This is our chance
Sean Spiller is NJEA’s endorsed candidate for governor. If his name sounds familiar, it’s because he is also the current president of NJEA, making this a historic election in the Garden State. Sean is the first NJEA officer to run for governor. If elected, he will be the first New Jersey governor to take on that role after a career in public education at the K-12 level. He will also be New Jersey’s first Black governor.
Sean is a science teacher in Wayne Public Schools in Passaic County and a former mayor and councilperson in Montclair, Essex County. Sean’s wife, Lauren, is also a teacher and an active NJEA member. They have two children, Tyson, 7, and Brody, 4.
Sean recently sat down with the editor of the NJEA Review, to talk about his candidacy and his priorities as governor.
Why are you running to be governor of New Jersey?
Because this is our chance. It is our chance to have somebody as governor who has a lived experience that’s like the lived experience of so many folks in our state. I say that as an immigrant whose parents chose New Jersey. I say that as a high school science teacher who has seen the challenges that our parents and our students face every day. I say that as somebody who served as a mayor and a councilperson for 12 years, understanding the challenges we face to find housing that is affordable.
And, certainly, I say it as the leader of the largest labor organization in the state. We fight every day for people whose voices are often not the ones in the rooms where decisions are made. This is our chance to make sure that our issues are front and center. This is our chance to make sure that we fight for what New Jersey needs. This is our chance to make a difference.
What impact has growing up in New Jersey had on your priorities when you become governor?
My parents chose to come to this country and to come to New Jersey. They came here because of our great schools—my mom had been a math teacher in Jamaica. I knew it wasn’t easy for my parents. My dad would be away for months at a time, sending dollars home. My brother and I knew it was a challenge for our parents who were making sacrifices to make it better for us.
I see New Jersey in terms of its potential and its opportunities. But I also see the challenges—especially around affordability. I say that also as a Black man seeing what New Jersey looks like: diverse, but also segregated. And I see New Jersey’s opportunities and challenges every day as a teacher and as a labor leader.
We have the best schools in the nation, but we understand that there are certain communities and schools that are under-resourced. That makes it harder for educators who are working there, harder for their students and harder for their communities.
There’s a lot of work to be done. And that’s why I’m running: to make a difference in peoples’ lives. We need to reduce costs, make our state more affordable and make New Jersey an even better place than it already is.
You’ve been a journalist, teacher, local union president, town councilor, mayor and president of the one of the state’s largest unions. How have those roles prepared you to succeed as governor?
Those roles have been an opportunity to serve and an opportunity to learn, an opportunity to fight for what everyday folks in New Jersey need. It has led me to understand that we’ve got to insert ourselves into the decision making if we want to see good outcomes.
I’m really proud of the fact that I’m a labor leader who represents union members all over the state. Because of that, I’ve had the opportunity to get to know every part of New Jersey. I understand the state as a whole and how to fight to get things done—how to move priorities through the Legislature. But I also have my experience as a mayor—working with and for a specific community to address residents’ immediate needs and serve and represent them.
As a teacher, I’ve had the opportunity to be part of another community and sit in classrooms with students, talking to them, to really understand what young people and their families need from that perspective.
Each of these experiences has given me opportunities, whether it’s around passing the first-ever rent control law in Montclair, helping to keep housing more affordable, or whether it’s been designing new health care plans for NJEA members to get quality affordable care that saves us and all New Jersey residents billions of dollars.
How about your role as a father?
It’s important that every single decision we make is about our kids’ futures and making the world a better place for them. That’s why we have to focus on the environment and a green economy. We also have to focus on making sure they get a great education and that they learn our full, true history. It means we’ve got to make sure they’re safe and secure every time they go to school. It means we’ve got to make sure that when they grow up, they can afford to live here.
What do you see as New Jersey’s greatest challenges in the next four years, and how, as governor, would you address them?
The most important piece is making sure New Jersey is affordable. That’s got to be number one, but we’re also facing massive challenges from the new administration at the federal level. When we see funding cuts to so many programs that individuals use, as well as funding cuts to states and our schools, that’s a big problem. It’s our money; it’s our tax dollars and when you don’t get them back, it creates new challenges.
When we’re already battling for affordability in this state, it’s disappointing, but maybe not surprising, to see that we are going to have to push back in a big way to make sure everybody is respected, everybody feels safe, everybody is treated humanely. That’s at the core of who we are. And as governor that’s what I’ll be fighting for.
We’ve got to make sure that as folks do their jobs, as they go to the supermarket, as they go to their house of worship, they feel protected and safe. We must protect and stand up for every single one of our residents, which is what I’ll do.
And even around issues that are certainly complex in nature, the need for secure borders and immigration reform and a path to citizenship—all those are fair conversations and things that should happen and should be occurring at the federal level—but we also have an obligation to make sure that we treat people respectfully and that we understand the impact and importance of everybody contributing to our economy. We must stand up for our values.
What do you see as your pathway to victory in this election?
This is our chance to show all of New Jersey how being part of a union matters. It’s a chance to show the power that we have when we stay unified. When you talk about the numbers to win this election and you talk about us having almost 200,000 members, you very clearly see the path to victory.
It starts by making sure our members get out there and vote and that our members have conversations with family members, friends and neighbors.
The single most important factor in whether or not someone votes for us in this campaign is going to be the conversation they have with you. They trust you. You make a difference when you’re talking about our campaign and the work that we’re doing and why it matters to them, why it makes a difference that we have somebody as governor who is like them—a working-class person making sure their interests are centered.
