InsiderNJ Sits Down with 2025 Gubernatorial Candidate Sean Spiller
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.
His “greatest achievement” is to get chased out with the dogs out of Montclair municipal building after disastrous 1 term as a mayor. Everything, and I mean EVERYTHING, that could have been messed up, got messed up.
Correction: Sean Spiller makes it sound like he is an active teacher. Meanwhile, he hasn’t step his foot in a classroom in circa 20 years.
Lastly, in the above interview, he did not give one clear answer, not even about favorite book. Instead he gives you an rehearsed direction what books are the right ones to read. Is he running for Governor or Commissioner of Education?
This is in character, of course. He gave those mind-numbing speeches at council meeting. He has one incredible talent: the guy can talk for 20 minutes and say absolutely nothing.
Not your best day, Max. The guy is taking tens of millions in NJ teacher dues – the union he leads – to fund his campaign. Per the AG’s office the guy is also currently under criminal investigation. Yet, you dont ask him about either? I surprised you did not ask him what is he favorite tree….along with NJ Spotlight, perhaps the NJEA funds Insider NJ as well.
Sincere is an adjective that means honest, without deceit or pretense. It is a fine quality for a leader.
‘On December 4th the Department of Education released the statewide New Jersey Learning Assessment data from last spring’s state standardized test results, showing that proficiency rates of NJ students continue to remain below pre-pandemic levels. Over 48 percent of all NJ students did not meet expectations in English Language Arts, and over 60 percent did not meet basic requirements in Math. Most alarming was the clear achievement gaps among core NJ demographic student groups, which showed a 45 percent point gap in reading proficiency.’ Although, New Jersey lacked the sense of urgency in enacting high impact tutoring and literacy legislation to combat the profound learning loss due to school closure,
‘New literacy standard and laws aligned with evidence-based reading are now in effect in New Jersey. That’s a good thing because, as announced last week, for the third year in a row, reading proficiency rates for New Jersey’s 3rd graders are still lagging well below pre-pandemic levels. ‘ ‘There have been minimal increases of a couple of percentage points compared to last year in a few schools. However, if the overall growth remains consistent, New Jersey’s parents will have to wait until 2040 for reading proficiency rates to reach an acceptable level.’
According to reports from the National Council on Teacher Quality, ‘New Jersey teachers are considered to be poorly prepared to teach reading, with the state ranking as “weak” in policies that support effective reading instruction, meaning teachers may not have the necessary training to adequately teach reading skills to students; this is due to a lack of strong reading licensure tests and inadequate standards set for teacher preparation programs in the state.’
Presently, New Jersey has the sixth most segregated school system in the nation for Black students and the seventh for Hispanic students.
Education is the Civil Rights issue of our time and reading is fundamental.
In many parts of the world a dedicated teacher is held in high esteem. So why the teacher shortage in the greatest country in the world? Perhaps it is the work environment. Teachers want to teach, not do administrative tasks that could be handled by non-certified professionals. Teachers do not want to be caught up in political headwinds, yet they are smack in the middle, without a say. Teacher salaries have remained stagnant and subjected to collective bargaining /pay scale rates. Teachers face high expectations and unrealistic pressures with many times given no administrative support. They must deal with school violence and a self -made student mental health crisis.
Many districts used Covid-19 relief funding to replace positions that were cut – now the money as run dry – so now what? This is of no fault of the teachers ,they are caught up in the culture of blame. Young potential teachers see this and say no way and therefore the pipeline of new teachers is no where what it should be to replace those retiring.
So I dare to say, in addition to being sincere a great leader needs to have foresight and the ability to act even if means breaking the mold.
Sincere? Excuse me, but everything about this guy is fake. To quote Mary McCarthy: “Everything he says is a lie, including “and ” and “the”.
Peter Grant is right to wonder how come Max Pizarro didn’t ask Spiller about the AG investigation and funding his campaign with teachers’ money. He also failed to ask about his abysmal performance as Mayor of Montclair.
“I surprised you did not ask him what is he favorite tree….” – Peter Grant
Now, that’s funny. Favorite toothpaste? And then Spiller would something long-winded that would have nothing to do with the toothpaste, lol!
