Sunlight Policy Center

Latest @pewresearch study gives NJ very low rank for budget reserves. COVID-related revenue windfalls created budget surpluses but those have been used to plug perennial budget deficits. Now NJ is ill-prepared for an unexpected crisis. What happens then? sunlightpolicynj.org/pew-nj-gets-a-…

After hiding the truth about how $45mm of member dues were spent on Sean Spiller's vanity run for gov, @NJEA leadership launches a campaign to inform teachers "how their dues are spent." We have some questions for teachers to ask. Will they be answered? sunlightpolicynj.org/more-optics-nj…

Gov Sherrill's record $60.7bn budget: $1.8bn spending increase funded by $1.8bn depletion of Rainy Day funds. More $$ extracted from corporations while ExxonMobil leaves NJ for TX. A slight improvement over profligate Murphy but still a structural deficit sunlightpolicynj.org/gov-sherrills-…

Former State Bd. of Ed VP and Chair of NJ Policy Inst. Andy Mulvahill nails it in @njedreport: @NJEA leadership ignored their fiduciary duty by wasting $45mm of dues on @SeanMSpiller's failed run while hiding the truth. Will there ever be accountability? njedreport.com/45-million-no-…

Supreme Court issues a slam-dunk ruling in favor of parental rights. @mattplatkin's lawsuits against school boards should be dropped; Mendacious Michael Gottesman and his @NJEA-funded @NJPECoalition must stop harassing Colts Neck. @GovSherrillNJ take note! sunlightpolicynj.org/supreme-court-…

Stunning: @NJEA leadership says it has no duty to ensure that members' dues are well spent, per @njdotcom. Under @SeanMSpiller, NJEA took $40mm of dues to write a blank check to outsource his campaign to Working NJ for a highly questionable spending spree sunlightpolicynj.org/nj-com-njea-le…

Post-Spiller, @NJEA adopts a new tone and optics. The Spiller Debacle angered teachers, so new prez @SteveBeattyNJEA prioritizes member voices, transparency and building trust. But still no accountability for the waste of $45mm of dues and hiding the truth sunlightpolicynj.org/post-spiller-n…

Another @GovMurphy legacy: the tax-hike trifecta. Property taxes surged to a record $10,570, up 20.6%; the top income tax rate hiked to a record 10.75%; and the top corporate rate to a record 11.5%. No wonder NJ has affordability and outmigration problems sunlightpolicynj.org/gov-murphys-le…

No, @njdotcom, NJ's population isn't "soaring," its 2025 growth rate was 0.4%, below the national average of 0.5%. SC gained 1.5% and TX 1.2%. NJ lost 37k to other states and from 2020-25 lost 222k. ALL of NJ's population gain was from int'l immigration. sunlightpolicynj.org/nj-population-…

Gov. Murphy's Legacy Part III: lousy business climate, high unemployment, and a mess for @GovSherrillNJ. Sherrill calls out @GovMurphy for his profligate spending and affordability crisis. Then there's his lousy business climate and 5.4% unemployment rate sunlightpolicynj.org/gov-murphys-le…

Another @GovMurphy legacy: @unitedvanlines ranked NJ last for outmigration of people for 2025 and every year of Murphy's two terms. @uhaul says much the same. Nationally, people are fleeing unaffordable blue states like NJ. Will @GovSherrillNJ be different?sunlightpolicynj.org/uvl/

The @SeanMSpiller debacle continues to harm teachers. NJEA leadership wasted $45mm of dues on Spiller's vanity run and weakened the NJEA's political clout right when needed for a lame-duck pension push. So the pension bills failed. A lose-lose for teachers sunlightpolicynj.org/the-45-million…

Parting kiss: @NJEA secretly pays $500k for @GovMurphy's ad campaign to try to persuade NJ of his "incredible legacy." NJEA spent $22mm of teachers' dues on Murphy, who largely governed to benefit the special interests but wants NJ to believe otherwise. sunlightpolicynj.org/parting-kiss-t…

Mendacious Michael "Hundreds of Millions" Gottesman tries to personally intimidate an elected member of the Colts Neck BOE. Gottesman has been harassing the BOE over its policy protecting parents' constitutional rights and appears to have threatened him. sunlightpolicynj.org/mendacious-mic…

Federal court: parents have a constitutional right to be informed of their child changing genders at school - a right superior to any NJ law. Take heart school boards: Mendacious Michael Gottesman and @NewJerseyOAG Platkin are on the wrong side of the law sunlightpolicynj.org/federal-court-…

Gov. Murphy and @NewJerseyOAG Platkin's disgraceful legacy: a two-tiered justice system: one for @GovMurphy's pals @SeanMSpiller and @BrendanWGill and one for everyone else. Sure looks like Spiller, Gill abused the state health plan but weren't prosecuted sunlightpolicynj.org/gov-murphy-and…

Is New Jersey living up to its reputation as the best public school system in the country? Some experts say no; poor kids are doing better in Mississippi, at much lower cost. One expert called our test scores in NJ "unacceptable." Here, he explains why. njspotlightnews.org/2025/12/nj-sch…

The @NJEA-funded Mendacious Michael "Hundreds of Millions" Gottesman partners with outside, political activist groups to bully the elected Colts Neck BOE. It's astroturf not grassroots. Again the proven liar and bully asks NJ reporters to help. Will they? sunlightpolicynj.org/mendacious-mic…

NYU prof @thad_calabrese nails it: @GovMurphy's legacy: very high govt spending and taxes, budget deficits, still-broken pension system. Murphy was a status-quo gov elected by govt unions (@NJEA) and who governed for their benefit. A cloudy future for NJ. sunlightpolicynj.org/gov-murphys-le…

On cue, @NJAdvanceMedia's/@starledger's Liz Rosenberg helps Mendacious Michael "Hundreds of Millions" Gottesman bully the Colts Neck school board. Another NJ "reporter" whose "report" reads like a @NJPECoalition press release. Why the bias, Ms. Rosenberg? sunlightpolicynj.org/on-cue-nj-coms…