MONTCLAIR – President of the New Jersey Education Association (NJEA), former Montclair Mayor, former councilman, an anatomy and physiology teacher by trade, Jamaican immigrant, married father of two, Sean Spiller wants to be governor of New Jersey.

InsiderNJ this week sat down with the 2025 Democratic Primary candidate at a bar and grill in his hometown.

InsiderNJ: How do you win?

Sean Spiller: It’s focusing on what we’re doing. We’re out there talking to folks all over the state. My

campaign is one of inclusion and trying to earn every vote. We’re not out there saying ‘we don’t want this, we don’t want that.’ People get that this is our chance to have someone with a lived experience similar to our own.

InsiderNJ: Three Democratic Primary candidates from Essex County seem to impede one another’s path statewide, no?

Sean Spiller: It’s going to come down to getting your message out there. Those worried about splitting up the vote – we’re trying to add votes together. We’re trying to talk to folks in every county.

InsiderNJ: Coming from a labor organization, how do you assure voters that as governor you will serve all NJ educational interests, both those of students and teachers?

Sean Spiller: Let’s look at the results. We have the number one schools in the nation. You can never separate a teacher and the parent and the student. The success of the school is going to be determined by the success of the student. My style is one of inclusive conversation, to make sure everyone impacted by things is at the table. They may call it red tape. We call it paperwork that we’re inundated with. It’s about inclusive leadership. It’s about making sure we’re all at the table when decisions are being made. In the end it’s about results.

InsiderNJ: What is your main policy priority?

Sean Spiller: We’re facing a major crisis in terms of staffing. Anywhere you go, anyone you talk to with kids in schools, will tell you class sizes are going up. There are tons of kids sitting in the library or auditorium. This is not only an impact on kids but an impact on educators, because instead of prepping for the next class you’re covering something and not able to give kids the instruction they need. You’re busy picking up the pieces. Over the last ten years we have eroded the promise of education in the areas of health benefits and pensions. We need to support 9at the state level0 bringing in educators and keeping them while lessening our reliance on property taxes.

InsiderNJ: Do you favor the elimination of Abbott?

Sean Spiller: No. We’ve got to tweak the formula. It doesn’t account for children with special needs, for example, but more broadly, we all still agree there are absolutely still communities that need additional supports. To just walk away from that is not the path.

InsiderNJ: The greatest political lesson you’ve learned?

Sean Spiller: Politics is in everything we do. One minute they’re shaking your hand. The next minute they’re coming after you. We’re all trying to bring to bear pressures that accomplish something good. When I have conversations with educators, I tell them, ‘You should be in other areas, on the library board town, or on the town council or (laughs) running for governor. It is ensuring you’re always meeting people we’re they’re at.”

InsiderNJ: The most important word is….

Sean Spiller: …sincere. It’s important to be sincere to who you are, to why you got into it, and to who you’re trying to serve. You have to ground yourself. You’ve got to be sincere to that. That’s the mark of a good leader.

InsiderNJ: What got you into this?

Sean Spiller: What got me into this is I always wanted to fight for the underdog. I wanted to make sure things were fair. Whether it was in my anatomy class, or as president of the state’s largest labor organization, everything I have ever done is to make sure our voices are heard.

InsiderNJ: What’s your most important public achievement?

Sean Spiller: A four-way stop street in town could never get a four-way stop. You find it’s not so easy even to get a four-way stop, a process with state tests requirements that have to be met. Working through that and finally getting it done, that was rewarding. People in every house were outside. Also, we were able to adopt an energy aggregation plan, green energy at a higher standard than the state requires and cheaper for residents. Also, sitting in rooms where we’re designing and negotiating healthcare plans to save a billion dollars a year.

InsiderNJ: Your favorite book?

Sean Spiller: Anything that looks at ways people have tried to come together. Anything that instructs how to claw a little bit back of the power we will not have if we sit it out or don’t get engaged and involved. Every story about how we have to work so hard to be part of the decision-making process.

InsiderNJ: Your best sports moment?

Sean Spiller: Freshman and sophomore college – two (hockey) championships. I wouldn’t pick one game or moment. Now I have two little guys myself (who play).

InsiderNJ: Most valuable teacher in your life?

Sean Spiller: My mother. My mother was a math teacher in Jamaica. She’s the one my brother and I would go to for our actual schooling. My parents were lessons. Both my parents. The other person was my college hockey coach, who was a science teacher.

InsiderNJ: Why do you want to be governor?

Sean Spiller: This is our chance to do something different. This is our chance to have somebody who understands the demands of buying a house, for example – a teacher, young father – we are going to be making the decisions. My lived experience is much more in line with what most people are living now. Also, I would say, what separates me from other mayors running is I have not only served at the local level but represented people statewide. So, I’ve gotten things done locally while also navigating the politics of New Jersey. Specifically, we just reupped and redid the healthcare piece. I’ve been part of designing the healthcare plans and getting them signed into law.

InsiderNJ: What does New Jersey mean to you?

Sean Spiller: New Jersey is a place where my parents, of all the states in the nation, said, ‘We’re going to go here.’ I saw my parents make sacrifices to be here. We’re a great state and a special state. Government’s role is to make life a little easier and that’s the fundamental piece.