posted On03/10/2020 byNew Jersey citizens, your highest-in-the-nation property taxes are at work … helping the NJEA to stay the most powerful special interest in NJ’s special-interest-dominated political system. Led by the NJEA, 2019 special interest lobbying expenses topped $100 million for the first time. According to the Election Law Enforcement Commission (ELEC), the NJEA crushed the competition…Read More
New Coalition “For the Many” Should Be Named “For the Special Interests”
Posted On02/21/2020 byAn InsiderNJ Press Release announced the creation of a new coalition named “For the Many.” The Steering Committee includes two powerhouse public-sector unions – the NJEA and CWA – as well as New Jersey Policy Perspective (NJPP), Working Families Alliance, Citizen Action, Work Environment Council, Anti-Poverty Network, and Make the Road. Save Our Schools (SOS)…Read More
Is the NJEA’s Super PAC Playing Fast and Loose with the Rules in Camden?
Posted On11/01/2019 byThere’s a hotly contested school board race going on in Camden on. News accounts have described it as a contest between two slates: “Camden Votes” backed by the NJEA-affiliate Camden Education Association, and “Education for Everyone” backed by the Camden County Democratic Committee. SPCNJ doesn’t typically get opine on local politics, but we have been…Read More
NJEA Ends Silence, Announces New Executive Director
Posted On10/10/2019 byAfter some prompting from the SPCNJ and others, the NJEA has announced that Ed Richardson is out and Steve Swetsky is in. The NJEA says Richardson is retiring, which is an ordinary reason for leaving a position, so it’s still a little odd that the NJEA was caught so flat-footed. Without the prompting, one wonders…Read More
NJEA Admits Richardson Is Leaving But Still Refuses To Say Why
Posted On10/09/2019 byThe strange saga of the NJEA’s ouster of executive director Ed Richardson continues. After SPCNJ dug up the fact of Richardson’s removal and noted the NJEA’s strange silence on the matter, NJ Spotlight at least followed up with NJEA Communications Director Steve Baker. All Baker would say was that the NJEA would provide more details…Read More
Ed Richardson (Very Quietly) Out as NJEA Executive Director
Posted On10/04/2019 byThis month’s NJEA Review revealed that Ed Richardson is no longer the executive director of the NJEA, having been replaced by another long-time political operative, Steve Swetsky. So the dominance of the executive office – and of the NJEA – by political organizers continues. But what is strange is that Richardson’s removal was done very quietly….Read More
SHINING A LIGHT ON NEW DIRECTION’S DARK MONEY REVEALS SOME DARK TRUTHS ABOUT NEW JERSEY POLITICS
Posted On09/17/2019 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 On09/06/2019 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 On09/05/2019 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