Ballots will come out at the end of April, which is very soon, so it’s about reminding everybody to vote, checking back in to say, “Listen, I know we talked about it, but ballots are out for early voting. Have you had a chance to vote?”
I’m confident in our members. We’ve always been seen as leaders, and we certainly are leaders around elections. I know that NJEA members, through those conversations all over the state and in every community, will have us in a great place come election time.
As an association leader, you were an essential part of the team in securing job justice for educational support professionals (ESPs). As governor, what are some ways that the state can build upon that support for ESPs?
We understand the great work that our educational support professionals, our essential support professionals do. We are in a critical time right now where we can get something done that makes retirement more secure for so many folks who dedicate their careers to our kids in every role or job title in our schools.
Pensions and health benefits matter to us as school employees and retirees, but they also matter to the general public. We want to make sure that the people helping our children learn and grow, and who are supporting our communities overall, can support themselves in retirement—to retire with dignity.
As governor, I’m going to fight to make sure that we honor our commitments and our promises—and that includes our ESPs.
What do you see as the role of community colleges in New Jersey, and how can the state support their mission?
Our community colleges have long been underfunded. Under Gov. Murphy, we’ve finally seen a slight increase, but we had to fight to keep it. Many of our high school students go on to community colleges and so many New Jersey residents looking at a second career are going back to school through our community colleges.
When we talk about college affordability, community colleges are a great way to get a high-quality, affordable education. When so many employers can’t fill positions, our community colleges play a key role in preparing our students and our future workforce for the knowledge and skills that our economy needs.
The state’s supposed to be a partner in that. We’ve got to make sure as a state we’re investing in the work that community colleges are doing and allow them to continue to remain affordable.
What can we do to build a more diverse teaching force in New Jersey?
I think it’s important to talk about this in the context of recruitment and retention, and specifically when it comes to educators of color. We have to recruit broadly and widely and show people why this is a great profession to come into.
We have to provide the supports that potential and new educators need. NJEA has been a leader in this space. And certainly, as governor, I’d be a leader in this as well.
We have to get rid of the barriers. We all are champions of high standards, but we also understand there’s a difference between a requirement that maintains a high standard and an obstacle that is nothing more than an opportunity for some big company to make a profit off of test fees.
We have to make sure that we’re cutting through that red tape, as even any business would do, making sure that there’s a pathway allowing great educators into the profession with fewer needless obstacles. And the more of those barriers we eliminate, the more diverse a pool of candidates we’re going to be able to draw from.
We have to maintain that as a focus, because we know that it matters to our students, all of our students, to see a diverse workforce.
The Trump administration is actively pursuing ICE raids in schools, workplaces and has signaled that places of worship are not off the table. As governor how will you address this?
Well, first, let me just say, I think it’s terrible. I think it’s inhumane. It’s just not who we are.
I have two young kids, and you’re talking about the most powerful person in the world instructing ICE agents to barge into elementary schools? This is the focus? This is where we’re spending our resources? This is where we think the biggest challenges that we face come from? It’s cowardly.
As governor, I will not cooperate in any way with the schemes of this administration in this regard. We’ll stand for our values. Every person, and certainly our most vulnerable, will feel safe here with us. And that means us in our schools. It means us as a state.
We’re going to invest our state resources in making sure we have a New Jersey that’s more affordable and that works for the folks who live here. We’re not going to waste our dollars helping the administration carry out ICE raids in our schools, our churches and other religious spaces.
Is there anything I haven’t asked about that you would like to discuss?
I’ll just take this moment to say that it is extremely humbling to be in this position—to be endorsed by NJEA and have the support of our almost 200,000 members in the work that we’re doing.
We’ve got the best schools in the nation because we’ve got the very best educators in the nation. But after those long workdays, our members realize that we also have to be the strongest advocates in the nation.
That advocacy is a key piece to why our schools are so good. Every single day, up and down the state, we have members who are helping in our communities, who are advocating for what our kids need, who are showing up at meetings and speaking up when they need to.
I couldn’t be more proud of that work. It’s the extra time you put in to make people’s lives better. And that’s what advocacy is all about.
We need someone as governor who, like our members, is fighting for our communities. We need someone who cares about the lives of average New Jerseyans. We need somebody who understands the challenges around affordability.
I want to make sure we’ve got the strongest advocate in the governor’s office for all of the people. I’ll be a governor who will put in the extra time because, like our members, I’ve been doing it my whole career.
Important primary election dates
June 10 is primary election day
April 19
Mail-in ballots sent out
Go to vote.nj.gov. for a vote-by-mail application. Complete and mail the application as early as possible, ideally well before the June 3 application deadline.
May 20
Voter registration deadline for the primary election.
Online registration and printable registrations forms can be found at vote.nj.gov. Not sure if you’re already registered? Visit vote.nj.gov to find out. Evening voter registration is available for primary election in offices of county commissioners of registration.
June 3
Deadline by which a mail-in ballot for primary election must be arrive at your county clerk’s office in order to receive a ballot by mail. For a vote-by-mail application, go to vote.nj.gov.
June 6 – June 8
Early Voting Period
This option enables all registered voters to cast their ballot in person, using a voting machine, during in-person early voting period prior to Election Day. Find your county’s early voting locations at vote.nj.gov.
June 9 – by 3 p.m.
Deadline for in-person mail-in ballot applications for primary election. Visit vote.nj.gov for details on how to apply in person for a vote-by-mail ballot.
June 10
Primary Election Day
To find your polling location check the sample ballot you received from your county board of elections or visit vote.nj.gov. This is also the deadline by which the post office must receive mail-in ballots for the general election. It is also the deadline for in-person submission of primary election mail-in ballots to county boards of election.