125-member committee takes decisive early vote
NJEA’s PAC Operating Committee tonight voted to endorse NJEA President Sean M. Spiller, a high school science teacher from Wayne, NJ, in the Democratic gubernatorial primary for 2025. Tonight’s action followed a formal screening on Saturday in accordance with NJEA’s PAC guidelines. All currently declared candidates in that primary were invited to screen, and Spiller was the only candidate who accepted the invitation.
Spiller graciously accepted the endorsement. “I’m incredibly proud and deeply humbled to receive the endorsement of my fellow public-school educators,” said Spiller. “Too often, our voices are marginalized, and our expertise is ignored. I believe that the same talented professionals who have made our schools the very best in the nation for New Jersey students deserve a loud voice in making our state the very best place in the nation to live for our students, their families, and all New Jersey residents. Public education is the foundation of a strong economy and a thriving democracy, and I am running to make sure New Jersey continues to lead in both of those areas. I look forward to working with my follow NJEA members and all public education advocates across New Jersey to build a people powered, grassroots campaign that gives voters a voice in choosing the direction of our great state. This is our chance.”
Spiller’s fellow NJEA officers, Vice President Steve Beatty and Secretary-Treasurer Petal Robertson, praised the endorsement as well.
“I’ve worked with Sean for the last seven years,” said Beatty. “I know his commitment to our students and public schools, and his vision for a broader, more inclusive politics that brings working families together to fight for the future we all deserve. I’m thrilled to have a New Jersey educator, who knows what it’s like to stand in front of a classroom and inspire a class of students, stepping up to inspire voters across New Jersey with a vision of what our democracy can be if we only are willing to work for it. I look forward to standing shoulder-to-shoulder with my fellow educators to elect Sean Spiller as the next Governor of New Jersey.”
“New Jersey is fortunate to have a candidate as smart, focused and dedicated to justice as Sean Spiller,” said Robertson. “Not many people are willing to step up and lead when it is easier to stay back and complain. But Sean is a father who wants a better future for his family, an educator who wants greater opportunities for his students and champion of democracy who believes that ‘liberty and justice for all’ really does include everyone. He is going to bring optimism, vision and a fierce commitment to social justice to this campaign, and I am so excited to work with my fellow educators to make that vision a reality for everyone in New Jersey. Educators are stepping up here, and we know that our values align with the nurses, shop owners, truck drivers and other middle-class workers. This is a campaign for all of us.”
NJEA has a history of early endorsements in gubernatorial primaries, having endorsed then-candidate Phil Murphy in October of 2016 and again in October of 2020. The Committee has not yet set a date for a possible screening in the upcoming Republican gubernatorial primary.