Spiller Doubles Back to Take a Jab at Chris Christie
Sean Spiller talked about the damage Chris Christie did to teachers.
Mikie Sherrill said this year is a chance to stand up to Donald Trump.
Spiller and Sherrill, two of the six candidates seeking the Democratic gubernatorial nomination, attended events the end of last week in Morris County.
Spiller certainly draws political strength from his “day job.”
He’s president of the state teachers’ union, or formally, the New Jersey Education Association, a group often called the “most powerful union” in the state.
But do voters like the NJEA?
Spiller was asked precisely that last week while attending a gubernatorial forum at Fairleigh Dickinson University. The FDU program offers all candidates a chance to speak to guests exclusively. Last Thursday was Spiller’s turn.
Spiller said that if the NJEA has a bad image, it goes back to the days of Gov. Christie.
When Christie became governor in 2010, he quickly set his sights on the teachers’ union, seeing rising salaries as a main reason for high property taxes.
This was time for over-the-top rhetoric – like when Christie said teachers treated students like drug mules when they asked them to help support the annual school district budget. Really.
Spiller said the then-governor did a lot of harm to the teaching profession. So, going forward it’s important to stand up for teachers and education in general. And he suggested that Donald Trump’s antipathy to public education could be similar to Christie’s.
Two days later, Sherrill appeared at a “town hall” meeting hosted by Morris County Democrats in Randolph.
“I expected this to be bad and it’s worse than expected,” she said of the first few days of the Trump administration.
The obvious reference was to the pardoning of Jan. 6 defendants and the warrantless search of a Newark business as part of an immigration crackdown.
The good news – so to speak – is that this year’s gubernatorial race gives Democrats and like-minded individuals a chance to stand up to the Trump administration.
“As Democrats, when we don’t win, vulnerable people suffer,” Sherrill said.
Republicans remain enthused over Trump’s win and his good showing in New Jersey. That has given the GOP confidence for 2025.
Sherrill isn’t buying it. She said:
“I want everyone to know New Jersey is undeniably a blue state.”
Sherrill isn’t buying it. She said:
“I want everyone to know New Jersey is undeniably a blue state.”
I wouldn’t be so sure about that. If these activist mayors and organizations insist on fighting Federal deportation efforts, it will further erode (D)emocrat support state-wide. These policy positions are not popular amongst the wider NJ electorate.
Also, no, we don’t need an NJEA acolyte running state.
When you point the finger at someone ,three fingers point back at you. The blame game is exactly what voters are tired of hearing. Unfortunately, hardworking , valuable teachers are stuck in the middle and used as the excuse in this game of political football.
New Jerseys high property taxes is the real issue and many have tried to come up with clever ways to fix the problem , only to have the can kicked further down the road. New Jerseyans want lower taxes but also like home- rule.
The next governor of the great state of New Jersey will need to address this issue head on. Mr. Spiller, the president of the NJEA needs to be “sincere” and come clean with the truth – which is that New Jersey’s school system is, “Best in the Nation” for a select student population and many children are struggling .
What teachers in NJ need to know is that Sean Spiller, the President of the NJEA, earns $2 MILLION DOLLARS PER YEAR off of the backs of teachers’ union dues. He doesn’t care about the teachers. He supports Governor Murphy’s new law bringing in uncertified, non-degree “teachers” to teach NJ children. Spiller claims NJ’s education system is the best in the nation, but a cursory look at the failure rates in math and reading in the big cities, like Newark, Paterson, Jersey City, Trenton, Camden, show that the children cannot read, write or pass math, especially high school seniors that can’t meet 8th grade levels.
We don’t need Spiller as governor. He can’t figure out how to run NJ’s school system so that the children can pass basic skills to graduate, yet he can figure out his annual salary with clarity.
As for Mikie Sherrill complaining about the Trump administration, let’s not forget that Sherrill was quick to deny the J6 prisoners any semblance of Due Process, and allowed them to be jailed without trial in the grossly disgusting D.C. jail for all 4 years of the Biden Administration. Even Nazi prisoner of war camps in WWII were more humane.
And, Sherrill rails against Trump about his ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION stance of raiding businesses known to harbor ILLEGAL ALIENS. Sherrill is the one who supported the Biden Administration and IMPEACHED DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to allow an ILLEGAL ALIEN invasion of our country by ILLEGAL ALIENS from over 170 countries–including known and unknown terrorists that have come into the U.S. during Biden’s four years.
Sherrill should be disqualified from running for governor on this alone. She’s a traitor and insurrectionist!!!!!!
Pathetic Insider – AGAIN!
NJEA must be a site sponsor – are you ever going to ask Spiller a tough question?
Fred, Max – next time around ask what teachers think about $40 million in dues going to this Spiller campaign, that is a whole lot of for teacher development or recruiting more teachers in NJ that money could be going to. I thought the press was there do ask tough questions? You guys are really lacking credibility. Start covering the issues!