(The Center Square) – Sean Spiller’s gubernatorial campaign flop took another shot Tuesday when two New Jersey teachers sued him and the state teachers union, saying $40 million from union dues was funneled into his campaign.
Spiller was the fifth of six candidates in June’s Democratic primary, won by U.S. Rep. Mikie Sherrill. He garnered just 89,472 votes (10.6%).
Filed in Mercer County Superior Court, the case is known as Marie Dupont and Ann Marie Pocklembo v. New Jersey Education Association and Sean M. Spiller. Dupont and Pocklembo say giving money to the union’s political organization was voluntary and they chose not to give support.
They’re seeking a judgment against the defendants and an order for damages paid to them at the court’s discretion. In an alternative, the teachers want to be provided “an accounting of the use and status of NJEA membership dues for 2024 and 2025, the years in which Spiller planned and carried out his gubernatorial campaign,” the lawsuit says.
The union says the accusations are without merit.
Garden State Forward was created by the New Jersey Education Association, and it maintained control of operations. That political organization gave the $40 million to Working New Jersey, a super political action committee, and the now defunct Protecting Our Democracy; those entities put the money into Spiller’s campaign.
The Fairness Center, a nonprofit public interest law firm doing pro bono work in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut and Colorado and with federal employees nationwide, is representing the teachers. It also represents the New Jersey Policy Institute, which has filed complaints with the IRS and the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission.
The union is accused of improperly reporting contributions.
In a release from the Fairness Center, Pocklembo said, “I never agreed to bankroll a politician. It’s an obvious conflict of interest when the union president benefits from backroom deals to fund his own campaign with members’ money. It makes the union look shady and it undermines teachers’ trust.”
Dupont said she opted out of supporting the union’s PAC when she signed her membership card.
“Then I found out that a handful of union insiders spent $40 million of teachers’ dues – including mine – on the union president’s political ambitions. That’s wrong, and I believe it’s illegal.”
She resigned her union membership in protest.
