Leaders of the New Jersey Education Association directed nearly $45 million in member dues to support former president Sean Spiller’s unsuccessful Democratic gubernatorial campaign last year, according to a new analysis by a think tank critical of the teachers union.
The report by the Sunlight Policy Center of New Jersey, a watchdog organization that has monitored the NJEA for years, says the state’s largest teachers union funneled the money through two Super PACs — Protecting Our Democracy and Working New Jersey.
The report called the spending unprecedented, opaque and ineffective. Spiller finished fifth in the Democratic primary.
An NJEA spokesperson distanced the teachers union from Working New Jersey, the PAC that raised the most money for Spiller’s campaign.
“With regard to Working New Jersey, NJEA did not direct its decisions about resource allocation or the hiring of any firms it used,” NJEA spokesperson Steve Baker said.
Spiller, the former mayor of Montclair and former NJEA president, ran an unusual campaign for governor. He raised only limited funds independently, failed to qualify for matching funds, and hired no paid campaign staff. As a result, the report says, the Super PACs effectively ran his campaign, financing 99% of its spending.
“So now a candidate in New Jersey doesn’t have to raise his own money, doesn’t have to run his own campaign, doesn’t have to have paid staff, doesn’t have to qualify for the debate — they can just tap into this private entity,” said Sunlight Center founder Mike Lilley, a former conservative think-tank researcher critical of public unions.
Spiller did not immediately respond to a request to comment on the report.
The NJEA is one of the state’s largest and most powerful unions. It has around 200,000 members, including teachers, administrators and support staff at schools around the state.
Despite the historic investment and backing of the NJEA, Spiller finished the Democratic primary with 89,472 votes, or 10.6% of the total statewide vote. The report estimates the NJEA spent $502 per vote, the highest amount ever recorded in a New Jersey gubernatorial primary.
Mikie Sherrill, a congresswoman, won the Democratic primary and went on to win the general election before taking over as governor last month.
The Sunlight Policy Center’s report highlighted $10.1 million paid to AP Consulting, a Newark-based firm hired for Spiller’s get-out-the-vote operations. The firm publicly lists tax preparation, insurance and translation as its services but does not appear to have much experience in the political field.
Because Super PACs are not required to disclose sub-vendor spending, how AP Consulting distributed the money remains unclear, and the report notes no public documentation exists showing how the multimillion-dollar canvassing effort was executed.
AP Consulting did not respond to a request for comment.
Lilley said the Spiller campaign could set a concerning precedent for future campaigns.
“They can funnel money, basically outsource a personal campaign,” he said.
Baker, the NJEA spokesperson, pushed back against the conclusions in the report.
“Our budget is developed by a budget committee made up of members from every county and several constituent groups,” Baker said. “It is voted on by our Delegate Assembly, made up of members representing every county and several constituent groups who are directly elected by the members they represent.”
The report contrasts Spiller’s spending with that of Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, a gubernatorial candidate who finished second in the Democratic primary. Baraka’s campaign spent $7.9 million, a fraction of the NJEA-backed effort for Spiller, and raised most of its funding directly from contributors. Those public campaign filings offer disclosures of canvassing payments, subcontractors and field operations — details a Super PAC does not have to disclose.
According to the report, Baraka’s spending per vote was $45. Baraka received 173,951 votes, nearly double Spiller’s total.
After the most expensive gubernatorial race in New Jersey’s history, this model of financing could have larger repercussions for future races, Lilley said.
“I think New Jersey’s political system has to ask what’s going on here,” he said.
NJEA financed a $45M political gamble