I’m surprised he decided to have his PR meeting with Max in Montclair. He is not well loved by residents, and that is a charitable way of thinking. Less charitable one is that he makes some want to throw tomatoes at him.
But, hey – at least we got rid of him!!
I will join the chorus of Montclair residents pointing out that as mayor this guy was worse than useless. Every time there was a consequential or controversial vote, he was a no show. A four way stop sign was his most significant achievement? That’s probably true. The fact that he couldn’t think of anything more important that he might have done tells you all you need to know about this guy. If is unbelievable to me that anyone would put money behind a campaign for Spiller.
Spiller makes $2 MILLION/YEAR as the head of the NJEA. Nobody is worth this kind of money!!!! Even the Chancellor of the NYC Schools makes significantly less money and handles more kids.
Given that Governor Phil “Knucklehead” Murphy just signed a law that allows ANY idiot to be a teacher, without all the certifications, or even a degree, you can expect our education system in New Jersey to bottom out at 48-50th best state. Just like everything else negative about New Jersey: 50th on the list for property taxes; No. 1 on the list for exodus of residents to other states; 49th-50th on list of state, sales and other taxes combined; 47th most dangerous state to live in.
Now, education–that Murphy touted as one of the best in the nation not 2 short years ago. Murphy is a LIAR. And, he’s a Democrat. But, I digress. Democrat and Liar are synonymous.
Now is the time to push educational choice in NJ to get back to where we were once (in the 1970s and 1980s). We need more funding for charter, private, Catholic, and other private schools as well as homeschooling–and less funding for the public school (public fool) system.
Trump has it right. Get rid of the US Dept. of Education and all of its propaganda school programs like LGBTQ+++, DEI, CRT, and other nonsensical courses. Stop with the Communist-Marxist-Racist indoctrination.
It’s well past time to start getting back to reading, writing, math, sciences like biology, physics and computers, and history (World History & US History), civics, and the humanities.
Someone should ask him about a fantastic disaster he brokered and pushed through called Fire Shared Service Agreement with the neighboring town of Glen Ridge. He had the town he led bend over and the rest is history. Due to this rigged deal that did not comply with procurement laws, we’re now stuck for 15 years with the worst deal in the town’s history.
But hey, he took care of the 4-way traffic sign during his 4-year term. I’m in aw.
All he accomplished was chaos, scandals, lawsuits, and unrest among residents. Can’t run the town. What’s the next step? Gonna take a stab at the State. Bravo, Sean, Bravo.
Mississippi signed the “Literacy-Based Promotion Act” into law on April 2013. The law implemented science-based reading instruction for students in grades K-3. The law essentially established a requirement for students to demonstrate proficiency in reading by the end of third grade to progress to the next grade. Some have coined this, “The Mississippi Miracle.”
It took the unprecedented learning loss exacerbated by the pandemic for New Jersey lawmakers to address literacy. August 2024, Governor Murphy signed a Literacy Bill Package. ‘ It requires the NJDOE to establish a working group on student literacy, mandating universal screenings for kindergarten through grade three; and requires literacy-related professional development for certain school district employees.’
As it has been said many times before, it took less than 24 hours to close the schools due to the pandemic. The merits of that decision are not in question. Yet, it seems the only action plan was a mask mandate for our students instead of an urgent plan of action to combat the known consequences of the unnecessarily long school closure decision.
That type of decision needs someone who is more than sincere.
Akalia Jones, “Gonna take a stab at the State.”
And let the games begin. Maybe being Governor is not what Mr. Spiller is really vying for. Mikie Sherrill’s United States Representative position will be up for grabs, if she is the Democratic nominee -and wins.
Afterall, “Sherrill’s got the money, the demo, the party support.”
No way! This guy is a total and complete failure. He does not belong in any leadership position whatsoever. He continues to refer to himself as a “leader”. Right. He will “lead” things and people right off the cliff. Please. Fortunately, from what I hear, no one takes him seriously. Empty suit with deep pockets (stuffed with teachers’ money).